Why Travel Protection Matters During Medical Emergencies Abroad

One of the most important travel topics is safety.

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Travelers are regularly exposed to things like germs, scams, and inclement weather when taking domestic and international trips. Usually, the best policies to protect against unwanted surprises are health insurance, traveler’s insurance, or some combination of the two.

But there’s a huge range in the quality and value of those policies—and those distinctions matter when traveling domestically and internationally.

Imagine this: You’ve just touched down in Cairo, Egypt, and can’t wait to explore one of the world’s greatest wonders: the Pyramids at Giza.

You leave your hotel to go on a long-awaited tour, but disaster strikes when an accidental slip on the granite sees you break a hip and wrist. You’re ferried to the nearest hospital thanks to your insurance policy where you’re awaiting medical attention.

But the hospital isn’t quite up to your standards. In fact, it’s full of cats.

So, what do you do with a broken hip, broken wrist, and a hospital full of strays they’re using for rodent control?

Unfortunately, this isn’t an allegory. This scenario became a reality for a traveler named Jeannie Walla on a trip to Egypt. Though Mrs. Walla’s travel insurance covered her medical care at the nearest hospital, it didn’t specify the type of hospital she’d be taken to or the type of care she’d receive.

That’s when your travel protection policy matters the most—and where added protection, like a medical transport membership, can come in handy.

Let’s dig into what to do during a medical emergency when traveling and how to find the right insurance policies.

Travel insurance

Falls can happen anywhere—so how do you avoid ending up in a cat-infested hospital?

Unfortunately, that depends on the fine print. Most travel insurance policies have medical benefits that cover basic overseas sicknesses and injuries, helping you get care from a local doctor.

Most also provide bare-bones evacuation coverage in case of emergency, to get you to that local doctor. They cover hospitalizations, doctor visits, medications, and—in some dire cases—airlifts to the nearest medical center. And that’s about it.

If you dig a bit deeper into these policies, you’ll notice there are plenty of exclusions, from pre-existing conditions to high deductibles to maximum limits.

The repatriation benefits (the “get you home after an illness” benefits) consist of rebooking your flight once you’ve been treated to “the fullest extent possible” at the local facility you landed in.

In other words, the policies are incredibly basic and designed for near-death incidents.

What does total travel protection look like?

Prior to traveling to Cairo, Mrs. Walla had enrolled in Medjet—a trusted and specialized name in travel protection. Unlike travel insurance policies, Medjet’s focus is on getting members moved to a hospital of their choice at home.

They get members moved home safely, quickly, and back to the medical care they know and trust.

It specializes in one of the most important elements of travel protection: Providing members with an elevated sense of safety and care by making sure they have the choice to be treated at home.

As someone who has been sick and sent to hospitals in places like Costa Rica, Spain, India, and Taiwan, I can tell you that the feeling of being cared for is critical. (Along with sound medical care, of course.)

What makes a sick person even more unwell? The stress of worrying about whether they’re receiving adequate care and knowing what comes next.

If you’re traveling alone, being alone in a far-away hospital is also extremely stressful. Toss in language barriers and the experience becomes even more of a nightmare.

Medjet’s team immediately stepped in and arranged for a private air ambulance to transport Mrs. Walla to her hospital at home in Burbank. There, she received world-class medical attention from doctors she knew in a hospital she trusted.

Because she was a Medjet member, Medjet picked up the entire cost of the trip: the aircraft, the fuel, the crew, and the ground ambulance transfers to and from the aircraft.

Aside from Mrs. Walla’s case, Medjet’s team has transported injured athletes (they even protect the NFL when they play their games overseas), toddlers needing more specialized medical care, and members who were injured while at sea.

Choosing the right option—for you and loved ones

Medjet offers comprehensive and reliable services for travelers domestically and internationally.

They not only have medical transport membership; you can also add security and crisis response services. I think that’s worth looking into, especially as a solo traveler—but it’s also a great choice for adults who want to find more comprehensive protection, and a way home if the worst happens, for elderly parents who travel.

Here’s the other feature I like about Medjet—it’s got options. The company offers annual and short-term memberships, along with specialized options for college students, expats, and domestic travelers. If you ride a motorcycle, you can also add coverage that gets your bike home if you can’t ride it.

The distinction between its MedjetAssist and MedjetHorizon programs is that the latter offers crisis response and security, in addition to its medical transport benefits.

From political uprisings to natural disasters, disappearance and violent crime, the MedjetHorizon program has thought of just about every type of security emergency and offers a 24/7 response line to call for help.

Is Medjet right for you?

I suggest taking a closer look at Medjet’s membership options to see which are most applicable to your travel needs.

For the degree of care and extra attention they provide, they’re extremely accessible in terms of pricing (memberships start at just $99)—which makes Medjet wonderfully accessible for all types of travelers.

I’ll keep Medjet on my radar for upcoming solo trips; it’s a great option for independent travelers who will be facing language barriers in their destination—and offers a wonderful peace of mind.