Sailors spend hours conscientiously planning their voyages, stocking up on food, fuel, water, maintaining their equipment, cleaning the hull making sure that everything is ship shape.But they still know that there are factors that can not be prepared for so they are constantly managing the risks of being out on the water.So why is it that they leave so much to chance when it comes to basic health insurance?
Sailing in general is a healthy life style, eating fresh food, being out in the elements the wind and the sun. Small medical requirements can be taken care of either on board or relatively cheaply with local medical professionals. So what happens when something serious occurs, when you need to be hospitalised or need medical evacuation? What happens when you slip and break a bone and have to be on your back for weeks if not months? Do you have a contingency for this? Sailing in general is a healthy life style, eating fresh food, being out in the elements the wind and the sun. Small medical requirements can be taken care of either on board or relatively cheaply with local medical professionals. So what happens when something serious occurs, when you need to be hospitalised or need medical evacuation? What happens when you slip and break a bone and have to be on your back for weeks if not months? Do you have a contingency for this?
The short answer is that most sailors just risk it, it doesn’t seem like the sort of thinking that goes along with a pursuit that requires so much fore thinking and planning.Well it doesn’t have to be this way, if you are sailing in the Aegean, Adriatic, the Mediterranean or any of the Seas around Europe you could save yourself a ton of money on Cruisers Health Insurance by getting a Europe only policy.
If you are in the Caribbean or sailing around the Horn of Africa or in Australasia you could save yourself money by getting a Worldwide excluding some countries policy.
If you want or need to be covered in the USA for up to six months per year you could take out a Worldwide policy, for the the increase in premium you get a very large increase in worldwide flexibility.Whether you take a European only, Worldwide excluding U.S., Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore, and Taiwan or a Worldwide policy you are making sure of one thing and that is you are not leaving your emergency health cover to chance, you are again forward planning and minimising the risk in order have a safer trip.
In the case of hospitalisation you could also take out an add on that will give you up to $25,000 ($100 per day) income while you are in hospital for the very low cost of $100 per year. You could take out two units of this cover for $200 and you would have up to $50,000 ($200 per day) in income. This is certainly a clever way to cover yourself and make sure you have some income to pay for any extra cost in the case that you are hospitalised.
Sample pricing for an applicant 50 years with $1,000 excess/deductible:
- Europe only – $85 monthly or $846 annually,
- Worldwide excluding – $102 monthly or $1,016 annually,
- Worldwide – . $155 monthly or $1,549 annually.
Applicants can not be resident in the US, meaning they should be out of the US for at least 6 months out of the year.
Check it out for yourself –
- https://expatunderground.com/quote/
Drop by our cruisers page –
- https://expatunderground.com/cruisers/
