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Emergency SOS type insurance. Life flight, search and rescue type

wibornz

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So we are about 6 weeks out from leaving on an 11+ month Jeep camping, wheeling and hiking adventure. With most of it out in remote areas. Will have a Garmin In reach mini with us. I have been researching this type of insurance and wondering if any of you have bought this type of insurance in the past or used this type of insurance. We will be spending a lot of time hiking in the mountains and Desert. The insurance I have found so far is $39 a month for a family plan. or $29 for and individual. I am sure that the cost of one air ambulance ride would justify the cost. With a snake bite, scorpion bite, or a bad fall, bear attack, or any other thing that could happen in a remote area makes the cost seem small.

What do you think?
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Roky

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So we are about 6 weeks out from leaving on an 11+ month Jeep camping, wheeling and hiking adventure. With most of it out in remote areas. Will have a Garmin In reach mini with us. I have been researching this type of insurance and wondering if any of you have bought this type of insurance in the past or used this type of insurance. We will be spending a lot of time hiking in the mountains and Desert. The insurance I have found so far is $39 a month for a family plan. or $29 for and individual. I am sure that the cost of one air ambulance ride would justify the cost. With a snake bite, scorpion bite, or a bad fall, bear attack, or any other thing that could happen in a remote area makes the cost seem small.

What do you think?
I think it’s a great idea !
 

Dkretden

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I am personally of the mind that tailored insurance is generally a good idea. Things like you are doing or, say, an extended foreign travel itinerary (many folks don’t even consider if their health insurance covers them outside of the US and that includes both private insurance and Medicare).

That said, the EXTREMELY little amount of research I have done for “wilderness insurance” (I.e. evac, etc) did not give me a warm and fuzzy. The small print seemed to exclude/not cover a lot of things and the total amount of the coverage Wasn’t that great. There were also a few plans that seemed to require usage of specific evac companies, etc. or only covered certain “zones” or “states”.

all that said, you have probably done much more research than I did and, if you have found a plan that you think is worth it and will actually pay if you DO have an issue regardless of where in the country you are, then I would agree that you should sign-up.
 
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viper88

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11 months is a LONG time in the outdoors in possible remote areas. I would pack a pretty extensive First Aid Kit considering your circumstances. It's cheap insurance for what your doing.

An Garmin In Reach type device is definitely a great idea for remote areas. So is additional insurance for a air ambulance. I would double check the insurance underwriter. Make sure it is a decent company.

I would also check what your own health insurance covers.

A friend had a very bad mountain bike accident a few years ago. Went off the side of a mountain. He was in a pretty remote area and the nearest level 2 Trauma center was over 100 miles away. They had to transport via air ambulance. I think he said the cost for the air ambulance was $35K or something back then. That was nothing compared to his other medical bills. His medical and rehabilitation bills exceeded $1.5M.

Here is some basic info.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-personal-locator-beacon

https://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/news/20190702/emergency-air-lift-to-hospital-could-cost-40000

https://medjetassist.com/resources/medical-evacuation-insurance

https://covertrip.com/guide/medical-evacuation-insurance/
 
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MtCamper

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Part of the wilderness experience is self reliance. In the parts of the US I explore a life flight to a trauma canter just ani't gonna happen unless you own the helicopter and even then it may need to stop to refuel. I'd suggest using your Garmin to contact the local 911. You'll be at their mercy as to what type of a response they can mount. On the plus side, they probably have the ability to get you out, even if it takes two trips. (sorry, old packer joke) Check with your medical insurance and see what they cover as far as air and ground ambulance services. The one and hopefully only helicopter trip I've had was completely covered by Tricare. Basically if you fall and break your leg or the ax slips and you cut yourself, be ready and able to render your own first aid. Local search and rescue will get you out eventually. Care is an urgency not an emergency. If you have a massive heart attack or cerebral aneurysm burst out in the way back, be sure your will is updated because you're not going to make it back alive. All the insurance in the world won't help a bit.

I'd get as prepared as possible and enjoy the trip. I'm not sure a $39/mo plan is really going to get too far past the fine print. Be aware you're getting this advise from a guy without an extended warranty.

PS. Hope you will post trip updates as you go so we can live vicariously through your journey.
 

Stormin’ Moorman

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I have a Garmin Mini Inreach. It is a GPS that allows you to text and send your location and shit to people. Also has an SOS button. It has optional plans that give you the option of insurance. That may be a good fit for you. My mother-in-law had a life flight earlier this year that cost $70K, so definitely something to think about.

https://www.thegpsstore.com/Brands/Garmin-GPS-Marine-Electronics/Garmin-Handheld-GPS/Garmin-inReach-Mini-Orange?msclkid=858d6d64fa8c16fc3a2f0ce9e3d402b3&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping PLA&utm_term=4581596245742424&utm_content=Merchant Center
 

Kajmcbride

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Having communications is a great thing in the event of an emergency. Sattilite devices will allow you to give your location and condition of the ill or injuried person. That information will be invalueable to SAR to plan the mission to access, treat, and transport the person in the safest and most apporiate way. Depending on the condition of the person and location it will determine if the person is going to trauma or specility center or to the nearest hospital. In California the evacuation mission is usualy under the County Sheriffs department and most of the time there is no charge to the ill or injuried person.

Rural hospitals may have limited resoruces and may have to transport persons to larger urban hospitals for speciality care. On occasion these transports are done by aircraft for many reasons. In addition, you may want look to have the person transported back to thier home area for recuperation or additional care. Insurance is a great thing, above are some of the things you want to consider when you purchase insurance.

Good luck and safe travels.
 

zouch

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just be aware that nothing works all the time.

while my Garmin InReach Mini works most of the time, there have been occasions when i was in open desert with a clear view of the horizon in all directions and still not had a signal lock from the satellites. no idea why.
it might make sense for some people to have more than one form of communication if they're counting on help from the outside.


I have a Garmin Mini Inreach. It is a GPS that allows you to text and send your location and shit to people. Also has an SOS button. It has optional plans that give you the option of insurance. That may be a good fit for you. My mother-in-law had a life flight earlier this year that cost $70K, so definitely something to think about.

https://www.thegpsstore.com/Brands/Garmin-GPS-Marine-Electronics/Garmin-Handheld-GPS/Garmin-inReach-Mini-Orange?msclkid=858d6d64fa8c16fc3a2f0ce9e3d402b3&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping PLA&utm_term=4581596245742424&utm_content=Merchant Center
 

Frostbyte

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I work for one of the evil Oil Field Support companies in Alaska. I stress to all of our new-hires to look into Life Flight. If our guys or gals get hurt on the job we fly them off at our expense. But, if they have to be medivac'd off due to personal health issues, it's on their dime. If their insurance doesn't cover it, they're looking at $50k+

Needless to say, $69 annually for the whole family is one hell of an investment (and money well spent) if you ever have to use 'em.

https://www.lifeflight.org
 

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Friends of ours had a great experience with Global Rescue. They had an accident while traveling abroad and landed in the hospital. They did not require an evacuation rescue, but Global Rescue handled all the logistics and paperwork to get them home including communication with doctors and hospitals in a foreign language. They said it was worth every penny, not having to deal with logistic details while under stress and pain.
https://www.globalrescue.com/personal/travelservices.html

Good luck on your trip!
 
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wibornz

wibornz

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I ended up buying Medical Transport Solutions. It was $464 for the year. They have a less than %1 claim denial. It covers my family anywhere in the world. It is a real simple process. If you have a problem, call 911 or hit the sos button on your device. When you get the bill send it to them to pay.

I bought the Garmin InReach Mini as my emergency communications device. Nice thing is it also comes with access to Garmin mapping software.
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