Before you leave for your vacation …

03/02/2018

Your kids are so excited they can’t sleep. The bags are packed, the hotels are booked and you’re checked in for your flights.  You want to make this family vacation as stress-free as possible—so you’ve made a list and checked it twice. But is purchasing emergency medical travel coverage on that list?

While thinking about what can go wrong is the last thing you want to do when anticipating your next family adventure, part of being prepared means you’re ready in case you or your child gets sick or injured.

Emergency medical coverage from a benefits provider, such as Alberta Blue Cross, gives you peace of mind while you’re travelling outside your province of residence and ensures you won’t be facing huge medical bills and potential financial burden.  Travel coverage costs just a fraction of what a hospital bill could be.

Depending on your travel plan, you could have

• access to a 24-hour travel assistance service to help you with everything from finding a physician, clinic or hospital to keeping your family informed about your situation, coordinating payments and arranging for your safe return home.
• coverage for the costs of inpatient or outpatient hospital services, as well as any additional expenses you might incur during a hospital stay.

• access to transportation benefits such as ground and air ambulance services or the cost of medically returning you home.
• coverage for prescribed medications and charges for lab tests, x-rays, MRIs, CAT scans and more, as well as the cost of splints, casts, walkers and wheelchairs.
• coverage for emergency dental care or the relief of dental pain.
• coverage for friend and family hospital visits; meals and accommodations; and the cost of returning the deceased, your children, personal items, a vehicle and even your pets home.

You can hope nothing’s going to go wrong, but it can, and you should be prepared—without emergency medical travel coverage, you’re on your own. Spending a few dollars before your trip protects you from the high cost of unexpected illness, injury or accident.

There are a lot of options to choose from which is why it’s extremely important to understand what you’re buying and how it works. Always read your contract, shop around and don’t be afraid to ask questions.