TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin AIG Travel Guard Med Evac Plan?

Saw this plan on the Insure My Trip website (TTOL sponsor). Does anyone have experience with this plan? It costs much less than Sky Med-It takes you to the nearest US hospital while Sky Med takes you home.

This plan was what was recommended by my travel agent back when we used travel agencies! I have bought it every trip although I have never had to use it. It seems very comprehensive. I also like the idea of going to the hospital of your choice rather than the closest to where you are leaving from. It also says it will fly a companion , not nessecerily a spouse , to travel with you. Great if I am traveling with friends!

I know that this sounds redundant, but I purchase skymed and travel insurance from insure my trip, so I have double coverage for getting back home, but I also want something in case of traveling issues while on my trips.

That means it will take you from SXM to San Juan. If you live in San Juan, fine. But you live in CT. I've owned SkyMed for about 14 years and never leave home without it, and I think they are a TTOL sponsor. They do take you home!

How much is Skymed?

I buy the plan from TravelGuard that takes you to the hospital of your choice.

Us too!

Go online and take a look at the Citi Advantage Executive card benefits. The annual fee is $450 but includes AA miles, an Admirals Club membership, priority boarding, medical evacuation, trip cancellation and other common benefits like rental car coverage. It will cover all the trips you take in a year. It will not be for everyone but it works for us.

That includes even for trips to SXM? We might want to consider that..

I just reread the benefits and saw no exclusions on travel destinations. It just says part of the trip must be paid using the card.

OK, thanks. We may look into that.

I've owned SkyMed since 2002. I've compared all of them and there is no doubt in my mind that SkyMed is the best. Do check it out...extremely comprehensive and a well-run organization.

I use a different firm, but I do agree that we should all have some type of medevac coverage. $25K+ to get you home in a medical emergency is not in anyone's budget. If you choose to use SkyMed then book it through this site - the site will make a minor amount of income to cover their operating costs.

Also keep in mind that with all of these services, we're never talking about insurance. We're talking about membership programs.

25 K would be low.... Most are now above 45K, too, so it is a very hard hit.

Yes, 25K is probably really low. I saw an article in a local paper a month or so ago, about an air evac within the US that was something like 40K. I was surprised recently to see an insurance plan, I think maybe it was from Alliance, which is who many airlines have a deal to book directly at the time that you buy the ticket, and I think the coverage was only 25K..

I reviewed the Allianz Travel Insurance that we purchased for our trip this past May and the Emergency Medical Transportation coverage was $75,000 per person.

OK, not sure what it was that I saw then, but it definitely does pay to check the coverages before you buy.

Air evac from Chicago to Denver costs $18,000 and includes the medical people on a private jet, based on an actual experience. You might be able to use that price as a comparison.

That seems low to me. But here is a trip report from a year ago. To the Milwaukee they were quoted $35,000-40,000 for the cost. They had Skymed, so it would be worth reading an actual experience.

This was a report from one of our members directly. So be sure to compare the plans as apples vs apples. Apples vs Oranges are not the same thing, and you milage may very depending on your home location.

Actual Medical Evacuation

I am a travel agent who has recommended AIG to my clients for years. I personally have had to make several claims and had no problems. One of my clients had a diabetic crisis while on a cruise ship. They sent him to the hospital in Antigua where they could not help him, either, so AIG life flighted him to Miami. His wife traveled with him, and they paid for her hotel in Miami while he recovered, then for their return flights home. They had the basic policy, so they were not guaranteed their home area hospital, but they did save his life.

I do research to see how different plans compare. Then I call TravelGuard and talk to a real person. I tell them what I want and get a quote. A real person makes a difference.

I'd also caution everyone to compare the definitions of "pre-existing conditions" in all the policies. Some of them are strange and can easily trip you up when you don't anticipate issues.

I have leukemia. When I talk to the agent I say that my doctor approves of my traveling and that I am medically fit to travel. I buy the same day I book so that pre-existing conditions are covered for me.