What is international medical insurance and why would I need it?

International Travel Medical insurance is designed to provide health coverage when traveling oustide of your home country. Coverage usually includes emergency medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation, return of dependent children, bedside lodging, accidental death, trip interruption, and more. It generally does not include cover for pre-existing medical conditions. While domestic health insurance programs may offer good coverage at home, few are designed for international travelers or expatriates. Even programs that cover international travel often provide limited benefits and may not cover medically supervised emergency evacuation, emergency reunion, or repatriation. Home insurance insurance companies are not always equipped to deal with complications caused by different languages, currency conversion, international claims administration, and time zone differences.