Evacuation Insurance

[allen8106]

We are lower 48 U.S. residents looking to travel by RV to Alaska starting May 2022. This is planned to be a slow pleasure trip including driving to the artic ocean. I’m interested if folks have secured evacuation insurance to offset evacuation costs in the event of an accident that would require an evacuation. Have you purchased evacuation insurance and from what company? Have you ever had to use evacuation insurance and what was your experience?

[Crowe]

Thanks, Tvov. I'm a lifer and just never have investigated their insurance.

[Tvov]

Crowe wrote:

Tvov wrote:
If you are a member of the NRA, they have travel insurance which includes evacuation coverage.

Free or does it cost?

It is extra cost. I don't know much about it, just what I've seen in mailings.

[PA12DRVR]

Not to beat this dying horse, but would reiterate that any purchased "evacuation" or "travel" insurance should be carefully reviewed and compared to the details of the intended travel and the locations of any potential evacuation need.

If the medical evacuation coverage is to transport one from the village clinic off the Parks Highway at Lower Podunk, Alaska to either Los Anchorage or Squarebanks, almost any "evacuation" coverage will provide that since it's on the road system (or at worst, between two identified airports, say BGQ and MRI).

If the desired evacuation is from the Jake's Bar landing spot up the Nizina River, a long 60 minute flight in the 'ol PA-12 from the nearest identified road, that particular evacuation won't be covered by all plans.

[Crowe]

Tvov wrote:
If you are a member of the NRA, they have travel insurance which includes evacuation coverage.

Free or does it cost?

[Tvov]

If you are a member of the NRA, they have travel insurance which includes evacuation coverage.

[EYEMLOST]

Subscribed for future reference.

[fullmoonoversal]

allen8106 wrote:
We are lower 48 U.S. residents looking to travel by RV to Alaska starting May 2022. This is planned to be a slow pleasure trip including driving to the artic ocean. I’m interested if folks have secured evacuation insurance to offset evacuation costs in the event of an accident that would require an evacuation. Have you purchased evacuation insurance and from what company? Have you ever had to use evacuation insurance and what was your experience?

For medical evacuation insurance we purchase insurance from LifeMed. If I remember correctly it costs $49. There is another group from whom you can purchase also but I don't remember the name or the cost. I believe it costs about $200. There are places here in AK where it would take an ambulance more than an hour to get to you (I worked EMS here for a while). It would be one of these groups coming to take care of you.

You might want to consider renting/purchasing a Sat phone too.

[cross21114]

When we went in 2019, I wanted a way to communicate with family and in case of emergency. I ended up buying a SPOT communicator. One of the options was a rescue feature at the press of a button that would attivate what ever type of rescue was needed.

Check this out. I used it to send a All Safe text message with our location every night.

In hindsight, i should have gone with the Garmin Inreach unit as it is easier to operate.

[canadafan]

If you are worried about coverage in Canada you could take a look here : www.visitorsinsurance.ca

Trevor

[PA12DRVR]

I'd second what Crowe mentioned...PITA, but probably can get a good start with a web search.

Only further suggestion that I'd offer is to call up whichever entity looks suitable and talk through the details of your travel, including access (or lack thereof) to your locations along the way. Obviously, the primary road system in the U.S. and Canada is not a problem. The secondary road systems in U.S./Alaska and Canada are likely not a problem either... but if your travel involves going to locations where you are limited to either bush plane or helicopter access, I'd ask the insurer to identify the specific part of the policy that covers that...and I'd also ask them to walk through all of the exclusions to make sure "remote" is not excluded. One of my clients had a situation where "travel to the nearest airport within 50 miles" and "evacuation from the airport to a suitable facility" were both allegedly covered, but when travel to the "nearest" airport meant either a helicopter flight or a 25-mile riverboat ride (i.e. no roads, etc), the insurer balked.

[Crowe]

allen8106 wrote:

PA12DRVR wrote:
"had a colleague experience severe illness in the back of beyond a month or so ago and was told that his evacuation flight, had it not been part of his LifeMed membership, would have cost circa $40,000."

this is what I'm trying to avoid.

I just did an online search under "evacuation insurance" and multiple companies came up. I'd do that and read what they offer. Might be a bit cumbersome but you'll get the answers you need. Allianz does offer evacuation coverage.

[allen8106]

PA12DRVR wrote:
"had a colleague experience severe illness in the back of beyond a month or so ago and was told that his evacuation flight, had it not been part of his LifeMed membership, would have cost circa $40,000."

this is what I'm trying to avoid.

[allen8106]

SideHillSoup wrote:
As the crow flies and “assuming” you cross into Canada at Sweet Grass MT ( Coutts Alberta) it’s 1500 miles, (x2 if you don’t use the Alaska ferry service, and we all know crows don’t fly in a straight line) to Beaver Creek Yukon where you enter into Alaska or Chicken Alaska. I quick google map search gives about a 1900 mile one way trip through Canada
You should be inquiring about your insurance coverage for the Canadian leg of your trip.

Soup.

I'm inquiring about the entire trip, Alaska included. Last thing I need is to get in a major accident that requires extensive hospitalization 1900 miles from home. I'm looking for insurance for the entire trip that will pay to have me or my spouse transported back to our home town.

[PA12DRVR]

LifeMed Alaska offers a membership service to cover remote medical flights and the like. I don't know the membership restrictions precisely enough to know if its suitable for the OP's plan, but many remote lodges either provide or recommend that their summer help gets a membership.

The one time I was flying and stopped flying before I wanted to...and at a location I didn't want to stop at..I was picked up by the Air Guard and didn't have to pay a dime. Nearly 30 years ago, though. Conversely, had a colleague experience severe illness in the back of beyond a month or so ago and was told that his evacuation flight, had it not been part of his LifeMed membership, would have cost circa $40,000.

All that being said, I'm not sure how an "emergency evacuation" would play out on the road system.....not that it couldn't happen, just not quite the same as being off the road system.