When I was helping my husband prepare for his trip to Bosnia, I read all of the travel information he received. After reading the travel advice, I realized that there were several travel precautions that I had never considered. Of course, he needed immunizations, but I knew about that, or so I thought.

I did not know that he also had to have a series of treatments to prevent Hepatitis A and B. There was also a strong advisory about avian flu and trichinosis which meant that he could not eat any poultry or pork. Travelers were warned to drink only bottled water. Travelers were also advised to bring antibiotics with them in case they suffered "traveler's diarrhea."

Insurance coverage was the thing that I was least prepared to handle. First, I learned that it is not likely that your health insurance will provide coverage if you are outside the United States. Your dental insurance, will not cover you either. As I began to search for health insurance, I found traveler's insurance which included much more than health insurance.

I learned that if my husband was injured or became ill, it could be prohibitively expensive to transport him to a place where he could receive good medical treatment. Fortunately, there is emergency medical evacuation insurance to cover that cost. There is also emergency reunion coverage that will pay for me to go to where my husband is, in case of a medical emergency that requires my presence. Finally, and this is really final, there is insurance to cover the cost of bringing the body or ashes home if his injuries or illness result in death.

Emergency travel insurance is something we may not consider before we travel abroad. Now that I know it exists, I am gratefully buying the insurance. It is very inexpensive and provides high coverage amounts for the emergency travel. It also provides dental insurance, ambulance, outpatient, hospital, and doctor. There is even a death benefit included.

Many people take vacations to places all over the world. Other travelers may already know about emergency insurance coverage for travelers, but I did not and I am glad that I did my research. I believe this is just as important as the immunizations, and I wanted to bring this information to my readers' attention.

Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO

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