Your Health Insurance and Travel Insurance: Why You Need Both When You Travel

So, your health insurance covers your medical expenses – great! But does it cover the cost of transporting you out of a jungle after you’ve broken your leg, or the cost of transporting you to a medical facility on the mainland if local care is not available?

It might, and you should definitely check your health policy to make sure, but if it doesn’t, it’s prudent to buy travel insurance that can cover the cost of emergency medical evacuations, which can get as high as six figures in complex cases. Generali’s plans include Emergency Assistance and Transportation coverage up to $1,000,000.

You may want to have medical insurance from multiple sources when you travel to take advantage of primary and excess coverage. This is true whether you’re traveling abroad or in the U.S.

Here’s how it works: With Generali’s Guest Protect, Ski & Mountain and Seaside Coastal Travel Insurance plans, Medical and Dental coverage is “in excess,” of your primary health insurance and while it may seem counterintuitive, in excess coverage can offer better value for travelers. Travelers make use of their primary and secondary coverages first, with in excess coverage picking up what is left over. In some cases, what’s left over may be the traveler’s full medical bill, while in others it may be copays or deductibles.

Essentially, in excess coverage provides an added layer of protection on top of primary or secondary coverage, rather than taking its place. Generali’s Medical and Dental coverage is not subject to copays or deductibles.*

You should read your health policy to understand the limits of its overseas medical coverage, and if they’re fairly limiting, consider supplementing that coverage with travel insurance.

Again, it’s fantastic if your health plan covers you when you travel abroad, but getting hurt or sick when you’re traveling is just one way your trip can go sour.

What if you’re in the National Guard and your unit gets activated and deployed to help with a natural disaster? What if there’s a hurricane or earthquake at your destination, or back home? And what if a Family Member back home gets sick or dies and you have to cut your trip short?

There’s a surprisingly long list of things that can happen to ruin a vacation and our plans include coverage for 20 different types of events. If plan terms are met, travel insurance can help make you whole after these unfortunate occurrences.

Though airlines and cruise lines don’t lose bags as often as they used to, they still lose bags. Health insurance is zero help when you lose your luggage.

Generali's Guest Protect, Ski & Mountain and Seaside Coastal Travel Insurance plans not only can help if your bags are lost, but they can help if they're stolen or damaged as well. And it doesn’t just cover the bags themselves—all of our plans can help you replace certain contents and other personal items on your trip.

Lots of things can happen when you travel, some bad – like losing a passport – and some good – deciding to grab last-minute tickets for a show. The travel assistance that comes with every Generali plan can provide live help with almost any issue while traveling. Our plans provide many broad-ranging non-insurance services to assist you—from changing travel plans and pre-trip services, to medical or legal referrals.

Successful travel requires a team and having Generali’s travel resources on your side can help ensure a more successful and enjoyable vacation.