Travel Health Insurance: What You Need to Know Before You Go

When you leave your country, your regular health plan often stops working. That’s where travel health insurance, a type of short-term coverage designed for medical emergencies while abroad. Also known as travel medical insurance, it fills the gap when you’re stuck in a foreign hospital with no local coverage. Most people assume their credit card or domestic insurance will cover them—until they’re billed $15,000 for an ER visit in Thailand or a helicopter evacuation from the Alps. That’s not a hypothetical. It happens every day.

Not all travel health insurance is the same. Some plans only cover accidents, while others include emergency dental, repatriation, and even coverage for pre-existing conditions, medical issues you had before buying the policy, like diabetes or high blood pressure. chronic condition coverage is rare and usually requires a special rider. Then there’s emergency evacuation, the cost of flying you back home or to the nearest capable hospital, which can run over $100,000. Without it, you’re on your own. Many travelers skip this because they think they’re invincible—or they don’t know it exists. But if you’ve ever had a bad fall, food poisoning abroad, or sudden heart palpitations in a country where you don’t speak the language, you’ll wish you had it.

What most people don’t realize is that travel health insurance isn’t just for exotic trips. A broken ankle on a ski trip in Canada, a hospital stay in Mexico after a bad case of traveler’s diarrhea, or an allergic reaction in Europe—all of these can happen anywhere. Even if you’re just crossing the border for a weekend, your Canadian or U.S. plan might not cover you. And if you’re older, have a chronic condition, or are traveling with kids, your risk goes up. The good news? You don’t need a fancy policy. You just need one that covers what matters: hospital care, emergency transport, and medication refills. Some plans even cover lost prescriptions.

What you’ll find in the articles below aren’t marketing fluff or generic checklists. These are real, practical guides based on actual cases and medical data—like how to read the fine print on a policy, which insurers actually pay claims quickly, and why some plans deny coverage for conditions they claim to include. You’ll learn how to spot red flags in coverage limits, understand what "medical tourism" really means for your insurance, and why some countries require proof of insurance just to enter. You’ll also see how common medications like blood thinners or insulin are handled overseas, and what to do if your pills get lost or stolen. This isn’t about buying insurance. It’s about making sure you’re protected when you need it most—no matter where you are.