Stephen Ahern
Why Travel Planning Should Include Insurance Planning
Travel is one of the best ways to spend time with family, see new places, and enjoy the life you’ve worked hard to build. Most trips go exactly the way we hope they will.
Still, a little planning before you leave can make a meaningful difference. A medical issue or accident is unlikely, but when it happens away from home, the cost and logistics can be much larger than expected. One emergency room visit, hospital stay, or medical transport need could create tens of thousands of dollars in expenses and put pressure on a household budget or broader financial plan.
That’s where travel insurance planning fits in. If something goes wrong, you’ve already thought through how care would be handled, how you might get home, and whether the cost of the trip itself should be protected.
Several years ago, my wife and I were traveling in Italy when she stepped off a curb awkwardly and injured her foot. At first, it didn’t seem serious. She could still walk, and we were unsure about seeking care in another country, including the language, cost, and quality of care.
So we kept going.
When we returned to Boston, we learned her foot had been broken. Her doctors told us it should have been evaluated when the injury happened. Because it wasn’t, the healing process became more complicated.
The lesson was simple: when something happens while traveling, you’re not only making a medical decision. You’re also making a financial and logistical decision under pressure. Having the right travel medical coverage in place can reduce that uncertainty and help you make a clearer decision in the moment.
1. Make Sure Medical Care Is Covered Before You Go
Before a meaningful trip, start with a simple question: What happens if someone needs medical care while we’re away?
For domestic travel, that may mean checking whether your health insurance has out-of-network limits, whether your destination has nearby care, and what your plan requires before certain services are covered.
For international travel, the question becomes even more important. Coverage outside the U.S. varies by plan, so it is worth checking whether your own health plan covers care abroad — some provide only limited coverage or none Medicare usually does not cover health care outside the U.S., except in limited situations, according to Medicare.gov.
Travel medical insurance can help cover needs such as emergency treatment, hospitalization, physician care, prescriptions, diagnostics, and care coordination.
Resources such as InsureMyTrip can help compare travel insurance policies. For people who travel more than once or twice a year, an annual multi-trip policy may be simpler than buying coverage one trip at a time. Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Solutions offers international medical insurance options. BCBS Global Solutions notes that many domestic employer-sponsored plans offer little to no coverage abroad.
It can also help to keep key health documents accessible. Before you leave, take photos of your health insurance cards and healthcare proxy, and share them securely with someone you’re traveling with and someone you trust at home. If you were unconscious or unable to make decisions, the right person would know where to find the information needed to help coordinate care.
2. Know How You Would Get Home or to the Right Place for Care
The next question is not only whether care is covered. It is where that care would happen if the situation became serious.
Being treated away from home can be difficult for the whole family. In some international destinations, medical care may not be comparable to what you’re used to in the U.S., so it can be important to understand whether you have the option to return home to your own doctors and preferred hospital if your condition allows.
Medical evacuation coverage can help arrange transportation to a facility that can provide appropriate care. That can matter on international trips, cruises, and remote domestic trips. The CDC notes that medical evacuation from a remote area to a high-quality hospital could otherwise cost more than $100,000. (CDC)
But evacuation coverage and getting home are not always the same thing. Standard evacuation coverage typically transports you to the nearest appropriate medical facility, which may not be close to home. That facility may provide excellent care, but it may not be where you would ultimately choose to be treated. Returning to your home hospital or preferred providers often requires additional coverage or a separate medical transport membership.
A medical transport membership, such as Medjet, may help if you want the option to return to a hospital closer to home after being hospitalized. Medjet says its membership can apply when a traveler is hospitalized 150 miles or more from home, including domestic and international travel, and can arrange transportation to a hospital of choice in the member’s home country.
A transport membership does not pay medical bills, so it should be viewed as a complement to travel medical coverage, not a replacement.
As a general guide, look for meaningful medical and evacuation limits, with higher limits worth considering for international trips, cruises, remote destinations, or frequent travel. A licensed insurance professional can help you determine appropriate coverage amounts for your situation. Also, confirm whether emergency evacuation and repatriation are included. The right amount depends on the trip, destination, traveler, and policy terms.
For international trips, this is also where STEP, the US State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, fits in. STEP is not insurance, but it can help U.S. travelers receive embassy and consulate alerts and make it easier to be contacted in an emergency.
3. Protect the Cost of the Trip When It Makes Sense
Trip protection is different from travel medical coverage. Medical coverage is about care. Trip protection is about the money already committed to the trip.
This may matter when prepaid, non-refundable costs are significant. For travelers who want to compare trip protection options, InsureMyTrip can be a helpful place to start. It allows you to review policies from multiple providers and compare benefits such as trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel delays, and baggage coverage. As you compare options, pay close attention to what counts as a covered reason, whether cancellation and interruption are both included, and whether the timing of your purchase affects available benefits.
Credit card benefits can sometimes help with delays, baggage issues, or other travel inconveniences. They are useful to review, but they should generally be treated as a backup, not the full plan.
Before You Travel: A Simple Timing Guide
Before you book, if possible: suggested
Review whether the trip includes large prepaid or non-refundable costs. This is often the easiest time to evaluate trip protection.
About 3 months before departure: suggested
Review your health insurance, especially for international travel, cruises, remote destinations, or trips involving older family members.
1 to 2 months before departure: suggested
Confirm or purchase travel medical coverage, evacuation coverage, and any medical transport membership.
2 to 4 weeks before departure: necessary for international travel
Enroll in STEP, save emergency contacts, and make sure travelers know where to find policy numbers and assistance phone numbers.
Before leaving home
Make sure someone in the family knows who to call first if there is a medical emergency, travel delay, or coverage question.
A Note on Pre-Existing Conditions
One area that deserves careful attention is how policies treat pre-existing medical conditions.
Many travel insurance policies include limitations, look-back periods, or exclusions related to conditions that existed prior to purchasing coverage. Depending on the policy, a condition may be considered “pre-existing” based on treatment, diagnosis, symptoms, or medication changes within a defined period before the policy is issued.
Some policies offer waivers of these exclusions, but they often require that:
- Coverage is purchased within a specified window after the initial trip deposit
- The traveler is medically stable at the time of purchase
- All trip costs are insured under the policy
Because definitions and eligibility vary, it is important to review the details of any policy before relying on coverage, particularly for travelers managing ongoing medical conditions.
Planning That Supports the Life You Want to Enjoy
Travel is one of the ways families make memories, reconnect, and enjoy the life they have worked hard to build. Insurance planning is not the purpose of the trip, but it can help protect the people, plans, and peace of mind that make the trip meaningful.
Coverage varies by policy, destination, health status, and type of travel, so it is important to review the terms carefully before relying on any coverage. A little planning ahead can help make sure travel stays what it is meant to be: time well spent with the people who matter most.
Disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and is not investment, insurance, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation to purchase any specific product. Sachetta is not an insurance agency and does not sell insurance. The providers and programs named above, including InsureMyTrip, Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Solutions, and Medjet, are referenced as illustrative examples only; their mention is not an endorsement, and Sachetta receives no compensation of any kind for referencing them. Coverage features, limits, and availability vary by policy and may change; review each policy's terms and consult a licensed insurance professional before relying on any coverage. Third-party figures and statements are attributed to the sources named and were current as of publication.
About the Author:
Stephen Ahern, CPA/PFS, CFP®, AEP®, MST, is President of Sachetta. He holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation from Bentley University and for over thirty-five years, has provided individual financial, investment, estate, and tax planning, as well as small business consulting, to a diverse base of clients. His clients have included key top-level executives, high-net-worth individuals, business owners, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs. As an established personal financial planner, Stephen has delivered numerous presentations on financial, investment, retirement, and tax planning to corporations and professional groups. He has also written articles on investments, education, and estate planning. Before joining Sachetta, he co-founded and served as President of Wealth Management Advisors, LLC.
Disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and is not investment, insurance, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation to purchase any specific product. Sachetta is not an insurance agency and does not sell insurance. The providers and programs named above, including InsureMyTrip, Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Solutions, and Medjet, are referenced as illustrative examples only; their mention is not an endorsement, and Sachetta receives no compensation of any kind for referencing them. Coverage features, limits, and availability vary by policy and may change; review each policy's terms and consult a licensed insurance professional before relying on any coverage. Third-party figures and statements are attributed to the sources named and were current as of publication.
