Health insurance to travel to New York

When planning everything you want to do and see in New York, don't forget that there are a few things that will make your life easier in New York. Getting an ESTA visa or taking good medical insurance is one of them.

In the United States, health care is private and can be very expensive for travellers if a mishap occurs during the trip and they don't have medical cover. It is therefore better to take precautions and take out medical insurance before travelling to New York.

The United States does not have health agreements with other countries, so even if you travel to New York with your European health card or your country's health card, they will not be valid if you unfortunately suffer a health problem during your holiday.

That's why you need to take out health insurance to cover the cost of health care if you ever need it. It's not compulsory, as you won't be asked if you have it at the airport security checkpoint, but health care in this country is private and, believe me, it can be very expensive for a tourist. Having it will save you a lot of hassle!

My recommendation is that before you cross the pond, you should get to know how the health care system works in the United States and travel insurance. It is an added expense, but if for some reason you need medical assistance during your trip to New York you can be sure that you will be taken care of and return home debt-free. Otherwise, you'll have to bear the very high costs of not being covered. Here are a few price benchmarks:

Also, if you don't have insurance, care at different hospitals in the city is priced differently, which can make it hard to be sure how much treatment will end up costing you. That's why I'll say it again and again: to avoid unpleasant surprises in your bank account, it's best to take precautions and take out health insurance before you travel to New York.

Most health insurance cannot be taken out once you are at your destination, but must be taken out before you travel. My advice is to buy it as soon as possible. You can also add coverage in case of trip cancellation. In this case, all health insurance cover and reimbursement for the cancellation of your trip will be included.

What is included in the medical insurance: it covers medical expenses, repatriation, early return, luggage and many other types of cover.

New York is one of the cities with one of the highest health care costs in the United States. The most common coverage for travel to other countries is usually around €50,000 but here it may not be enough.

For travel to the Big Apple , I recommend taking out medical and trip cancellation insurance with cover up to €200,000 minimum (higher is better). The higher the cover, the more expensive the insurance, but I wouldn't travel to the United States with less than that.

If you have already done some research on this topic, you will have noticed that there is a lot of choice on the market and insurance is often difficult to compare as each insurer has different conditions and coverage.

On top of that, insurers use very specific terminology that may sound like Greek to you if you are not familiar with it. So how do you choose the best insurance for you? In order to help you choose the most suitable one, here is what I think is essential in any insurance policy when it comes to contracting it with any company.

• Medical coverage of up to 200,000 € minimum for accidents and illnesses (the higher the better). Make sure that part of this insurance is also earmarked for dental emergencies (treatment costs for infection, trauma or pain) in case a tooth decides to give you a hard time during your holiday.
• The cover usually includes sending medicines available in Spain to a foreign country, although this is not so important in the case of New York, where you can find any medicine you need.
• Don't have to advance money: Health care is very expensive in the United States, so it's essential that your health insurance to New York doesn't require you to advance money, but that the insurer arranges payment directly with the hospital. Some insurers ask the traveller to make the payment first and then reimburse them, but paying such a large amount all at once can leave your bank account shaky, and you may lose money in the currency exchange.
• Repatriation: It is very important that the insurance includes the insured's medical transfer or repatriation in case of illness or death.
• Legal assistance and civil liability: The insurance you choose should include civil liability cover for damage you may cause to third parties if, for example, you have a car accident, as well as legal assistance so that you have the advice of a lawyer if you need one.
• Early return: Make sure that the insurance you choose includes early return in the event of the death or hospitalisation of a direct relative or if a serious incident occurs at your habitual residence or professional premises, such as a burglary, fire, flood or explosion. In all these cases, you will have to provide the supporting documents and documents certifying these events.
• Resumption of the trip: You should check whether your insurance covers the resumption of the trip if you had to return to your place of residence early. If so, in these cases the insurance covers the cost of returning to the place where you were before the incident occurred.
• Luggage: It will ensure that your luggage is protected against all the problems it faces when you travel. For example, in the event of theft on the outward journey. Also if your bag doesn't show up on the baggage claim belt or if the airline loses it and you are without luggage during your trip to New York.
• Travel delay: Travel to New York is expensive and requires a lot of planning, so as a traveller you will probably want some compensation if your flight is delayed or cancelled. It's worth reading the small print in your policy because insurers will not usually pay compensation if it is the airline's fault, if the delay has not been at least 4-6 hours or if it is due to a strike.
• Extension of your trip: If you need to extend your stay in New York due to convalescence or if you need a relative to travel there to accompany you, insurance policies have a limit on accommodation per day and per person. Check that the amount is not too low because hotels in this city are quite expensive, especially if you have to book at the last minute.

Isabel's Traveller Tip

Keep invoices, complaints and any documentation you have to send to the insurance company.

Once you take out your health insurance to New York they will send you all the documentation and give you a telephone number to contact the insurance company in case you need to use the policy. They will let you know which hospital you need to go to. This way, you won't have to pay any money up front and your insurance company will cover the costs.

When you are abroad and an unforeseen event occurs that may cause you distress, it is essential to be able to communicate easily and quickly with the insurer to resolve the matter as soon as possible. All of them provide their clients with a 24 hour assistance telephone number but the fact that they have a chat is a plus that you should value because you will have an open channel of communication with the company and you will not have to repeat everything that has happened and the details every time you call them.

Many travellers consider that the insurance coverage offered by credit cards when paying for airline tickets with them is sufficient for travelling to New York. However, it is advisable to check the terms and conditions of the cards, as the amount provided may not cover everything you might need.

Although taking out medical insurance to New York is an extra cost that you may prefer to avoid because you are in excellent health, my advice is to spare no expense because if, unfortunately, an incident does occur during your holiday, a policy will save you a lot of headaches.

Given the current circumstances, it is important that the insurance you take out for your trip to New York also covers health care in the event of a coronavirus infection, including testing and an extended stay in your accommodation if you need to quarantine.

There are plenty of things to do and things to see in New York. If you are organising your trip, in addition to medical insurance, you will need to get an ESTA visa to enter the United States as a tourist. It's very simple and quick to obtain! In this article I tell you how to do it online