Medical Tourism Insurance

[jillc]

I've mentioned this in passing a couple of times. But did anyone who had their procedure out of country purchase Medical Tourism Insurance? I'm planning to, but I was just wondering if others did.

These are the ones I've found online that seem the most promising:
http://www.globalprotectivesolutions.com/
http://www2.sevencorners.com/medical-tourism-insurance/
http://www.globalhealthcareconnecti...ical-Travel-Complications-Insurance/index.cfm
http://www.destinymeditravel.com.au/medical-travel-insurance
A link to several companies, dependent on destination - http://www.mymedholiday.com/providers/170/medical-tourism-insurance-companies
Insurance specifically for traveling to Mexico for a procedure:
http://www.novamarinsurance.com.mx/medical-tourism/

I've decided upon the Seven Corners insurance because it's reasonable, it covers enough (IMHO), and it's underwritten by Lloyd's of London. Lloyd's has always been the go-to place for exceptional (as in exceptional circumstances) insurance. And specifically Bariatric Surgery is covered as a type of surgery on the policy.

The policy will cost me approx $1344 USD and it will cover up to $50,000 in complications and $100,000 in repatriation (a quick flight home to fix your problems - our system won't do the surgery but will fix complications from the surgery free of charge) of your live or deceased self. Morbid, yes, but a possibility that I don't want to leave my loved ones on the hook for.

If anyone has other links, please add - or personal experiences with Medical Tourism Insurance...

Thanks...

 

[bearmom]

My surgery was outside the US, and as it turned out, I did have complications and needed another surgery. Fortunately, it was still covered by what I'd already paid.

Did you talk to the surgeon to verify that any complications will be additional? I didn't get insurance, but it sounds like it might be a good idea. Sorry I don't have any useful info about it to pass to you.

 

[jillc]

Thanks @bearmom. Yes it seems that most complications will be extra, unfortunately. I'm either going to Brazil or the US (I'm Canadian). Thanks for telling me. Where did you get your surgery?

 

[bearmom]

I went to India because I wanted to go the a surgeon that was teaching the other surgeons in several countries and was the go to guy that others called to solve tougher cases, but it was too far and if I were to do it again I'd to Ungson in MX. Marchesni (sp?) is good too. One nice thing about going to some of the places catering to medical tourists, is the accommodations can be pretty lux. I stayed for almost a month, so was feeling decent by the time I had to fly home.

 

[hilary1617]

Just as a tip, you may want to check with your local insurance regulator to view the complaint record for any insurer you might consider. In Canada, regulation occurs at a provincial level. Similarly in the U.S., it is state-by-state/ For example, if you live in Ontario, you would contact FSCO. They even have a guide to buying travel medical insurance here ===> http://www.fsco.gov.on.ca/en/insurance/brochures/Pages/brochure_shopfortravel.aspx

 

[Munchkin]

Lot's of money but it does give you peace of mind. Did you find other providers who were less? I have heard of people having plastics buying these policies.

When H and my sister went to Spain we did not know about this or maybe it wasn't available back then.

 

[jillc]

Thanks @bearmom for sharing with me. If I were a virgin DS I'd go to Ungson. The only thing he'll revise my VBG to is a RNY because of the mesh. The newer VBG's had a silicone ring which is easier to take out but the mesh is difficult to remove apparently. Requires resectioning of the stomach.

Thanks @hilary1617 for the advice. I'm in Alberta. I couldn't find anything about Seven Corners on the local level. It has good reviews from Travel Insurance Review online. Thankfully, my father was an insurance broker for years, and I worked as an adjustor for about five minutes way back when. I got him to read the policy and the exclusions to see if I missed anything. The fact that the company has this sort of transparency, and you can read the policy online is fantastic IMHO. He was satisfied and he and I are very happy that it's underwritten by Lloyds of London.

@Munchkin, I think it's new, like in the past couple/few years. I agree about both the amount of money and the peace of mind. I think it's worth paying for that peace of mind that I'm not going to bankrupt myself over this surgery. A lot of the Med Tourism Insurance policies do cater just to plastics - it's really interesting....
There were a couple less, but I wasn't as satisfied - I couldn't get a copy of the policies before purchasing for some and I hadn't heard of the underwriter or they don't mention the underwriter. Scarier was when I did the research it seemed like some of these companies had disappeared - links to their sites were broken, or one site had a static page saying to call them. Gave me a 'wtf, not even trying these ones' feeling.

 

[jillc]

So, I was about to buy the insurance and Seven Corners doesn't cover the USA any longer, and it is $1000 more than it was a month ago. So, I've only found one company. From the links above it looked like there were several, but they all funnel you to the same site - http://www.globalprotectivesolutions.com/

They are also underwritten by Lloyds. The coverage is pretty sparse, but it will give me some peace of mind. The $150,000 coverage will cost me $1444 and change USD. But only 10% of that is for complications $50,000 to get me back to Canada (which is fine, they'll deal with me), $5,000 to repatriate my mortal remains and $2,500 for thrombosis.

There was another company I called, Compass Benefits. They don't offer it any longer, if they ever did. I had a frustrating and angering conversation from a woman from the company telling me that I was lying and this type of insurance didn't exist. It's on their website, but she wouldn't listen to me. I lost my temper - and although I'm a redhead (well more strawberry grey if I didn't dye my hair now), I don't usually lose my rag. But I did. Not impressed with myself as I called her company a piece of sh*t. Her attitude really got my back up and I let it get to me.