Is travel insurance necessary when traveling to the United States? This is a question that I am usually asked through email and chat, and which I am going to try to answer in this article, listing the pros and cons of taking out insurance.
 |
| United States Travel Insurance |
What does travel insurance offer you?
Travel insurance generally has three parts, which can be taken out together or separately:
- Cancellation of the trip.
- Loss or delay in the arrival of luggage.
- Healthcare
In the first two cases, its function is clear, although we must bear in mind that credit cards or airlines normally cover the loss, damage or delayed arrival of luggage, so we are going to focus on health care, which is without a doubt the most interesting.
Healthcare in the United States
And since there is no agreement between the Spanish Social Security or the European Union with the United States, any small problem you have during the trip (a sprained ankle, you wake up one day with a high fever, a deep cut or wound,...) you will have to cover the costs of health care unless you have private health insurance, which includes assistance abroad in its coverage, or you have taken out travel insurance. In addition, by not having health coverage, expenses in the United States skyrocket, since doctors usually do not want to deal with unusual patients, for fear of lawsuits, so the rates usually skyrocket and a simple thing, such as being an x-ray and a bandage can cost you up to a thousand euros, not to mention if hospitalization or surgery is already necessary, in which the amounts can skyrocket above 10,000 euros, especially if there is a hospitalization or a surgery, or if you want to repatriate the patient to continue your treatment in your country of origin.
So, if you have private health insurance in your country, the best thing to do before traveling is to call and ask if it includes assistance in the United States and with what amounts, and if it also includes repatriation in case of an accident.
If you do not have insurance, or your health insurance does not cover the stay in the United States, then I strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance for all the people who travel, the cost of insurance is very low compared to the price of trip (the most basic insurance will cost you around 40-50 euros per person) and you will be insured for health care up to a certain amount, which you choose when you contract it.
What amounts should I hire?
There I recommend you not to take out travel insurance that does not cover a minimum of 40,000 or 50,000 euros in health and hospital expenses, you will save very little if you reduce that amount and thus you will cover any unforeseen event, although as always we hope that you do not have to make use of him for nothing. In my case, I usually take out insurance that covers up to 200,000 euros of health and hospital expenses.
As for the cancellation insurance, I usually include it with the travel insurance and contract it for the total amount of the trip, because when contracting both insurances in combination it is usually quite cheap and hardly noticeable in the final price of the insurance.
Recommended travel insurance
As for which insurance to take out, the truth is that I have been lucky, knock on wood 🙂 and I have never had to use health care insurance, so I cannot give you my experience with any of them, but here are three insurances that They are the ones that have the best grades on the Internet and that I usually hire for my trips abroad outside the European Union.
- Mondo: Insurance comparator that finds you the best price for your travel insurance among some of the largest companies in the market (Axa, Santa Lucia through its subsidiary International SOS, etc.) without a doubt a guarantee to travel with peace of mind. In addition, you will get a 5% discount on the normal rate of any insurance if you follow our link.
- IATI insurance: This is the insurance that I usually hire for my trips to the United States and they are very famous on the Internet, they are recommended by almost all travel bloggers because they have very good prices, and both the coverage and the opinions of users who, unfortunately, have had to make use of it. In addition, if you click on our link you will automatically get a 5% discount on the rate they offer you on their own website.
- Intermundial: A world leader in travel insurance, Intermundial is another company that I recommend for your trips.
- Allianz Assistance: It is the leading company in the market and it is the travel insurance that they offer you when you contract the trip on websites such as Expedia or similar. The German insurer is a guarantee if you have problems during your trip, they have their own network of centers in the United States with which they can offer you the best service during your trip, and it is the one I usually hire if I travel to an exotic country or on stays short. In addition, we have obtained a 10% discount for you if you write the discount code AZNY10 when doing the simulation.
I hope I have cleared up your doubts about whether or not to take out travel insurance, for any other questions you can contact us through the contact form, our social networks or chat.