Posted on Friday, April 18th, 2014 at 8:01 am

Getting into an automobile accident doesn’t usually work its way into daydreams about travels abroad. However, car accidents do happen- and quite frequently. Approximately 1.24 million deaths occurred worldwide in 2010 due to road traffic accidents according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

While you can skip including automobile accidents into your daydreams- you do need to include it in your items to be prepared for…just in case. Having international health insurance can provide you with protection if an automobile accident were to occur while abroad. Here are just a few ways that it can protect you.

Emergency Medical Evacuation: Not every medical facility is able to handle every injury. Because of this this, emergency medical evacuation is sometimes necessary. If you are at a facility that isn’t able to provide you with the treatment you need after a car accident, or if your accident occurs in a remote location, an evacuation will quickly take you where to need to be to get the treatment you need. Evacuations can save your life, but can also be extremely expensive- make sure your international health insurance plan includes emergency medical evacuation.

Urgent Care: Depending on the severity of your car accident- it could land you in urgent care which can quickly rack up high medical bills. Urgent care coverage gives you treatment that your life depends on and that your wallet will be pleased with.

Dismemberment: If an accident leaves you with the loss of eye sight or a limb it will require you to have a period of adjustment and more than likely multiple medical treatments to come. A plan that has dismemberment coverage can help offset this burden.

Repatriation of Remains: If your accident is fatal, this will ensure that your remains are able to safely return home, and your family will not be faced with the heavy financial responsibility of getting you there.

Liability: Some international health insurance plans also include liability which is helpful in the instance of a car accident. Liability may include personal liability- injury to a third person, damage to a third person’s property, or both. If you want a plan that includes liability if a car accident were to occur make sure to check out the exclusions of the plan and that liability in the instance of a car accident is not excluded.

Keeping these items in mind, then checking out what your plan includes in relation to these benefits should allow you to stop asking yourself about “automobile accidents and how my international health insurance works.”

Posted by Bryanna Davis

Bryanna joined International Student Insurance in 2011 after returning to the United States from teaching English in China. Her interest in international education, sparked initially by her own study abroad experience in Wales, led her to the company. Bryanna is originally from Missouri and is a graduate from the University of Central Missouri.