US Travel Insurance for Americans Traveling in US

[TimTyler]

As a self-employed American with crappy, high-deductible health insurance I am in the market for travel insurance I can use when on the road here in the United States away from my hometown.

Motorcycling is probably the most dangerous thing I'm exposed to and it would be good to have real coverage in the event of a crash or serious illness. I ride about 15k miles a year, no commuting.

I've filled-out the quote forms linked to from this HU site and there seems to be options for about $1000/year.

Does anybody here in the States have experience with this?

[markharf]

Maybe if you'd describe what you mean by "travel insurance.....?"

Travel insurance comes in a variety of types, from the kind that reimburses you for plane tickets, tours or accommodation when you need to cancel for certain reasons, to another kind (medical evacuation, or medevac) which repatriates you should you be unable to get proper care in whatever location you've gotten to. There's also travel insurance which promises to pay for your local medical expenses if you get ill or have an accident. For coverage in the USA, you've already got this.

As a local, your best bet for medical insurance is, in fact, a medical insurance policy. If you don't like the policy you've already got, buy a better one during the window which is currently open for next calendar year. Depending on how much you're willing to pay, and also what state you live in, you can choose different levels of coverage under a variety of circumstances. But you'd best get on it during the next couple of weeks, because after that you're more or less stuck.

Hope that's helpful. Don't ignore that "depending on what state you live in" part, because it's generally illegal to sell insurance products across state lines. You can USE your insurance in another state, but you can't purchase a policy which hasn't been approved by whatever state you live in.

Mark

[TimTyler]

Thanks, Mark.

[kantuckid]

Have you looked @ websites like www.Insuremytrip.com for travel insurance? Maybe explore the medical insurance options that are a part of your vehicle insurance? Not that I know much about insurance...
I'm retired, over 65 now but can say that when we did work our KY/state provided health insurance didn't cover us away from home state of KY, except emergencies. Pretty crappy really that health insurance often doesn't cross state lines when real people do it daily for lots of reasons.
Our oldest son once had an out of state sports injury in TN and its became a big hassle to even get him covered back then! Like getting sewed up isn't an emergency? Now, with Medicare we have full USA coverage, go figure.

[markharf]

katuckid, you're making a pretty good case for single-payer, nationwide insurance. That's what Medicare is, and that's why it works throughout the States. Politically speaking, maybe you want to vote for those who favor such a system....? People in the government who've proposed nationwide single-payer systems have been brutally punished when up for re-election.

In the meantime, insurance in the USA is mostly private, and AFAIK entirely state-dependent (unless you're disabled and qualified for national benefits, or over 65 and qualified for Medicare). My Washington State policy is different from whatever you might purchase in Kentucky.

Saying that "health insurance often doesn't cross state lines" somewhat misses the point. The idea--promulgated by health insurance companies in concert with elected officials who're provided with much better health insurance than you or I, and therefore don't have to deal directly with the details--is that when you're away from home you take care of emergencies via the emergency departments at local hospitals. If your son or I has an emergency in Tennessee, we head for the emergency room and make sure our claims are coded in those terms.

Chronic stuff you deal with through your regular doctor. That works just fine until you're working or vacationing in another state and need routine care. Unless it rises to the level of "emergency," you need to return home to get treatment. Of course that's silly, but it does have a certain internal consistency.

For the OP's purpose, he's still got to decide whether he's looking for "travel insurance" or for "health insurance." Either way, it's good to remember that the goals of those who write your policy (and sell it to you) are not necessarily identical to your goals. Read the fine print, and think critically about what you're really doing and how much risk you're willing to assume.

Hope that's helpful, as always.

Mark

[TimTyler]

I've got basic health insurance through the WA state "exchange", and I've got $10k "Medical Payments Coverage" through Allstate who handles the motorbike policy.

I wish I could just bump that $10k up to 50k, but 10 is the limit.