Get your tour insurance sorted before you fly out
Because we are dedicated to delivering safe and secure environments for everyone who embarks on an HGL experience, we ask you to obtain travel insurance for your trip.
HGL does not directly provide you tour or travel insurance because we are neither insurance agents nor providers. In the past, we’ve discovered that many of our travelers and their families already have insurance or a preferred insurance provider, which frequently causes passengers to purchase overlapping insurance. In addition to your health insurance, we do advise getting travel cancellation insurance.
Do I need Tour or Travel Insurance?
You may not need travel or tour insurance, if you are already adequately covered by other insurance policies
Travel insurance typically promises to protect you against a variety of difficult occurrences, including trip cancellation or interruption, some kind of emergency medical care while you are traveling, lost or stolen luggage, and other unforeseen circumstances.
It is advisable to thoroughly research and study the fine print of any travel insurance plan before choosing one. Any contracts you have with your travel agent, tour operator, airline, or any businesses engaged in your travel arrangements should be carefully reviewed.
Written guarantees may be a part of the agreements. You may decide that you do not require trip cancellation/interruption insurance if your airline ticket is fully refundable.
On the other hand, it may be worthwhile to note that certain insurance plans can protect you by covering the financial costs in case of the following situations:
- A sudden, serious injury or illness to you, a family member, or a traveling companion.
- Financial default of the airline, cruise line, or tour operator.
- Natural disasters or strikes that impede travel services.
- A terrorist incident in a foreign city within 10 days of your scheduled arrival in that particular city.
- The fact that you, a traveling member of your family, or a travelling companion were quarantined, served with a court order, or required to serve on a jury.
- A circumstance in which you were directly involved in an accident en route to departure for your trip.
It is a good idea to check your other insurance policies. For instance, your homeowners or tenants insurance may cover the loss or theft of your luggage.
Certain credit cards may also provide additional travel insurance, if you have used them to purchase the ticket for your trip. Your health insurance may provide certain coverage, regardless of where you travel. But it is very important to note that some policies only partially cover medical expenses abroad. Moreover, it can be the case that sometimes Medicare/Medicaid will not cover hospital and medical services outside the United States so we recommend that you look further into whether this affects you.
Health Insurance
Obtaining medical treatment and hospital care can be costly for travelers who are injured or who become seriously ill overseas.
Hospital or medical services outside of the United States are not covered by the Social Security Medicare/Medicaid program. You should know which medical services your health insurance will cover abroad before you depart from the United States.
If your health insurance policy does not cover hospital or medical bills in another country, you should consider purchasing a temporary health policy that does. Short-term health and emergency assistance policies are available for tourists. The names of companies that offer such policies can be obtained from your health insurance company or adverts in travel periodicals. Many policies offer trip cancellation, baggage loss, and travel accident insurance in addition to health insurance.
Medical Evacuation
Although some health insurance companies may pay “customary and reasonable” hospital costs abroad, very few will pay for medical evacuation back to the United States
Depending on your location and physical condition, medical evacuation can easily cost $10,000 or more. One of the primary benefits of health and emergency assistance policies is that they frequently include medical evacuation coverage to the United States.
Even if your usual health insurance covers you for situations abroad, you should consider getting extra medical evacuation insurance. Whatever health insurance coverage you choose for international travel, remember to bring both your health insurance policy identity card and claim papers with you.