Travel Insurance

The number of providers willing to insure travel from the UK to the US for medical purposes is surprisingly low. The insurance for it is specialised, and general providers and comparison sites will have you check a box stating that you’re not travelling for medical purposes.

Note: when googling, be sure to check whether the provider is offering insurance for medical travel, that is you are getting treatment abroad, or just travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions. The latter can turn up in the results for related search terms, but is not what you are looking for.

Provider: Global Protective Solutions

Global Protective Solutions are the only provider I found.

So far, I have used them twice:

  • MIND surgery and MARPE installation, September 2023. Cost: £613.

  • First follow-up (arms removed from MARPE, Invisalign fitted, CBCT scan, general check-up), January 2024. Cost: £279.

The cover in both cases included:

  • $25,000 total for complications, further broken down into several subcategories including a maximum of $7,500 for “Additional Medical or Surgical Treatment as a Result of Covered Complications”.

  • $50,000 for emergency medical transportation.

  • General travel cover for events not related to the procedure, including $1M emergency medical coverage.

$25,000 was the minimum of four different coverage options offered to me. Higher levels of $50,000, $75,000, and $100,000 for the complications component were offered, for roughly proportional prices.

My searches turned up two other providers, but as of 4th February 2024 neither of them offered insurance for UK residents travelling to the US:

  • Medical Travel Shield cover UK residents but do not cover trips to the US.

  • ClinicHunter cover trips to the US but the UK residency option is greyed out with a “Coming soon” label next to it.

Is insurance required to get through the US border?

No (see Getting Through the Border) but since it’s such a small cost compared to the overall cost of treatment, it’s likely worth having if only for peace of mind.