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Before a trip overseas, do not assume your health, auto and home insurance travel with you. Medical care abroad, a trip cancellation or lost luggage may not be covered at all. Travel insurance fills those gaps for the length of your trip, and Viola helps you buy only what you need.
Life, long-term care, annuity and supplemental products are subject to underwriting and carrier approval. Guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuing company. Nothing on this site is tax, legal or investment advice.
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I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with this individual and not only is she extremely knowledgeable about her field, but her passion and kind heart truly serves this community profoundly . If you have a child aging out at 26, if you have a parent who is starting 65, if you’re 1099 contract worker , if you need group benefits, or if you want to protect your family in case of a cancer Scare etc ., she’s the one you can TRUST. Thank you for all that you do Viola Lucero.
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Start with what you already have. Original Medicare generally does not cover care outside the United States. Some Medicare Supplement plans, including C, D, F, G, M and N, include a limited foreign travel emergency benefit: generally 80% of qualifying emergency costs after a $250 yearly deductible, for emergencies in the first 60 days of a trip, up to a $50,000 lifetime limit. Medicare Advantage plans and individual health plans vary widely, and many cover little or nothing abroad.
Travel insurance usually comes in two parts. Travel medical coverage pays for emergency care and often emergency medical evacuation, which can be very expensive from a remote place or a cruise ship. Trip protection covers things like cancellation or interruption for covered reasons, delays, and lost or delayed baggage.
The details matter. Pre-existing condition rules differ between plans and can depend on when you buy relative to your first trip payment. Adventure activities may be excluded. Some policies pay the hospital directly; others reimburse you after you pay. Viola reads those terms with you before you go.
Her review is quick and practical: where you are going, for how long, your age and health, what you have paid for the trip, and what your current coverage does abroad. Then she shows you options that close the real gaps, so you are not paying for protection you already have, or missing the one benefit that would matter.
She also gives you a short checklist for the trip itself: which card to carry, the claims phone number, and what receipts to keep. Coverage is subject to carrier approval and the terms of each policy.
You are planning an international trip or cruise, especially on Medicare or a plan with little coverage abroad, or you have paid significant non-refundable trip costs you want to protect.
Original Medicare generally does not. Some Medigap plans include a limited foreign travel emergency benefit (80% after a $250 deductible, first 60 days of a trip, $50,000 lifetime limit). Medicare Advantage coverage abroad varies by plan. Travel medical insurance can fill the gap.
Medigap plans are standardized by letter, so Plan G from one company covers the same as Plan G from another. Here is what each letter covers, how Plan G and Plan N differ, and the Arizona rules on when you can buy.
Two different ways to fill the gaps in Original Medicare. One trades a lower monthly cost for a network and copays; the other trades a higher premium for predictability and freedom. Here is how to decide in Arizona, where switching back later can be hard.
If you are under 65 and do not have coverage through work, you have more choices than most people realize. Here is a plain English map of each one for Chandler and East Valley families, what it costs you, and what it leaves out.
Original Medicare generally does not. Some Medigap plans include a limited foreign travel emergency benefit (80% after a $250 deductible, first 60 days of a trip, $50,000 lifetime limit). Medicare Advantage coverage abroad varies by plan. Travel medical insurance can fill the gap.
Plans C, D, F, G, M and N include a foreign travel emergency benefit: generally 80% of qualifying emergency costs after a $250 yearly deductible, for emergencies in the first 60 days of a trip, up to a $50,000 lifetime limit.
It pays to transport you to an appropriate hospital, or home, when local care is not adequate. Evacuations from remote areas or cruise ships can be very expensive, which is why many travelers want this coverage.
Soon after your first trip payment. Some benefits, such as coverage for pre-existing conditions, depend on buying within a short time of that payment.
Travel medical insurance pays for doctor visits, hospital care and often evacuation when you get sick or hurt away from home. Trip insurance, often called trip protection, repays prepaid, nonrefundable costs if you cancel or cut a trip short for a covered reason.
Many policies combine both. Viola helps you decide which parts you need based on where you are going and how much you have prepaid.
Some policies do, through a pre-existing condition waiver. To qualify, you usually need to buy the policy within a short window after your first trip payment, insure the full trip cost, and be medically able to travel when you buy.
Without the waiver, a claim related to an existing condition can be denied, so tell Viola about any ongoing health issues when you compare plans.
Only in limited cases. Original Medicare may cover care on a ship when it is in United States waters or within six hours of a US port, under certain conditions. Once the ship is farther out or in a foreign port, Medicare generally does not pay.
Care in a ship's medical center and evacuation to shore can be costly, which is why many cruisers buy travel medical coverage.
It repays prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs when you cancel for a reason the policy lists, such as illness or injury to you or a family member, a death in the family, or certain weather events.
Changing your mind is not a covered reason on a standard policy. Some insurance companies offer an optional cancel for any reason upgrade that repays part of your costs, at a higher price.
Usually not for medical care, since your health insurance or Medicare normally works across the country, though a Medicare Advantage HMO may only cover emergencies away from home. Trip protection can still make sense for expensive prepaid trips.
Before a long trip, Viola checks how your current plan handles care outside Arizona, so you know what you are covered for.
Travel Insurance in Chandler and across Arizona: no pressure, plain answers, and a review every year.
2160 North Alma School Road, Suite 102, Chandler, AZ 85224 (480) 300-5776
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