Insurance Abroad: Do I need special insurance for my trip to the USA?
If you are traveling from Thailand to the United States, there are a wide variety of insurance plans that are available for you. We have already stressed the importance of having quality health and car insurance in place from the moment that you step off of the airplane. Here are some other types of special insurance plans that are available.
Comprehensive Travel Insurance
This insurance is sold on a per trip basis. Your trip to the United States is expensive, and you might have saved money for it for a long time. Comprehensive travel insurance offers a wide variety of benefits. Here are some of them:
- Trip cancellation or interruption
- Lost baggage
- Emergency medical and dental treatment
- Medical evacuation and repatriation
- Injury or death by an accidental cause
- Return of your body to your homeland if you die abroad.
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
Many travel health insurance plans will not cover pre-existing medical conditions like asthma, diabetes or even an old back injury that required surgery. Insuring your medical condition before traveling to the United States is important if that pre-existing condition worsens during your stay there. A pre-existing condition might even worsen before your trip and prevent you from traveling. Pre-existing condition coverage might need to be used in the event of a trip cancellation.
Motorcycle Insurance
If you intend on renting a motorcycle while you are in the United States, you will be required to purchase insurance. Aside from that coverage, you will want to be protected by uninsured motorist insurance in case you are injured in an accident that was caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver. Regardless of the fact that all 50 states require drivers of cars to have liability insurance, many drivers disregard that law. In Florida, nearly 25% of all drivers are uninsured. In California, nearly 15% are uninsured. Because motorcyclists are vulnerable and exposed to injury, even a light impact by a car can cause a disastrous crash.
Before you travel to the United States, consider your family’s best interests along with the best interests of your profession, business or occupation back at home. Insure accordingly if you will engage in any particularly dangerous activities. Always remember that there are 50 states, and the laws of those 50 states can be different. Finally, read your insurance policy thoroughly so that you understand it. You might find benefits in it that you did not realize you had.
