Researching international travel health insurance

If you intend to go out of the country and get travel health insurance to cover you while you're away, you will need to put more care and research into your coverage than you would with a normal health insurance plan. Why is that? Because you will be so far away from home that if something goes wrong, you will be basically helpless.

In order to protect yourself while you're away, you need to know that you have a health insurance company that you trust.

One important thing that you have to look into are the credentials of your travel agent. Find out if the company that you're going with is certified. Ask if they have a certified travel counselor working there. A CTC is someone who has studied to be in the business for an extended period of time. It's the same reason why you would want a certified nurse to hook you up to an IV.

Don't forget the background check. One of the most important things is making sure that your institution is financially stable. Check with credit agencies for its history. Also, look into consumer complaints. Find out how it really handles people who come into trouble while they are outside of the country. Call the Better Business Bureau and see how they would rate your travel health insurance company.

Your agent may make a lot of promises, but remember that nothing is true unless you get it in writing. They can make as many promises as they want, but you won't be covered for them. Either have them put it into your written plan, or don't take the promise into mind when making a decision. You should be positive that things such as total cost are in there, as well as additions or changes made in the last minute.

Finally, pay for your insurance and your trip with a credit card. Having proper records of all your transactions can help you avoid being the victim of insurance fraud, or being the victim of fraud while you are away.