Travel insurance

[twopointeight]

I'm looking for recommendations on travel insurance that included medical evacuation. Anyone had the misfortune of having to use such insurance and can say it worked without hassles? This would be for travel to a remote area in northern Vietnam.

 

[winzenbourg]

I can't make a specific recommendation, but you can do some comparison shopping using https://www.insuremytrip.com/. Some have generous evacuation policies, others not so much.

 

[rybolt]

I've been buying travel insurance for the past few years. Fortunately, I haven't needed it.
For an upcoming trip I bought only medical and medical evac coverage from American Express. I decided to forego the trip cancellation coverage. The difference in cost was $640 for medical + cancellation or $$65 for medical only. This was for two people and a 30 day coverage to Ireland. Vietnam could be more based on location.

 

[Jdi]

If you need insurance for visa requirements, we use AXA. Easy to deal with, well accepted, never had to make a claim.

If you're buying insurance for the sake of evacuation, I'd think twice. My wife and I have both been hospitalized in foreign countries. Had we chose to evacuate, which the medical centers would support as you are an unknown commodity payment wise, I'd be dead and she would likely be paralyzed on one side. As it turned out, we're both fine.

In my case, in Italy, my surgeon was a chaired professor at the Univ of Pennsylvania and his team had all done their residency at the Cleveland clinic. In my wife's case, in Switzerland, she was speeded to a neurological center about an hour away and had a team of 11 doctor's from all over the world. She went in paralyzed on one side and came out just fine. A rare disease we didn't even know she had.

Once back home in the USA, she went to a leading med school for further examination. The only doctor that had a clue about her condition was a German that happened to be visiting that week. There's nothing wrong with medical facilities overseas.

 

[Frontman]

Check your credit card companies. I use an Amex platinum card for travel, and it includes comprehensive travel and medivac insurance. The annual fee is high, but usually less than what it would cost to buy the insurance. And if you need to make a claim, Amex handles it more quickly than regular insurers.

 

[Talus]

I used Travelex on my last trip to Honduras. It was $67 and covered quite a bit of medical evacuation, hospital bills, and also trip interruptions and delays. I didn't get a chance to test out the medical coverage, but I DID have a canceled flight and the airline put me up in a fancy hotel for the night. I went to the restaurant and got a pricey 3 course meal with some Macallan 12yr. and Travelex picked up the whole bill no questions asked. They would have also paid for the hotel and transport to and from if necessary. I think it was up to $750 in delay fees. Not bad. Just make sure to have the airline print some kind of official document at the gate when your trip is delayed. Otherwise it's a series of phone calls later that are a bit more legwork.

 

[twopointeight]

Thanks all, there are some good options here. I'm looking specifically for a company that can evacuate me out of rural Vietnam back to Hanoi if an accident or illness should occur. The trip by car would take 8-10 hours.

 

[Talus]

I would recommend looking at some of the global motorcycle tour companies and see what they use. I can't recall right now, but I know there are just a few big names in the game for that kind of evacuation. As is the case with motorcycling, those kinds of evacs are sometimes necessary.

 

[ktmrider]

MEDJET is one of the leading medievac companies tied to motorcycle travel. I have used them for years and I think a year's coverage is $300 or less. Luckily, I have never had to use them.

Recently, I had to cancel a planned trip to the Philippines due to angina and a follow up angioplasty. Got a refund for the airfare with no problems. I don't always carry that type of travel insurance but as I get older I think it will be a regular part of my travel expenses.

 

[boojum]

Reviving an old thread.

I am planning a late fall trip to Hanoi and would like to insure my gear. Has anyone recommendations for a reputable US based insurance carrier? Medical insurance is something I never considered. Hmmm.

 

[38Deardorff]

Reviving an old thread.

I am planning a late fall trip to Hanoi and would like to insure my gear. Has anyone recommendations for a reputable US based insurance carrier? Medical insurance is something I never considered. Hmmm.

As a Canadian, I always buy medical insurance when travelling (especially to the USA). IMO it's unrealistic to expect free (or "reasonably" priced) medical care when a tourist outside one's country. I used to have a rider on my home insurance that listed my camera equipment. These days, I travel with less gear and don't have much concern for loss or theft since it's most always with me and not left in a hotel room. It's not that expensive to insure.

 

[boojum]

As a Canadian, I always buy medical insurance when travelling (especially to the USA). IMO it's unrealistic to expect free (or "reasonably" priced) medical care outside one's country. I used to have a rider on my home insurance that listed my camera equipment. These days, I travel with less gear and don't have much concern for loss or theft since it's most always with me and not left in a hotel room. It's not that expensive to insure.

Contrary to commonly held opinion here south of the border my Canadian friends are happy with provincial healthcare and feel sorry for us. I am in a socialized medicine scheme here and so protected from the vagaries and expenses of the open market. I feel sorry for those who have to deal with insurers and health providers down here. It looks like the ninth circle of Hell.

When I lived in Montreal as a student I had medical insurance. It was stipulated. My then wife's medical visits were charged off to her social security number as that was easier for the staff there than dealing with insurance companies. She was working for a Canadian bank so she had a social security number. It gets cold in Montreal. ;o)

 

[Rayt]

I had employer provided global travel health insurance but never used it. Once I cut my finger in Beijing and it was bad enough that someone took me to a hospital. The doctor patched me up and gave me antibiotics. The whole thing was like $20 so I didn’t even bother doing a claim. If you are a foreigner to the US then by all means buy insurance.

I have traveled with my Leicas, Hasselblad and Rolleiflex pretty much all over including Mumbai Slums with $8000 worth of gear around my neck. In Vietnam aside from wearing my camera bag across my chest and not on a shoulder made no other precautions. Keep gear on your lap when you sit and not on a chair or table. I do that everywhere even in the US. I have not done an overnight train journey so that might be tricky. You plan to do that from Hanoi to Sapa?

 

[boojum]

I had employer provided global travel health insurance but never used it. Once I cut my finger in Beijing and it was bad enough that someone took me to a hospital. The doctor patched me up and gave me antibiotics. The whole thing was like $20 so I didn’t even bother doing a claim. If you are a foreigner to the US then by all means buy insurance.

I have traveled with my Leicas, Hasselblad and Rolleiflex pretty much all over including Mumbai Slums with $8000 worth of gear around my neck. In Vietnam aside from wearing my camera bag across my chest and not on a shoulder made no other precautions. Keep gear on your lap when you sit and not on a chair or table. I do that everywhere even in the US. I have not done an overnight train journey so that might be tricky. You plan to do that from Hanoi to Sapa?

Hanoi to Sapa, I would want a day train so that I can see what I am passing through. And not have to sleep and protect my gear. If I can get the local from Hanoi to Sapa that would be great. As a kid I was on the pollero from Guatemala City to Antigua. People, pigs, chickens, parrots. It was great. We were the only Gringos for sure. It was $20 for a Cook's Tours car or 50 cents for the bus. That's a no-brainer.

 

[Rayt]

I read most of Paul Theroux’s train travel books and wanted to do the Sapa trip but never had the time. Backpacker do the overnight to save money on a hotel and it is a long ride.. The longest train ride in my life was the Amtrak from Washington DC to Pittsburgh. Nine hours!

 

[boojum]

I read most of Paul Theroux’s train travel books and wanted to do the Sapa trip but never had the time. Backpacker do the overnight to save money on a hotel and it is a long ride.. The longest train ride in my life was the Amtrak from Washington DC to Pittsburgh. Nine hours!

His Riding the Iron Rooster was great and mirrored my experience in PRC short as it was. In the forward he quotes two Chinese sayings: "A peasant has to stand on the side of a hill with his mouth open for a long time for a roast duck to fly in" and "You can always fool a foreigner. My Chinese friends from HK or PRC all say the first one is true and deny the second. Right. LOL

But, I was haggling with a guy in HK over a very sweet tiny Sony radio. I tried everything short of slashing my wrists. Finally the guy said to me, "Come, stand on my side of the counter." He had given me a good price but still had to turn a profit. He was not running a charity for Quailohs. I just shook his hand, paid him the money and went home with the radio. Still have it. Sony ICF-SW-1.

 

[Rayt]

His Riding the Iron Rooster was great and mirrored my experience in PRC short as it was. In the forward he quotes two Chinese sayings: "A peasant has to stand on the side of a hill with his mouth open for a long time for a roast duck to fly in" and "You can always fool a foreigner. My Chinese friends from HK or PRC all say the first one is true and deny the second. Right. LOL

But, I was haggling with a guy in HK over a very sweet tiny Sony radio. I tried everything short of slashing my wrists. Finally the guy said to me, "Come, stand on my side of the counter." He had given me a good price but still had to turn a profit. He was not running a charity for Quailohs. I just shook his hand, paid him the money and went home with the radio. Still have it. Sony ICF-SW-1.

I can’t say I know what the quip about the roast duck is supposed to mean. I get my wisdom from fortune cookies. Fooling foreigners can be pretty lucrative. Decades ago in Shanghai well before the skyscrapers went up there were people selling fake antiques on the sidewalks. They would take a department store vase and boil it in black tea for sometime until it’s stained and little cracks appear on the porcelain making it look like someone had dug it up last week. I doubt it was a coincidence they are often seen half a block away from the tourist hotels. People actually fell for that.

 

[boojum]

I can’t say I know what the quip about the roast duck is supposed to mean. I get my wisdom from fortune cookies. Fooling foreigners can be pretty lucrative. Decades ago in Shanghai well before the skyscrapers went up there were people selling fake antiques on the sidewalks. They would take a department store vase and boil it in black tea for sometime until it’s stained and little cracks appear on the porcelain making it look like someone had dug it up last week. I doubt it was a coincidence they are often seen half a block away from the tourist hotels. People actually fell for that.

I was in Shanghai in '88 and they still had the sign in the park, "No Chinese or dogs allowed." They speak honestly of 100 years of humiliation. Mao's speech in Tien an Men had the words, "The Chinese people have stood up." I get it.

The hillside duck experience in English is TINSTAAFL The Chinese version is quite poetic. I can see him now, still there, mouth open with hope. ;o)

Chinese history is one of inward looking life. The Central Kingdom existed without need of outsiders. It is part of the culture to blame foreigners for their problems. It quite often had been the case. But sometimes it gets silly. While walking through the Forbidden City there were very large metal vases which had been gilded. And some folks had taken to applying "Scotch Tape" to the gilt to pull it off. I was informed that foreigners were doing it. Yeah, pay thousands for a plane ticket to Beijing to take tape with gilt on it worth ten cents. Oh, well. That's just how it was. I was not there to argue.

All in all the trip was wonderful. We were the two Quailoh on an overseas Chinese tour so we saw a different world than Westerners did. The Chinese were all very nice to us, even when we were apart from the tour. They were curious as in '88 Westerners were still a bit uncommon. As Lonely Planet put it, "The show is Aliens and you are the TV." True. I had a great time and loved the food.

A lot has changed there in 40 years. And Mao's promise of the iron rice bowl still holds true. That is one huge accomplishment.

 

[DownUnder]

I can’t say I know what the quip about the roast duck is supposed to mean. I get my wisdom from fortune cookies. Fooling foreigners can be pretty lucrative. Decades ago in Shanghai well before the skyscrapers went up there were people selling fake antiques on the sidewalks. They would take a department store vase and boil it in black tea for sometime until it’s stained and little cracks appear on the porcelain making it look like someone had dug it up last week. I doubt it was a coincidence they are often seen half a block away from the tourist hotels. People actually fell for that.

This reminds me of a sign I once saw in a furniture shop in Bali, it was on the road from Denpasar to Ubud.

'Original Bali antiques made to order.'

Knowing the Balinese as I do now, I suspect they were airing their cultural sense of humour. But I did meet two foreigne tourists who went shopping at that store.

 

[boojum]

This reminds me of a sign I once saw in a furniture shop in Bali, it was on the road from Denpasar to Ubud.

'Original Bali antiques made to order.'

Knowing the Balinese as I do now, I suspect they were airing their cultural sense of humour. But I did meet two foreigne tourists who went shopping at that store.

In grad school I had a Colonial History seminar where the prof opined that all our forbearers had to have been furniture makers judging by the amount of Colonial furniture being sold. Maybe he was right. ;o)

Not only can you always fool a foreigner you can often fool a local, too.