jimmy wrote:hi zenmonkey,
did you mean that the expense of those insurance would cost more or maybe holding the amount in the card would generally be sufficient?
yeah yes I do not consider risky activities, but we have some important amount of information.
for instance, in the past I observed that there are some specific (but presumably "common" types of bacteria (patogen)) that cause common diseases.I know this because I experienced that. so what I do mean is that what medically should be done is a question that should be answered.
besides, we cannot control risks, what will happen for instance if you find yourself in an accident?
(I specifically ask you because you say that you generally have not got travel insurance)
thanks
It really depends on where I'm going.
Traveling in Europe I've had to go to several hospitals - when my daughter had a bike accident (at 19) and then had a small infection we ended up visiting 4 hospitals in Germany. Knowing that my insurance at the time (French) covered her (medical) European costs. I wasn't too worried and total out of pocket cost was about 20 EUR. If I had to cancel the trip and head back hope, we would have had a bad summer but cost to get her home would have been a train ride. No issue. Had it been a major medical issue, again my regular insurance would have covered it.
Same daughter, much earlier had a medical emergency in China at 3. She was bitten by something and her face blew up to twice the size - something that went from localized to diffuse edema, sufficiently severe that we had concerns. Hospitalized at a private clinic for 3 days - total costs were quite limited (it's China) but my credit card had been used to purchase the travel tickets and they had insurance in place that covered the expenses.
When I traveled to do ice hiking in northern India we had some heavier risk and bought extreme sports/nomad insurance including helicopter recovery and expenses up to $1M for a small group of people. My buddy had to return early due to the death of his grandmother and unfortunately, the travel cancellation for cause was not covered by the insurance we bought. During that trip, we had no major incidents (a cook broke a finger, we ha a stomach bug) but a team we ended supporting on the ice had a hiker that broke a leg and had to be airlifted. That could have happened to us, which is why we had the additional insurance.
While cycling in the US both my brother and my daughter had dust lacerations to their eyes and we had to stop our trip to see an ophthalmologist for treatment. We delayed and changed our trip by a day. The event itself had additional insurance but we did not reach the minimum expense for the insurance to kick in - the few hundred dollars of expenses - well, we had to pay out of pocket despite the insurance.
In other trips I have seen - major burns, malaria, and dehydration requiring hospitalization. Once, my father, in Mexico with us, actually had an important fall, broke his hand, and his nose and had to have important surgery for his hand with important expenses. Certainly, additional insurance would have helped but we did not have it. Out of pocket was probably $10K US. His insurance covered the rest.
So I'm not saying don't get insurance - do look into it, look at what you have, look at what additional insurance might actually cover. Accidents do happen.
I just don't get travel specific insurance very often.
What I do look into a lot is making sure that I have my vaccines up to date, that I have a first aid kit with me if there is any type of sport involved and that my kit includes real tools for dealing with an emergency - hemostasis kit, pain pills, antibiotics, minor surgery, etc... that fits in the bottom of a backpack (but that you take out of your carry on and place in regular luggage when taking a plane). I'm (re-)certified for First Aid, CPR and AED. My brother travels with a full EMT duffel with any group larger than 8 but I think that is a little overkill.
Here is a good small kit description:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/pack-smartAnd make sure to have any preventive medications you may need for endemic local diseases (Hep A, B, Malaria, etc). You should have your routine MMR, flu and tetanus vaccines up to date anyway. Insect repellant, wipes, netting etc may also make sense.
If I were traveling to the US from abroad I would certainly look more closely into insurance because US medical costs can be astronomical.
In summary, travel insurance is an important topic - take a look at travel forums for the places you will be visiting to get better advice.