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Live or work overseas? Having an international health insurance plan which includes cover for emergency medical evacuation can give you extra peace of mind. Here’s how it works.
If you became very ill or were injured when overseas, there’s always the chance that the treatment you need might not be available at the local hospital. This is where emergency medical evacuation cover – or medevac, as it’s sometimes called – can help.
This type of cover is included in many international health insurance plans. It means that if you have a life-threatening or limb-threatening illness or injury, and treatment is not available locally, you will be safely transported to the closest hospital for urgent treatment.
Knowing you have this cover may be particularly important if you live or work in a remote area with limited health facilities and transport infrastructure.
Emergency medical evacuation insurance:
Talk to us about making sure you have the right level of emergency medical evacuation insurance to suit you and your family.
This article covers:
Medevac can be included with travel insurance. But you will need more than just simple travel insurance when living overseas. As well as cover for illness or injury abroad, our international health insurance gives you 24/7 access to our specialist support team who can help you navigate unfamiliar hospital settings and language barriers.
In health insurance language, a domestic evacuation is when you are transported within the same country to an appropriate hospital or medical facility.
This could be by road, sea or air with life-saving medical equipment in the vehicle. If you become seriously ill or injured while working on a remote island, for example, you may be flown by air ambulance or private plane to a hospital in the nearest city on the mainland.
International evacuation is similar to domestic insurance, except you might be transported to hospital across national borders.
International evacuation is not typically included in domestic health insurance policies.
With most international health insurance plans, including ours, emergency medical evacuation is covered as standard. How much your international insurance plan costs will depend on your circumstances and the level of cover you choose. But not having medical evacuation cover can be very expensive. And of course, if you were not covered you would be faced with the practically impossible situation of organising a medical evacuation while being seriously ill.
The table below gives a rough idea of what transportation by air ambulance could cost in some popular vacation destinations, although costs will vary depending on individual cases and needs.
Repatriation insurance covers you for transportation back to your home country for ongoing or emergency medical treatment. It’s often an option to add it on to your international health insurance.
Medically necessary repatriation can vary in cost, depending on whether you are able to board a commercial flight, but – without cover – the average cost can be around US$25,000.
The key difference is that with repatriation you are transported to your home country for ongoing medical care, rather than the closest hospital.
There are a number of reasons why repatriation could be necessary, with the key reason being access to specialist care that is not available in the country where you became ill.
Some people actually choose repatriation as they would prefer to be cared for at a familiar hospital with friends and family close by. If this sounds like you, make sure repatriation is covered as part of your international health insurance plan.
Medical evacuation cover comes as standard with our international health insurance plans.
You also have 24/7 access to our rapid response teams who are medically trained and available to help with all aspects of your claim including:
With emergency medical evacuation cover as standard, you have 24-hour access to our medical assistance helpline, provided by Nextcare.
If you (or any child covered by the newborn benefit within its first 90 days of life) have a life-threatening or limb-threatening condition covered by your plan which requires immediate inpatient treatment that cannot be adequately provided locally, Nextcare will arrange for you to be moved by air and/or by surface transportation to the nearest hospital within your coverage zone where appropriate medical treatment is available*. Your return airfare to your country of residence following an emergency medical evacuation will also be covered, along with travel and accommodation expenses of a companion.
If you are looking for more cover, you might want to consider Medevac Plus, which includes evacuation if you need advanced imaging or cancer treatment such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, that cannot be adequately provided locally (within your coverage zone). Medevac Plus also increases the cover for your companion’s travel and accommodation expenses. More information can be found in the full plan agreement.
*We do not cover emergency evacuation to, from or within the United States of America.
You won’t find complete information for our plans on this webpage, nor the full T&Cs, limitations, and exclusions that would apply if you purchase one. You can find complete information in the plan agreement, which we suggest you read together with this webpage. All the benefits on this webpage are per member per policy year, unless we state otherwise. We show the benefit limits in US dollars, but we can also denominate your dirhams.
