If you purchase a travel medical plan nowadays, one thing you should certainly consider is whether or not the policy covers COVID-19. The new release of the Atlas Travel medical plans now includes coverage for COVID-19, in addition to new accidents and new illnesses. A much needed additional security beyond the wearing of a mask. Don’t leave your home country without COVID-19 protection.
Read More »What is Cancel For Any Reason (including COVID-19)
The only way one could call off a trip if you change your mind would be if you purchased Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) coverage. There is a window of time where you have to purchase the CFAR coverage, otherwise it is no longer an option.
What is Emergency Medical Evacuation and Repatriation? There are few people who know the true meaning of evacuation and repatriation.
If you are injured or hospitalized while you are on a trip overseas, it is possible that location does not have the appropriate facilities to treat you.
What the heck is a pre-existing condition?
One of the most important things to understand when considering a travel medical plan, is whether or not it covers a pre-existing condition(s). A pre-existing condition is anything you have or take medication for, saw the doctor for, have symptoms of, prior to the day that you start your travel medical insurance policy. Just because you haven’ t gone to the doctor yet, if you felt poorly with stomach pain for the last couple days, you couldn’t buy a travel medical policy and go to the doctor for your stomach issues. All travel insurance plans will cover new things that happen after your coverage starts. If you need to see a doctor for a pre-existing condition while on your trip, there are fewer plans available that will cover those issues.
Most travel medical plans use a “one size fits all” approach but why pay for benefits you don’t want? Our “International Freedom” group travel plan allows the customer to include only the benefits and features that are most important to them at the lowest possible price. Read More »
Medical Evacuation from Haiti
Most of us are aware of the devastating Haiti earthquake of January 2010. Now, six years and several deadly storms later—including the most recent Hurricane Matthew—the country is still in desperate need of humanitarian, financial and rebuilding aid. But even prior to the earthquake, this impoverished island nation was a popular destination for the humanitarian and church organizations we at Insurance Services of America regularly insure.
One such organization, Bettendorf Christian Church in Iowa, sent a small group of women to Haiti on a mission trip. Not long after their arrival, the earthquake rocked the country and badly injured one of the church’s volunteers. Peggy Wilson suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs when an 8-foot wall fell on her.
Dr. Dilip Joseph, a client of Insurance Services of America, realized his life’s dream to provide overseas humanitarian aid when he became the Medical Director at Morning Star Development. In 2012, the Colorado-based organization sent Dr. Joseph to remote, war-torn villages in Afghanistan on a humanitarian mission. The rewarding work was not, however, without its dangers…to say the least.
On a cold December morning in 2012, while traveling to Kabul, armed Taliban soldiers intercepted and kidnapped the doctor and two native colleagues. In his riveting account, Dr. Joseph shares the horror and ultimate triumph of his ordeal in his book Kidnapped By the Taliban: A Story of Terror, Hope, and Rescue by SEAL Team Six (available at Amazon.com).
The kidnapping and resulting hostage situation necessitated the deployment of special Navy SEAL Team Six, which only months before had successfully pulled off one of the most famous operations in US combat history: the capture and execution of Osama Bin Laden. The mission was dangerous, true, but Ed Byers, Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL/FMF/SW), was prepared to fulfill his duty to rescue Dr. Joseph.
Insurance Services of America Receives 2016 Best of Gilbert Award
GILBERT June 9, 2016 — Insurance Services of America has been selected for the 2016 Best of Gilbert Award in the Business Services category by the Gilbert Award Program.
Each year, the Gilbert Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Gilbert area a great place to live, work and play.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2016 Gilbert Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Gilbert Award Program and data provided by third parties.
The Gilbert Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Gilbert area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
The Gilbert Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.
It’s safe to say that what happens in 2014 is incredibly unpredictable. The back end of the healthcare.gov site has insurers not getting good information. We are beginning to see a train wreck of administrative and service issues for people signing up through the public exchange because the data is incomplete or just plain wrong. Eligibility verification will fail. Claims will be denied. Networks on exchange plans are shrinking rapidly so access is flawed….. then on top of this there are security issues.
ObamaCare (ACA) needs 7M enrollees to make this thing work. 2.8M (40%) need to be young people. In January of 2014, only 24% that are signing up are young people. Part of the low turn out is because under this same law young people are allowed to stay in their parents plan to age 26 – so why sign up and pay a lot more premium? Also this younger segment is seeing the largest rate increases because of the laws ridiculous three tier age band structure. Young “invincibles” weren’t buying coverage before, why will they do it now at such a large expenditure? The exchanges are going to be in major trouble. If they don’t get the right blend of ages and risk, the high premiums will move much higher. What a mess. Read More »
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