Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB

Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/)
-   Staying Healthy on the Road (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/staying-healthy-on-the-road/)
-   -   All Insurance Leads Have Been Blocked and Failed for USA Resident (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/staying-healthy-on-the-road/all-insurance-leads-have-been-63870)

Ravensquawk 21 Apr 2012 21:40

All Insurance Leads Have Been Blocked and Failed for USA Resident
 
After reading through the HU section on insurance, I spent a few discouraging days of emailing, reading websites, "contact us" pages, etc blah blah, with this result:

World Nomads, which worked well for my Canadian friends who have their own insurance while in Canada, only insures you for travel outside your own country, yet I have no health insurance in the USA. (A common problem here.) I would like to tour in my own country too! Many of the UK sites exclude USA. The sites I mailed either replied saying that they offer nothing to USA residents, or they do not reply at all. One UK site would not let me past the "contact us" form; it forced me to enter a UK airport and postcode, and would not accept any when I did. MedJetAssist never answered.

I've exhausted what I know. I think Markel or other motorcycle insurers can add health coverage, but I am - or was - researching emergency health insurance that would cover being hurt and sick even if it didn't happen on my motorcycle.

Is there some ban by the US insurance companies? What kind of emergency-only (you know, not doctor checkups and suchlike) can be had in the US?
Thank you.

markharf 21 Apr 2012 22:22

Your inquiry is not at all clear, but I'll give a brief answer to the question I think you're asking. FWIW, I live in your city, so my experience should relate (health insurance, like other insurance, differs by state, so what works for a Washington resident won't necessarily work for someone from anywhere else).

When I needed health insurance I applied (a slow process) and purchased (an expensive process) private insurance. You can do the same. Start your research at Health insurance, and settle in for a bit. A public alternative is currently not being funded, but who knows--it might come back some day: Washington Basic Health.

If you continue to conclude that you don't want coverage of routine stuff, but want to cover yourself against major, catastrophic occurrences, you want a plan with a high deductible: each year you pay the first $1000, $5000 or whatever, and the insurance then kicks in to cover most of whatever comes after. If you have a million-dollar cancer or accident, you'll be glad to pay the first $5k, right?

Such a policy might be relatively cheap, but the operative word is "relatively." A couple of years ago I was paying $600 per month ($7200 per year) for a high deductible policy.

You need to allow time for all of this. If you've got a lot of pre-existing conditions--or even if you've had an assortment of treatments during the past couple of years--you might get denied normal coverage and kicked into a high risk pool. That's what happened to me, and that's one reason my insurance cost so much.

Last note: all this is in a state of flux, and will be changing in the years to come whether or not the current national healthcare plan takes full effect. But remember that even if you carry repatriation insurance (i.e. medivac) while traveling, you'll need USA insurance to take advantage once they airlift you home.

That's how it works here, so if you don't like it you might think about voting for national, single-payer health care like most civilized countries have got. In the meantime, you now know what to do.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Ravensquawk 22 Apr 2012 03:12

Thank you. It wasn't greatly helpful. Yet I am checking out the Commissioner's site in another window now. I'm healthy. I frequently have no employer coverage, often due to having no employer. Travel-only or even motorcycle with medical seemed like the only inexpensive thing available - only to EU, UK and Australian residents. Or those leaving their home country, which presently I am not. I have always planned to vote for a single payer system first chance I get.

markharf 22 Apr 2012 04:39

Not greatly helpful because.....you were asking about something else? You were hoping for a solution which doesn't exist?

Private medical insurance covering Americans in America is expensive, and it's getting more so. You choice, AFAIK, is expensive vs. ridiculously expensive.

Good luck.

Mark

John Ferris 22 Apr 2012 05:04

I don't understand what Washington did to MedJet?


"Who Can Get MedjetAssist? MedjetAssist memberships are available to residents of the United States, Canada and Mexico except Washington State residents"

mark manley 23 Apr 2012 10:39

This is also an unhelpful reply but I suspect the reason travel insurance is cheaper for UK, EU and Australian residents is that all the insurance has to do is pay for initial treatment where you need it then get you home where you will be passed onto the relevant health service, the wonderful NHS here in the UK. I would guess for US citizens it would then have to pay for the rest of the treatment once it has got you home.

Ravensquawk 23 Apr 2012 20:53

Not clear, huh? Which did you perceive me as: abstruse, obtuse, or obfuscating? Heh.
"you were asking about something else?"
Yes. Something like the listed programs on HU, each of which I checked out, who were quick to tell me their services were *not* available in the US, if they replied at all. Something similar to World Nomads.... or all those other listed links I tried.

Different from the standard medical insurance the state commissioner wants to sell me.

"You were hoping for a solution which doesn't exist?" It does, quite definitely, and very accessibly - if you are in the UK, Australia, and the Netherlands.

Ravensquawk 24 Apr 2012 18:24

Anyone else? Does any current or former resident of the USA (this means someone who has lived or does live in the big country in the middle of North America) know of any motorcycle travel medical insurance (this means some kind of medical insurance specific to traveling by motorcycle), like the links listed in HU "Staying Healthy on the Road", that does cover USA residents? (This means you can search for and read the links and see what kind of coverage they offer.)

Some of the links clearly state they do not cover USA residents. (This means that their coverage is only available in the specified country or region, e.g. Australia, the Netherlands, or the United Kingdom.) I did not contact them. The rest did not specify. (This means that the link did not say that they excluded or included the USA.) I checked and contacted those, and they replied that they do not cover USA residents. (This means that I clicked on and read their websites, emailed them, and they answered that their service is not available in the USA.)

I am researching World Nomads. (This means that I am reading their website more thoroughly and finding out exactly what they cover.)

If anyone else knows of similar agencies that provide coverage similar to World Nomads (this means an insurance company that offers motorcycle travel medical coverage that is sorta like World Nomads) that covers USA residents traveling in the USA, please let me know.

Thanks! :)

Riq 24 Apr 2012 19:37

How about AAA
 
On the off chance that you haven't already tried you might check out AAA. I tried to check from here but it keeps booting me back to the Canadian (CAA) site. I know that we have booked travel insurance through the CAA site when riding down intop the USA and beyond into Mexico.

If you have already tried then please disregard this post.

Rick

Ravensquawk 25 Apr 2012 15:40

Thanks! I have a AAA card, and had not thought of them for travel insurance. Heh. Sounds funny now. But then, except for the card, I'd only tried them for (more expensive than competitors, can you believe it?) auto insurance, and never thought about them doing medical.

Thank you for trying AAA from there; I will explore their website from here.

And, if the search is frutiful, can also post results for others.

Ravensquawk 25 Apr 2012 16:29

It never occurred to me that AAA would have travel medical. This means, y'know, that they would insure for repair of human bodies and not just repair of auto bodies.

Here is what I have found:

(1) AAA does have travel insurance. I had to check ("click on a FAQ on what else is covered") to verify that it wasn't just flight cancellation, lost baggage, blah blah blah. It *does* cover "emergency medical and emergency medical transportation", under several choices. This is true at least for my state.

Since I have to choose a state, it must vary widely from state to state, and have different underwriters. Does it vary province to province also?

(2) I have also explored MedJetAssist's site, and found that it provides the emergency evacuation but not insurance. I contacted them and asked if they knew of anyone who provided the travel medical insurance. (Since, y'know, not all of us are already insured.) They replied that they do indeed have a sister company, InsureAssist.

I hesitated to include them here because in my initial exploration of their site, I have had some difficulty getting quotes. They may require travel outside of your own country. That sucks in one way because my own country offers a lot of unexplored territory for me. Further research is called for.


Members' suggestions to add to my search have led to this great information! Thanks much. Any more info, please share. Thanks!

Walkabout 25 Apr 2012 16:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravensquawk (Post 376846)

Members' suggestions to add to my search have led to this great information! Thanks much. Any more info, please share. Thanks!

In the UK this kind of service is provided:- Bikers Travel Insurance
I guess the holy grail you are seeking is the equivalent company based in the USA who have the where-with-all to offer an equivalent service.
For instance;
Motorcycle tour operators?
Motor cycle hirers?

Ravensquawk 26 Apr 2012 18:53

Walkabout, YES!

I do not know what the problem with the USA is. (Cartel, Monopoly, Price-fixing, Restraint of Trade, Tying Arrangements, among some definitions I found in a legal dictionary, perhaps, eh?)

But I think I will find the actual Holy Grail before I will see the many options that are offered in the UK offered in the USA.

niello8 3 May 2012 22:00

insurance quote
 
I got through today to Medjetassist and insureassist no problem. It seems fairly affordable, combing through the fine print now. Nothing about motorcycling not being covered. I was concerned that having both insure & medjet might be redundant? The latter will pay to get you home if they deem it necessary and they will dictate the terms so I think it may be worth it to have both. for 2 of us its relatively affordable, together less than the bill we just got for 1 month of COBRA!

witold 12 May 2012 21:14

High deductible insurance policies are dirt cheap.

And so is Medjet assist.

What's wrong with that approach? :confused1:

Looking for motorcycle trip specific policies is a completely misguided approach because every company will see it as a higher risk, which will result in higher cost. You want to look for health insurance - period. They have no business in knowing if you ride and you shouldn't be volunteering this info unless you are keen on paying more. Since motorcycling is not that big in the USA, I doubt there are any policies that actively exclude moto accidents in their fine print but probably worth checking.

Ravensquawk 21 May 2012 20:43

MedJet Assist and InsureAssist sound excellent
 
Both of those look excellent upon what scanning I've done of them. So does World Nomads, and I have asked, and they answered, specific questions about their coverage. I will probably go with them at first.

I had a job whose health insurance specifically said it was void for "hazardous" activities, and specifically mentioned motorcycle and scooter riding. If I had been there longer, I would have started an administrative fight about how hypocritical that was for a company that *supposedly* wanted people to get out of their cars and use alternative transportation.

If you know of the more "standard" high deductible, dirt cheap insurance coverers, that I can purchase outside of "employer-provided insurance", please let me know. I agree that how I travel is none of their dam' business!

*Definitely* nothing wrong with that approach; I simply didn't know how to cut through governmentese and hype to find it. (As well as reviews of its service.) I would appreciate it, and I would make sure it didn't have a clause like that in my former job insurance.

Thank you.

DLbiten 22 May 2012 03:27

Raven is from Washington state USA and medjet can not offer anything to someone in Washington state. Last I looked in to as I am in the same boat. Medjet did not bribe errr pay the "fee" for the grate state of Washington to license them. Seeing as medjet only helps the people and not the poor poor Washington state bureaucrats thay are baned from offering us any help.

In the USA the state (as in the 50 states) can tell you what helth care you can get. Thay do not do that buy passing laws but buy licenseing companies. Even the fedral plans for "health care" is realy universal health insurance (funny thing the same people that passed it exclude themselves from it) and will need to pass all 50 states to fully work not that will help us.

Marine By Choice 30 Dec 2012 23:14

Aarp?
 
I don't know your age, but if over 50 you might look at AARP.

markharf 31 Dec 2012 02:12

Far as I can tell the OP is still looking for something which does not exist, i.e., health insurance which is legal in the state of Washington which costs little but provides lots of benefits. Maybe I'm wrong about that, since he seemed to be asking about three entirely separate forms of insurance.

For travel and medical evacuation insurance, I use DAN, which is a scuba diving organization with excellent insurance packages including medivac and travel insurance. It's cheap and it's legal in Washington, and you don't need to be a diver for coverage. Google it up for more information.

However, in the end you always need health (medical) insurance at home to make medical evacuations worthwhile, and in America you buy this from private or (on occasion) public sources which are different in each state. Comparing to what can be purchased in other countries misses the point completely, which is that if a company is not licensed they can't sell you a valid policy. Health insurance coverage of any sort is expensive in the USA--getting increasingly so if you have preexisting conditions and as you age.

Or your can hold a job which covers you, although this might interfere with the desire to take long journeys. Or marry a Canadian and move there. Or self-insure, which means doing without and trusting your luck. Wishing it weren't so won't change that--although Obamacare offers some hopes of change in the near future.

Mark


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