Medical Evacuation

How is it best handled?
Who?
Insurance? Procedure to follow?
Evacuation to USA?
Thx

Please consider looking at TTOL sponsor SkyMed. They sell medical evac coverage, back to your home. Most other policies provide coverage to the 'nearest medically appropriate facility', which could be San Juan, or Miami, or elsewhere that is not convenient to your family. Sky Med sells weekly and yearly policies, for frequent travelers. Not cheap, but good coverage, but they JUST do medical evac, not general travel insurance, for trip cancellation, interruption, baggage protection, etc.

For coverage for just a particular trip, or general travel insurance, with medical evac one of the coverages, you can go to TTOL sponsor "Insure My Trip" and compare coverages across many different policies.

For either company, if you use the link here on the sponsors page, it doesn't cost YOU any more, but TTOL gets a small commission.

as AMEX says, don't leave home without it

When we were younger, we NEVER bought any kind of travel insurance. These days we never DON'T have at least medical evac. It can easily cost $50,000 for an evac and my regular insurance would not cover it outside the US, except as out of network, which means they would pay maybe half.

I have a slightly different take than Carol_Hill on the cost of Medical Evacuation Insurance. To me it's a bargain, especially if you travel a great deal or spend a lot of time out of the country (say a US Couple wintering in the Caribbean or summering at a remote lake in northern Canada). Depending on where you are and where you want to go 1 Medical Evacuation can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000. Most Family policies can be purchased for around $450/year so even if you pay premiums for 20 years and made only 1 claim at the end of that period you still be way ahead of the game.

I have evacuation insurance from Emergency Assistance Plus. Costs $149/year for a couple. Don't know how good it is, since I have never used it. Will provide travel from BVI
They will require a doctor to sign off on the travel and to where. BVI usually sends patients to Miami.

I use Liaison Majestic from Seven Corners Insurance. The total cost for me and my wife for 7 days was $71.19 last year. A $1,000,000 medical expense plan with a $250 deductible and includes $1,300,000 for a medical evacuation. You might not think you need that much protection, but my son's wife's grandmother was just flown from St. Thomas to Ft. Lauderdale on a Lear jet at low altitude with a full team of medical attendants because she fell and hit her head. The swelling in her head required flying at a low altitude.

I am about to test the AIG Travelguard insurance I bought through the Moorings. Had to cancel a November charter due to an injury. We'll see how well they pay....

Depending on the level of membership you have with AMEX? AMEX will send a doctor directly to you with one telephone call. That doctor working with the medical staff at AMEX will determine the care you need and the best way to get you there. We never buy any airline travel with anything other than AMEX. When you are a loved on is sick in a strange place to you. The ability to just dial the number on the back of The Card and get a local doctor screened by AMEX can be invaluable. Like the previous poster. AMEX do not leave home without it. Always use the AMEX first and foremost. Doubt any vendor of services who does not want the AMEX Membership Cards.

I am a huge fan of the Explorer device from delorme.com We use these for our remote Canadian fishing trips and sailing trips. It allows you to text any where in the world. You can purchase family rescue and EVAC to a hospital near your home for very inexpensive plans. It links to an Iphone. They are truly impressive devices. You can also turn on the subscription for one month and then shut if off for the remaining months (only turn on for trips).