Travel medical insurance is crucial for international trips where your own health insurance may have little if no benefits if you become injured or sick, whether you’re visiting family in a rural village, heading to the capital city of Nairobi, or witnessing the wonders of the wildebeest migration. Travel medical insurance pays for ambulance services, doctor and hospital bills, medication, X-rays, lab work and other medical costs, up to your policy limits.
Without travel insurance for medical expenses, you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket for emergency medical care if your U.S. health plan doesn’t have coverage abroad.
The most generous travel insurance policies provide $500,000 in emergency medical expense coverage per person, but you can buy plans with lower amounts if you feel you don’t need that much.
Check for Adventure Activity Coverage
Travel medical coverage is also essential if you’re planning adventure activities during your travels, which is frequently the case during trips to Kenya. Many travel insurance companies exclude certain adventure sports and activities from coverage in standard policies, but you can find companies that sell add-on benefits to cover these activities.
World Nomads is one company that includes coverage for active sports that may not be covered under other travel insurance plans.
“If you’re headed out on safari, World Nomads covers more than 150 adventure activities including safari tours,” says Christina Tunnah, spokesperson for World Nomads. For example, she points out that the World Nomads Explorer plan has higher coverage limits and includes activities like hot air ballooning, which is popular in the Masai Mara.