Key Takeaways
- Medical Evacuation can pay to transport you to the nearest suitable medical facility or to a hospital in your home country when medically necessary, and for the repatriation of your remains.
- It’s one of the most important trip insurance coverages due to the high cost of medical evacuations and the lack of coverage via standard health insurance abroad.
- We recommend at least $100,000 in coverage for most trips, and $250,000 if you’re traveling remotely, cruising, or participating in dangerous activities.
- Emergency medical evacuations are one of the few expenses that travel insurance providers can pay for directly, instead of requiring you to file for reimbursement.
- Since optimal coverage limits vary by destination and policy, the best way to find a policy with adequate Medical Evacuation coverage is to use our quote and comparison tool.
What is Medical Evacuation (Medevac) & Repatriation Insurance?
Medical Evacuation insurance, also known as medevac insurance, is a travel insurance benefit that provides emergency transportation to the nearest adequate medical facility for travelers who are critically ill or injured. It may also cover transportation to your home country, depending on the policy.
Medical transport may include air ambulance, commercial airline, rescue boat, or other type of vehicle fitted with medical equipment if it’s deemed medically necessary. Most policies can also repatriate your remains if you suddenly pass away while traveling.
This coverage is especially important if your trip occurs in areas with sparse or subpar medical facilities, remote destinations, or foreign countries; or if you’re participating in adventure sports, or taking a cruise.
What Does Medical Evacuation Insurance Cover?
Medevac insurance pays the full cost of your medical transport via the most economical route to the nearest adequate medical facility, or back to your home country, in the event you sustain a serious or life-threatening injury or illness while traveling.
Medevac insurance policies may cover:
- Transportation to the nearest adequate medical facility: If the local hospital or facility you arrive at is unable to treat your condition, this benefit may cover the cost to transport you to another facility.
- Transportation back home: Coverage for emergency long-distance air transportation back home if the attending physician or medical professional believes it’s medically necessary.
- Hospital companion: If you are traveling alone, some plans cover the cost of a round-trip ticket for a close friend or family member to visit you in the hospital.
- Traveling companion: Reimbursement for your travel companion’s hotel stay, meals, and transportation expenses so they can remain nearby while you receive medical treatment.
- Return of children: If you’re traveling with children, this benefit may cover the cost to transport them back home.
- Repatriation of remains: If you pass away during your trip, this benefit may cover the cost to return your remains to the city of the burial site, as well as cremation, embalming, and other necessary expenses.
It’s important to note that every policy is unique, and coverage limits and exclusions differ by policy. Ensure you read the fine print and full statement of coverage before purchasing to ensure you fully understand what is excluded.
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How Much Medical Evacuation Insurance Do I Need?
We recommend policies that offer at least $100,000 in emergency Medical Evacuation coverage, regardless of your travel plans. Our internal data from the past 12 months shows that Medical Evacuation is by far the costliest claim type, with claims costing $23,299 on average.
The CDC notes that a medical air evacuation can cost anywhere from $25,000 to more than $250,000. The cost of a medical evacuation varies greatly depending on your location, the severity of your medical condition, and the distance to the nearest appropriate medical facility. Traveling to remote destinations with limited healthcare facilities and emergency services can also result in higher medical transportation costs.
If you are taking a cruise, visiting a remote destination, or participating in hazardous activities, we recommend no less than $250,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage.
Travel insurance companies generally provide high coverage limits for this benefit, with options ranging from $50,000 to up to $2,000,000. Some policies will also include a separate limit for repatriation of remains, generally between $10,000 to $20,000, which is ample coverage.
>> Read: Medical Emergencies While Cruising: Stay Prepared, Stay Safe
Common Medical Evacuation Exclusions
While emergency medical evacuation coverage can be applied to a wide range of scenarios, it is not all-encompassing.
Exclusions can vary slightly by policy, but most plans won’t cover:
- Evacuations that were not pre-authorized or arranged by your insurance provider
- Expenses not certified by the treating physician or otherwise deemed medically unnecessary.
- Non-medical evacuations, as this is a separate benefit
- Evacuations due to Pre-existing conditions, unless stated otherwise in your policy
- Evacuations due to participating in an adventure sport or activity that was excluded from your policy’s coverage
- Transportation to your “Hospital of Choice”, unless stated otherwise in your policy.
- Evacuations relating to substance abuse, medical tourism, elective surgeries, normal pregnancy scenarios, or childbirth.
How Does Medical Evacuation Insurance Work?
To use your Medical Evacuation benefit, you must contact your travel insurance company’s 24/7 emergency assistance hotline.
The provider’s emergency assistance team will work with the local hospital and the treating doctor to evaluate:
- If you need to be medically evacuated
- What the most appropriate destination is for your treatment
- The logistics for your transport based on your current medical condition and location
If you are incapacitated, the hospital will typically contact your insurer for you. We recommend keeping your travel insurance information in your wallet in case this happens.
A few points to keep in mind:
1. Medical Evacuations Must Be Pre-approved by Your Insurer
Your evacuation must be pre-approved by your insurance company, except in some extremely rare circumstances where immediate life-saving action is required. Medical evacuations only occur when they are deemed medically necessary, and you are unable to receive adequate treatment at the medical facility where you are currently being treated. Most policies also require notification within 24-48 hours of your health emergency to qualify for coverage.
The decision is made by your travel insurance provider’s emergency medical assistance team in conjunction with your local treating doctor. Your doctor will confirm your condition and make recommendations for treatment, and your insurance provider will evaluate if your transfer is medically necessary and meets your policy’s terms and conditions.
2. Your Insurer and Doctor Decide Where to Evacuate You To
In addition to deciding whether to evacuate you, usually your insurer will decide where to evacuate you to. Most policies specify that you will be evacuated to the nearest adequate medical facility, which means a facility that has suitable staff and equipment to treat your condition. Some, though not all, policies may also cover evacuation to a hospital in your home country if your attending physician deems it medically necessary and your provider approves it.
Note, some plans (typically luxury travel insurance policies) will evacuate you to a medical facility of your choice, including in your home country. If this is your preference, you should look for this wording in the plan’s certificate under its Medical Evacuation benefit.
3. Your Insurer and Doctor Also Decide How to Evacuate You
Once you have been approved for transfer, your policy and provider will dictate the type of transfer you receive based on your medical condition and what is deemed medically necessary (not necessarily an air ambulance or plane).
Common types of evacuations include:
- Air or Ground Ambulance transfer
- Commercial Stretcher
- Commercial airline with a supervised medical escort
- Repatriation of remains coverage (in case of untimely death)
4. Your Insurer Will Pay for the Evacuation Directly
Although most travel insurance plans function on a reimbursement model, Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance is one of the few types of coverage that pays for services directly. This is largely due to the high cost of medical evacuations and the need to provide an urgent, often lifesaving, service.
That said, policies require you to get pre-approval for your medical evacuation.
If you pay out of pocket for medevac services and request reimbursement, most policies will deny the claim. Therefore, it’s important to notify your insurance company of your condition before traveling and as soon as possible, within 24-48 hours of an incident.
Medical Evacuation and Repatriation are not the same. Medical Evacuation refers to transportation to an adequate medical facility, while Medical Repatriation means transportation to your home country. Many plans include Repatriation under Medical Evacuation coverage, but this benefit is not guaranteed.
How Much Does Medical Evacuation Insurance Cost?
Medical Evacuation is typically a standard benefit on travel insurance, so the amount you pay for it will depend on the price of the policy. Comprehensive travel insurance for an international trip costs around $32 per day.
However, you can get travel insurance with Medical Evacuation for much less if you purchase a medical-only policy. Medical travel insurance plans cost around $5 per day according to our sales data.
Is Medical Evacuation Insurance Worth It?
Yes, Medical Evacuation insurance is one of the most important benefits in a travel insurance policy since medical evacuations tend to be extremely expensive and health insurance rarely covers them outside the U.S.
A medical evacuation due to a serious illness or injury can cost anywhere from $25,000 to over $250,000, especially if you’re traveling abroad or in a remote area. Purchasing a travel insurance policy that includes evacuation coverage is a smart investment, regardless of your destination.
How to Get Medical Evacuation Insurance
You can get Medical Evacuation & Repatriation coverage by purchasing comprehensive travel insurance or medical-only travel insurance , since it’s a standard benefit of most plans. You can locate policies by:
- Using our online quote tool to filter for travel insurance including medical evacuation coverage at varying coverage levels. We recommend comparing quotes from at least 2-3 different travel insurance providers to find the best value for your money.
- Looking at our list of the best medical evacuation insurance plans.
- Contacting our award-winning customer service team for help finding a policy or to get answers to questions like how much coverage to purchase for your upcoming trip. Our team is available at 1-800-240-0369 from 8 AM to 10 PM EST.
FAQs: Medical Evacuation and Repatriation Insurance
You should consider Medical Evacuation coverage if you’re traveling internationally, since U.S. travel insurance generally doesn’t cover medical care abroad. We strongly recommend Medical Evacuation coverage for:
- International trips, especially to countries with limited healthcare infrastructure
- Cruise vacations
- Adventure trips that involve high-risk activities
- Trips to remote or rural areas, where local medical care may not meet your needs
- Senior travelers or those with medical conditions, for whom a quick transfer to advanced care may be critical
Most primary health insurance plans, such as Medicare or employer-sponsored policies, do not provide coverage abroad. However, your primary health insurance may cover emergency medical transportation services within the United States.
Emergency Medical coverage reimburses medical treatment and bills, whereas Medical Evacuation coverage pays for your transportation to a proper healthcare facility for treatment in an emergency
For example, if you are injured while hiking in a remote area, and a local emergency service transports you to a nearby hospital, this would fall under Emergency Medical coverage, You would pay for the bill up front and submit a claim to your provider for reimbursement.
If the hospital you arrive at is not adequately suited to treat your condition, and your provider pays up front to transport you to a new hospital, this would be a Medical Evacuation.
Most credit cards do not provide insurance coverage for medical expenses or evacuations while traveling, which is the biggest drawback of credit card travel insurance. Certain premium travel credit cards like the Chase Sapphire cards do include some medical evacuation coverage, but it’s lower than our recommended limits of $250,000 of medevac coverage. A very small number of cards, like the Amex Platinum and Delta Reserve cards, offer a sufficient limit for Medical Evacuation.
We recommend supplementing your credit card’s insurance with a medical-only travel insurance plan at the least to ensure you are adequately covered.
Air ambulance companies like MedJet Assist and Global Rescue offer annual memberships to cover medical evacuations while you are traveling. Similar to travel insurance, these memberships can arrange and provide reimbursement for emergency medical transportation services both domestically and abroad.
However, unlike travel insurance, these memberships typically don’t include other forms of travel protection, such as reimbursement for medical treatment or trip interruptions. Therefore, we do not recommend these as a substitute or replacement for travel insurance.
No, Medical Evacuation coverage doesn’t include transportation for a traveling companion, though companions may still be allowed to accompany you, depending on the situation.
Whether a companion will be allowed on an air ambulance is under discretion of the aircraft’s medical team, depending on factors like available space in the aircraft, how critical the patient is, and how comfortably an additional person can fly with them (they generally won’t offer a lavatory for a traveling companion).
The price can vary greatly depending on location, distance to the nearest facility with appropriate isolation chambers, and the availability of properly equipped aircrafts and crew. Also, some policies have limitations or exclusions for Ebola.
According to travel insurance provider JetSet Protect, the cost of a medical evacuation from Africa to the U.S. ranges from $125,000 to $300,000. Due to the high costs and remote nature of many trips in Africa, we recommend at least $250,000 of Medical Evacuation to ensure you’re fully covered.
“Nearest adequate medical facility” refers to the closest medical facility that is capable of treating a particular illness or injury in the event of an emergency evacuation. Most travel insurance policies require you to be transported to the nearest adequate facility. If your treating physician and your insurer determine that you need to be sent elsewhere, you will then be transported to a hospital that can accommodate you, or back to your home country.
A travel medical insurance policy that includes “Hospital of Choice” allows you to choose where you will be medically evacuated. While most travel insurance policies only cover evacuation to the nearest adequate medical facility, select policies evacuate you to a hospital of your choice.
Hospital of Choice benefits are also offered with some restrictions by Global Guardian Air Ambulance and Medjet Assist. These are evacuation-only products that offer no other coverage.
Repatriation provides medical transportation to return to your home country. Repatriation can also refer to the return of remains to a traveler’s home country.
Typically, this coverage is included in the Medical Evacuation and Repatriation benefit, which can cover medical transportation to the nearest adequate medical facility or to your home country when medically necessary and pre-approved by your insurance provider.
Yes, you can get Medical Evacuation coverage for a pre-existing condition if you purchase a plan with a pre-existing condition waiver. You need to purchase coverage early, around 14-21 from your initial trip deposit, to qualify for a waiver.
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Last updated: October 12, 2026