A good rule of thumb when traveling is to plan for the unexpected. That’s especially true when it comes to your health, since injury and illness can strike at any age and at any time. However, you may not be comfortable or even capable of receiving medical treatment in a local facility depending on where you go.
Fortunately, medical transport insurance policies can help you reach top-notch medical care regardless of where you are traveling. This coverage is particularly beneficial if you find yourself in a location that is experiencing political unrest, extreme weather, or natural disasters.
Covac Global is a leading provider of evacuation services for medical emergencies, COVID-19, and security crises. Purchasing a Covac Global membership may be the right choice to help you prepare for an unexpected medical issue while traveling.
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Is Medical Transport Coverage Necessary?
Medical evacuation services can swiftly get you to health care facilities in unplanned and emergency situations. Depending on the severity of your injury or illness, medical transport insurance can cover lifesaving treatment and necessary hospitalization.
When traveling away from home, either domestically or abroad, you may not know how to navigate the local health care system. Medical transport insurance gives you access to a team of professionals that can coordinate transportation and care within hours. The care team can also supply information about the local area and answer any questions about your insurance coverage, serving as an advocate through this stressful process.
When traveling internationally, you are unlikely to be covered by U.S. health insurance, such as Medicare. A company like Covac Global can get you back home within hours or days so you can quickly regain access to in-network treatment.
Medical transport services can also help you with hospitalization logistics, follow-up appointments, disability equipment (e.g., wheelchairs), accessing 24/7 care, and specialist diagnostics.
How Covac Global Works
Covac Global’s promise to customers is, “Get Sick, Get Home.” The company, which was founded in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, provides repatriation and medical evacuation services for members around the world.
Their memberships are available for both international and domestic trips, as long as your destination is more than 300 miles from home. Benefits of choosing Covac Global include:
- No pre-departure medical screens
- No exclusions for pre-existing conditions
- Flight doctors and other medical staff on board to aid with medical evacuations
- Available to travelers aged 18-85 (individuals under 18 can be included on a family plan)
- No restrictions on attending large events while traveling
Covac Global does not have its own fleet of vehicles, so it relies on a vetted network of air ambulance providers and aviation charters to transfer members in need of medical evacuation. The company oversees all of the logistics along the way, from pickup to drop-off at your final destination.
Covac Global determines pricing based on the length of your trip, up to 15 or 30 consecutive days. There is also a flat fee for annual memberships for multiple trips in the same year, not to exceed 90 days per trip. If you are going on a vacation that is not quoted above, you can contact the company for a customized quote.
Memberships can be purchased up to your scheduled departure date. All trips must be activated through your account by clicking on “Register a Trip” or sending dates in advance to Covac Global.
COVAC Global Memberships
Medical Membership
Covac Global’s medical membership provides customers emergency evacuation from the location where they are injured or ill to their home hospital of choice. Unlike many emergency evacuation services, Covac does not require members to be hospitalized at the original location. You must simply require hospitalization at home in order to qualify.
Additional benefits include:
- $1,000,000 in medical transport costs covered per person
- 24/7 medical consulting from Covac’s in-house team
- Remote rescue included (e.g., from a remote lodge on a safari)
- No blanket country restrictions, except for Iran and North Korea
Cost: $275+ for individual medical evacuation and repatriation plan (covers a single international trip up to 15 consecutive days long)
COVID-19 Membership
While global travel has rebounded since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus still poses a risk to leisure and business travelers alike. Covac Global’s COVID-19 membership offers various levels of support if you test positive while on your trip, from telehealth to medical evacuations.
In order to qualify for a medical evacuation, you must have proof of a positive PCR test. In addition, a local medical professional and the Covac Global medical director must agree that evacuation is “medically prudent” to avoid hospitalization at your current location.
If you do not wish to utilize medical transport, or your symptoms are mild, Covac Global offers a quarantine monitoring service. This includes a daily check-in, telephone support, coordination of medical care, and a review of your conditions should they worsen. The quarantine monitoring service also provides a $500 daily stipend for up to ten days, which is paid following the conclusion of quarantine.
Travelers on ocean and river cruises can also purchase the COVID-19 membership for trips up to 15 days. While the same medical evacuation requirements and quarantine monitoring benefits apply, the stipend for those in quarantine is $100 per day for up to ten days.
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Additional benefits include:
- $1,000,000 in medical transport costs covered per person
- 24/7 medical consulting and advice
Cost: $575+ for individual COVID-19 membership (covers a single international trip up to 15 consecutive days long)
Tip: Bundle coverage to receive a discount. A COVID-19 and medical evacuation plan are $765+ for a 15-day international trip (consecutive days).
Specialty Memberships
Covac Global also offers a security membership upgrade that caters to government, corporate, and NGO clients. The upgrade includes advice, evacuation, and search and rescue services by military and law enforcement veterans if you find yourself in a hostile situation. These threats include criminal activity, civil unrest, war, terrorism, and extreme weather.
For example, The Explorers Club, an international organization dedicated to field exploration and scientific inquiry, has an exclusive contract with Covac Global for its search and rescue services.
Additional benefits include:
- $250,000 of support operations covered per person
- Remote locations covered for search, rescue, and location services
FYI: Covac Global does not limit members to one trip. Premium plans can include 30-day trips or even an annual membership for frequent travelers.
Exclusions and Limitations
Covac Global has a few exclusions and limitations.
Age
Covac Global is not available to people over 85. Children under 18 are only eligible if added to a family plan.
Family Size
If someone in your party needs to be evacuated, everyone that has purchased a membership can be evacuated with them. However, depending on the condition of the evacuee, your entire membership party may not travel together. Unaffected parties may be asked to fly home commercially if there is limited space or if the patient would be better served flying alone.
Nationality
Plans are not available to French nationals.
Location
No blanket country restrictions for medical evacuation and security membership except for Iran and North Korea.
COVID-19
For COVID-19 memberships, members cannot be transported home if the country they are in has a government-mandated stay-at-home order or if they are in one of Covac Global’s restricted countries. The restricted countries includes Afghanistan, Somalia, Ukraine, and others.
Final Thoughts
Covac Global provides professional and swift medical transport services from almost every country on earth, regardless of what illness or injury you are facing. While the cost can be a significant addition to your vacation budget, Covac Global’s customer service and medical transportation network could prove invaluable if disaster strikes.
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