Extending My Travel Guard Health Insurance

Before arriving in Mexico, I bought an "emergency medical" policy with Travel Guard Insurance. It was, I have to say, by far the least expensive policy I found: under $2/day for $2 million in coverage & no deductible (I think). Nice.



Travel Guard Insurance Home Page

After arriving in Mexico, someone noted that my provincial insurance (OHIP) would cover me for emergencies, provided that my daily expenses did not exceed those for similar treatment in Ontario (Canada). It occurred to me that it might make sense for me to cancel my travel health policy & use OHIP as a fallback. Surely, I thought, Mexican health care costs would be lower than those in Canada.


According to  wikipedia:


According to the site www.internationalliving.com, health care in Mexico is described as very good to excellent while being highly affordable, with every medium to large city in Mexico having at least one first-rate hospital. In fact, some California insurers sell health insurance policies that require members to go to Mexico for health care where costs are 40% lower.[8] Some of Mexico's top-rate hospitals are internationally accredited.[9] Residents of USA, particularly those living near the Mexican border, now routinely cross the border into Mexico for medical care.[10] Popular specialties include dentistry and plastic surgery. Mexican dentists often charge 20 to 25 percent of US prices,[11] while other procedures typically cost a third what they would cost in the US.[10] The www.internationalliving.com site states that on average, an office visit with a doctor—specialists included—will cost about US$25, an overnight stay in a private hospital room costs about $35, and a visit to a dentist for teeth cleaning costs about $20. Some 40,000 to 80,000 American seniors spend their retirement years in Mexico with a considerable number receiving nursing home and health care.


Very interesting indeed...


As I was about to cancel my policy, however, Jen pointed out another link in my search results:


British Passenger Stuck In Mexican Hospital Following Heart Attack !!


Eeeeeeek!


"This story involves Ms. Valerie King who was sailing with her husband, Tony King, on the Princess cruise ship from San Fransisco to Barbados after leaving on October 9th.  Ms. King suffered a heart attack while on board the cruise ship.  The ship doctor informed her that she had to disembark at the next port which was Cabo San Lucas in Mexico on October 12th.
"A newspaper in the U.K., the Warrington Guardian, reports that after being sent from the cruise ship, Ms. King has been stuck in the hospital and has incurred over $125,000 in medical expenses.  Ms. King's daughter, Anita, flew from England to Cabo San Lucas to try and support her father as her mother's stay in the intensive care unit is now approaching three weeks."


Holy crap!


$42,000 / week? So I'm not a high risk for a heart attack but I also don't want to bankrupt my whole family. And, because I like to cycle around Cancun & kiteboard (not to mention do stupid things like climb trees for coconuts & accept scooter rides from alcoholics), I'm also at a higher than average risk of having a "accidental" emergency. So I decided to bite the bullet & called  Travel Guard to extend my policy. I had an interesting conversation with a Travel Guard rep, which went something like this:


Me: My policy expired a couple days ago & I forgot to renew it, & I'd like to extend it to June 22nd if possible.
Rep: It's possible this time, but if you forget again you won't be able to extend it again.
Me: OK. Well, can I cancel it & start a new one?
Rep: No. You can't start a policy after you leave the country.
Me: OK. Can I "resume" my current policy starting tomorrow?
Rep: No. You'll have to pay for the days that you skipped.
Me: Ok, fine. 
Rep: So, it will be extended for 26 days... and will cost you $65...
Me: Wait a second. $65? What is my daily rate?
Rep: It was 1.70/day, but it will be $1.95/day now. The longer you are away, the higher the daily rate will be.
Me: Why?
Rep: Because the longer you are away, the more likely you are to file a claim.
Me: Oh, really?... But, wait a second. I'm still confused: 26 times 1.95 is about $50, not $65.
Rep: Oh. Well, you have to pay the higher amount on the whole period.
Me: What?
Rep: Your original policy was 57 days, but now you've made it longer.
Me: So I have to pay more for the 57 days that have already passed, even though I didn't make a claim? I have to pay more, retroactively?
Rep: Yes.
Me: And I can't cancel that policy & start a new one after I've left Canada? That's ridiculous.
Rep: Well, that's not our policy. It's the law.
Me: What? It's the law?
Rep: Well, it's not the law. It's [an industry standard]... It's the same in the United States.
Me: So what happens if you leave in a hurry & forget to buy insurance? Or win the lottery while you're traveling & want to buy some? You have to fly home just to buy insurance?
Rep: Yes.


Ok, can I just say... WTF!? Just when I thought I had run out of reasons to hate the insurance industry, along comes another one!

Let's analyse this nonsense, starting with the premise that "the longer you are away, the more likely you are to file a claim." Really? So, each day that you're on vacation, your risk of becoming ill or having a severe accident ON THAT DAY increases? I find it hard to believe that this effect is statistically significant. On your second day, it's probably true, cuz you'll wake up hungover :) And I'm sure your 30,000th day would be more dangerous, because you'd be 100+ years old. But is your 37th day really more dangerous than your 36th day? I'm not an actuary but it sounds like BS to me.


And here's the killer blow: if I travel for 50 years and fly home for 1 day, I can buy a NEW policy from Travel Guard, at $1.70/day. Funny how the act of flying home magically nullifies whatever accumulated damage you've done from all that travelling. Maybe airlines could advertise this: "Feeling sick? Life wearing you down? Get on a plane!" Like I said, it's ridiculous.


But what I object to most is having to pay an extra amount for days that have already passed! It's like being charged more for a dozen donuts because you bought some yesterday, AND having to pay a surcharge on the donuts you already ate! Seriously? OMG. Travel guard's "logic" is so devious & messed up, it's actually hard for me to think of a better analogy.


Ok, I'm done ranting & off to look for another policy. Maybe I'll write a letter to Travel Guard & post the (presumably laughable) results. Wish me luck :)

Note: In the interests of fairness, Travel Guard has generally good reviews (like this one) & is hardly the only insurance company with asinine policies.

Last Update: June 2012