Home > The Difference Between Long-Stay Travel Insurance & Health Insurance

The Difference Between Long-Stay Travel Insurance & Health Insurance

When you're traveling abroad for a longer period of time, it's absolutely essential to make sure that you have the coverage you need when you need it... but that brings about an entirely new set of questions. What coverage do you need: travel or health? And what's the difference between the two?

This question comes up for all travelers of all shapes and sizes. Within out 14+ years of experience in the travel space, we've seen it come up time and time again which led us to writing this helpful guide.

In this article, you will learn about travel insurance vs health insurance, including what the similarities are, what differences need to be noted, and which one is the right choice for you.

Let's go!

Long stay travel insurance vs health insurance

While it may sound like they cover the same events, travel insurance and health insurance are actually two entirely different things.

It's actually not a simple topic to discuss because there isn't a global legal definition of the two. Every insurance provider can have their own definition, and that can be tricky.

All that said, one is for emergency medical costs (typically while abroad), and the other is for health coverage (routine, emergency, etc.). Let's look at the two below.

Long stay travel insurance

Long stay travel insurance is often used for longer trips overseas, away from your country of residence. However, there are some policies that can cover you domestically.

When it comes to your health, travel insurance is strictly for emergency medical costs during your trip. It's meant to be a temporary (yet powerful) solution to ensure you're covered for emergencies that occur while you're traveling.

Travel insurance can also cover you for travel-related risks, like lost or stolen passports, for example. It can also cover you for things like search and rescue costs, if you're going on a ski trip or plan to hike.

Health insurance

Health insurance, on the other hand, is designed for overall health. Depending on the policy, you could be covered domestically, internationally, or maybe even both.

Unlike long-stay travel insurance, health insurance offers coverage for routine care and treatments, such as physicals and preventative measures (depending on the terms and conditions of your specific policy). It also can cover you for more longterm conditions, such as cancer or pregnancy, whereas travel insurance won't.

Alongside routine care, health insurance also offers emergency medical coverage to some extent, but what this coverage is, when it kicks in, and what the maximums are varies greatly from policy to policy.

It also varies in terms of routine care. For example, some provide coverage for vision and/or dental, while others may not. The same is true with related care such as mental health or chiropractic. Coverage for these services isn't necessarily included.

One important thing to know about heath insurance is that even if you're traveling abroad, you may not have coverage for travel-related incidents, like the lost passport scenario mentioned above. With that being said, some health insurance does offer coverage for certain events outside of the medical bubble.

Always check the terms and conditions to see what you're covered for and what you aren't.

Do you need both?

In some situations, you may want (or even need) both. What it really comes down to is how much coverage you want and if there are any specific requirements you need to meet (like if you're applying for a visa, for example).

When applying for a visa, in most cases, you may be required to take out a travel insurance policy; in other cases, this could be health insurance.

If you want long-term health coverage (for routine care, for example) and travel risk coverage (like lost passports), you might consider taking out both a travel insurance policy and a health insurance plan.

If you're an expatriate, a health insurance policy is usually more suitable for you, as you will be living overseas long-term and may not have access to the local social services. However, keep in mind you still might need travel insurance (even if for a limited time) to apply for your visa.

Ultimately, it all depends on what you want or need.

What's better: long-stay travel insurance or health insurance?

It isn't a matter of what is better, it's a matter of what you need and the purpose of your trip!

The best option for you depends on:

Visa requirements. Are you applying for a visa? You will need to take out a policy (be it travel insurance or health insurance) that fulfills the requirements of your visa application.
The purpose of your trip. Are you going abroad for a few months, then coming home? A long stay travel insurance might be the better option for you. Are you hoping to get routine care while you're abroad? A health insurance might be your best bet.

Insurance, be it travel or health, isn't a one-size-fits-all. We know this at Insurte.

Key takeaways

Travel insurance and health insurance are two entirely different things.
There isn't a global legal definition of the two. Each insurance provider can have their own definition.
Travel insurance can be used abroad or domestically depending on the policy, and is designed for emergency medical coverage/travel-related risks.
Health insurance plans can be used domestically and/or internationally (depending on the policy) and typically cover routine and emergency care (again, depending on the policy).
Your visa application may have requirements regarding travel insurance, health insurance, or both.