Why Visitors to the USA Need Travel Insurance While the US provides some of the best healthcare in the world, it's also the most expensive. When your relatives are visiting you in the US, many people understand this fact and purchase visitors insurance. However, others wonder whether it's really worth the extra expense, and are convinced that some myths are true. Let's dispel a few of those myths and demonstrate why visitors medical insurance is so important. | | Myth: Nothing Will Happen to Me You may think this, but the fact is that something unexpected can happen to anyone at any time, even if they're perfectly healthy. Anyone can trip and fall down the stairs. Anyone can get hit by a vehicle. Anyone can get food poisoning, especially in a foreign country with unfamiliar foods. It honestly doesn't matter if you're a fit athlete or an elderly person. No one can predict the future. Visitors medical insurance exists because accidents and bad luck can befall anyone. | | Myth: I Already Have Medical Insurance Even if your relatives already have medical insurance in their home country, it's unlikely to provide any coverage in the USA. Even if it does, the policy limit of their insurance is probably insufficient for US healthcare. For instance, someone in India may have medical insurance that provides coverage up to ₹400,000 or ₹500,000. That isn't even $10,000 in the US, far too little coverage for surgery or a major medical issue. | | Myth: I Don't Need it Right Now Some people who are currently healthy with no known medical issues may mistakenly think that they don't need visitors insurance at the moment, and that they can wait to buy it when they need it. The trouble with this logic is that no visitors insurance company is going to sell you a policy that covers a medical issue if you're already sick and/or in the hospital with that issue, as it would be a pre-existing condition. You must purchase coverage ahead of time if you want to have it when you need it. | | Myth: I'll Just Pay for Treatment Out of My Pocket Many people visiting the US have spent their lives in countries where healthcare is relatively affordable. In countries such as India, even middle-class families are accustomed to paying for surgeries and hospital stays out of their pockets without much burden. When visiting the US, they expect to be able to do the same. But that isn't reality in the USA. A simple doctor's visit here can cost a few hundred dollars, and an emergency room visit will cost at least a few thousand. Spending just a couple of days in the hospital in the US can easily add up to more than $50,000. A major surgery that requires a month or more in the hospital could cost nearly $1 million. The fact is, it's simply shocking how expensive US healthcare really is. Virtually no one in the US (including citizens) can afford medical treatment without insurance. So, unless you have tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars you can afford to spend on healthcare, it's best to have visitors insurance. | | How to Avoid Hidden Hotel Charges Booking a hotel or resort is an integral part of most trips, and a big portion of the expense. But few things are worse than discovering upon checkout after a great stay that your bill is hundreds more than you thought it would be. What could cause this? Hotels and resorts bake a lot of hidden charges into their rates, and the rules about disclosing those charges ahead of time vary by country. These fees can often be hidden inside the fine print, making them hard to understand before it's too late. So, before you head off on your next trip, make sure to keep an eye out for the following hidden hotel charges so you don't waste your money. | | Should You Pay a Resort Fee? Also known as a hotel accommodation fee, a resort fee is a hotel's way of passing on their upkeep fees to their customers, and is found mostly at resorts. How can you avoid it? To start, don't book a room at a resort unless you really plan to take advantage of resort amenities. If you plan to spend most of your waking hours exploring tourist attractions and you don't need daily massages or a waiter bringing you drinks by the pool, just book a hotel instead. Regardless, keep an eye out for terms like "accommodation fee" or "facility fee," especially if you're booking at a hotel and not a resort. You shouldn't have to pay for what you don't use. | | Ask About Extra Guest Fees Hotel rooms are typically booked for two people. If you add a third person without informing the hotel, you may see your bill shoot up by as much as 50%. The hotel will argue that an extra person is using more hotel resources like water, air conditioning, etc. However, they're rarely using 50% more of anything, making this fee totally discretionary. If you have an extra person staying in your room, be upfront about it beforehand, and ask about any extra guest fees so there are no surprises. And remember, most hotels allow kids under the age of 10 to stay for no extra charge, so you shouldn't be getting charged extra fees for children. | | Check Before You Connect to Wi-Fi Many hotels still charge for Wi-Fi access; in some cases, over $10 per day. Others may allow you to use up to a certain amount of data daily such as 10GB before they begin charging you. Regardless, it's up to you to know what the Wi-Fi actually costs before you connect to it. It may seem like a great idea to get a head start on uploading your vacation parasailing video to YouTube, or to spend a rainy morning binging movies on your tablet, but not if it ends up costing you an extra $100 at checkout. | | Avoid the Minibar Yes, the minibar looks tempting with its sugary snacks and ice-cold drinks, but unless you want to pay for the most expensive beer on the planet at checkout, it's best to leave these items alone. Most modern hotel minibars have sensors that can tell when an item is removed, automatically charging the exorbitant price for it to your bill. The same goes for "complimentary" fruit and gift baskets left in your room. Remember, nothing is free at a hotel unless it says so in writing. | | Paying for Security Yes, some hotels charge a fee for using the hotel room safe. But are you really going to use it? If the most expensive item you're bringing is your phone or camera and it will be with you anyway, why pay a fee to use the room safe? You shouldn't be bringing expensive jewelry on a vacation anyway, so there's no need for it. Unfortunately, this fee is often charged automatically. However, you may be able to avoid it if you inform the front desk when you're checking in that you have no intention of using the safe and ask to get the fee removed. | | Protect Your Savings with Travel Insurance Just as you don't want to be surprised by unexpected hotel charges, an unplanned expenditure due to a cancelled trip or medical issue on vacation can be even more expensive. For this reason, savvy travelers invest in travel insurance if they want trip cancellation coverage and emergency medical coverage, or travel medical insurance if they only want emergency medical coverage on trips outside their home country. | | Five Essentials to Pack for Your Ski Trip Winter is here, and skiers and snowboarders all around the world are preparing to hit the slopes. And while many ski resorts are quite luxurious, it doesn't change the fact that skiing and snowboarding take place on snowy mountain slopes, often in bone-chilling cold. You need to be prepared for the elements by bringing along these five must-haves. | | Touchscreen-Compatible Glove Liners | |  | | Let's face it, you aren't going skiing or snowboarding these days without taking some video. The trouble is, chunky insulated gloves make it impossible to work your phone, and it's often too cold to go without gloves at all. The solution is insulated glove liners. These thin liners go underneath your main gloves, and most of them are touchscreen-compatible, so you can take photos and videos without resorting to bare fingers. They aren't warm enough on their own for cold days, but they'll suffice for a few minutes while you take pictures and return texts. | |  | | On the subject of phones, yours probably isn't in a case that's up to the rigors of spending all day on the mountain. It isn't enough to simply have a waterproof and shockproof case. Phone screens can shatter in extremely cold temperatures, so you need a case that's explicitly designed to be weatherproof. They cost a bit more, but it's worth the expense to protect what's likely your most valuable electronic item. | |  | | A jacket and stocking cap usually isn't enough to protect you for a full day on the slopes. Cold air directly hitting your neck can chill you to the core. In addition, the sunlight reflecting off the snow can cause a nasty sunburn on any exposed skin. Get a neck gaiter that's quick-drying and moisture-wicking. You can wear a balaclava in its place for extremely cold conditions. | |  | | Skiing and snowboarding are athletic activities. If it's been close to a year or longer since the last time you got on a lift, you're bound to have some sore muscles after your first day on the mountain. In order to make sure you can enjoy tomorrow, apply some topical pain relief cream containing lidocaine or a similar ingredient. Be sure to check with your doctor prior to using topical pain relief for the first time to ensure there won't be any adverse reactions to the product. | |  | | Broken or dislocated limbs, concussions, frostbite, hypoxia, and many other medical issues are possible when skiing or snowboarding. You need to make sure you're protected by the right insurance for your situation. Those taking an international ski trip to a location outside the US should purchase travel medical insurance. It's specifically designed to cover you outside your home country for new and unexpected medical conditions. It can even provide coverage for expensive emergency medical evacuation if it's necessary. If your ski trip abroad is taking you to the USA, get visitors medical insurance. The US is not a place where you want to get medical treatment without health insurance coverage. Healthcare here is incredibly expensive, so you'll want to have coverage that's valid outside your home country. Visitors insurance provides exactly that kind of coverage. For domestic ski trips, travel insurance can be a big help. In addition to its trip cancellation coverage benefits, it can also provide emergency medical coverage that may be secondary to your primary health insurance, or provide coverage if you're traveling to an area that's out of your network. Regardless of where you're going, make sure you purchase insurance that can cover you for the activities you're taking part in. For instance, some travel insurance plans may have altitude restrictions that leave you without coverage if you get injured above a certain elevation. Others may not cover off-piste skiing, heli-skiing, etc. The point is, check the coverage before you buy so you know that you're covered. If a standard plan isn't sufficient, consider hazardous sports travel insurance instead. | | December 2023 Word Search | | Accommodation
Concussion
Condition
Dislocated
Frostbite
Gaiter
Hypoxia
Lidocaine | Minibar
Policy
Skiing
Snowboarding
Surgery
Visitors
Weatherproof | | | | |
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