Gone are the days when people would consider medical flight evacuation just an option when travelling overseas. Today, it is considerate a necessity, especially when travelling to economically underdeveloped countries. The question that arises is, “Why?” For one, it is widely known today that the cost of medical flight evacuation can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. We have seen in recent times that people have been stuck in foreign countries without the proper means for treatment and eventually, without money, having to resort to crowd funding. While it has been seen that money is often raised, it takes quite a lot of time and one has to go through the anxiety that the situation brings along with it.
Investment in Travel Protection and Medical Flight Evacuation has Gone Up
A report in this regard reveals that people in the United States of America spent about $2.8 billion for travel protection in the year 2016. This is a whopping increase of 19.1 percent when compared to just two years prior in 2016. The reason behind this, it is believed, is the increased awareness pertaining to the things that can go wrong during overseas travel. These could include political uncertainty, natural disasters, unavailability of appropriate medical care, sudden extreme weather changes and so on.
The Number of People Covered too Has Increased
Just because there is an increase in the amount being invested in travel protection and medical flight evacuation, it does not mean that the number of people covered too has increased. This is because of reasons such as increase in the cost of protection itself. However, it is heartening to know that this is not the case. The number of people covered too has gone up by 23.7 percent. It is reassuring to know that Americans today value the financial protection that such insurances offer.