Travel Insurance in Brighton, CO

What to know before you choose

There are two parts to think about. Travel medical insurance pays for emergency care while you are away and, often, medical evacuation home, which on its own can cost more than the trip. Trip protection reimburses prepaid, non-refundable costs if you have to cancel or cut a trip short for a covered reason, such as illness. Many policies combine both.

Start with the government's own warning. The U.S. Department of State says Medicare does not cover medical costs outside the United States, and that medical evacuation by air ambulance back to the U.S. can cost from $20,000 to $200,000, depending on where you are and your condition (State Department, Your Health Abroad).

Check what you already have. Medigap Plans C, D, F, G, M and N, and the older E, H, I and J, include foreign travel emergency coverage: they pay 80% of billed charges for certain medically necessary emergency care outside the U.S. after a $250 yearly deductible, for care that begins in the first 60 days of a trip, up to a $50,000 lifetime limit (CMS, Medicare Coverage Outside the United States, April 2026). It does not pay for evacuation or trip costs. Some Medicare Advantage plans include worldwide emergency coverage; the limits vary, so read your Evidence of Coverage.

The Medigap benefit in dollars, as an illustration with assumed bills. Say you have Plan G and a $10,000 emergency hospital bill in Italy in week two of a trip. The plan pays 80% of $10,000 minus the $250 deductible, which is $7,800, and you pay $2,200. Make it a $60,000 bill and the plan pays $47,800, you pay $12,200, and only $2,200 of your lifetime limit is left for every future trip. If that same emergency needs an air ambulance home, Medigap pays nothing toward it, and the State Department range above is the bill. The bill amounts are assumptions to show the arithmetic.

So size travel medical cover to what Medigap leaves: the 20% share, anything after day 60 of a long trip, anything past the lifetime limit, and above all evacuation. A policy with an evacuation limit at the top of the State Department range covers the worst case that the Medigap benefit never touches.

Trip protection is a separate sum. Say you prepay $6,000 for a cruise and $4,500 of it becomes non-refundable 60 days before sailing; both figures are assumptions to show the arithmetic. A trip cancellation limit of at least $4,500 protects what you would actually lose, and only for the covered reasons the policy lists, such as your own illness or a family member's. A limit of $2,000 would leave $2,500 at risk. Raise the limit as more of the trip becomes non-refundable, and read whether a pre-existing condition waiver applies to cancellation as well as to medical care.

Within the United States, Original Medicare works with any provider that accepts Medicare in any state. Medicare Advantage networks are local, so if you spend months in another state, check how your plan handles care away from home before you go.

Pre-existing conditions are the part to read carefully. Many trip and medical policies exclude conditions that were not stable for a period before you bought the policy, and some waive that exclusion if you buy soon after your first trip payment. Buy early.

Your needs and situation are unique, and I am committed to spending the time to get to know you so you get coverage and support that fits your lifestyle.

Colorado rules to know

Many Coloradans on Medicare Advantage plans spend part of the winter out of state. Before you leave Brighton for a few months, ask me whether your 2027 plan covers routine care where you are going, not only emergencies.

Colorado adopted the Travel Insurance Model Act in 2024 (HB24-1060, C.R.S. 10-4-1901 to 10-4-1909). Among other protections, you can cancel a travel protection plan for a full refund within 15 days of receiving it by mail, or 10 days if it was delivered another way, as long as the trip has not started and you have not filed a claim.

Travel insurance sold to Colorado residents is regulated by the Colorado Division of Insurance; you can check a company's licence there.

How and when to enroll

1. Buy soon after you make your first trip payment, especially if you have a health condition.
2. Cover the full prepaid, non-refundable cost of the trip for cancellation, and choose a medical limit that includes evacuation.
3. Carry your policy number and the insurer's 24 hour assistance phone number with your passport.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan covers you overseas the way it does at home.
• Relying on the Medigap foreign travel benefit for an evacuation.
• Buying the policy at the last minute and losing the pre-existing condition waiver.
• Forgetting that the Medigap travel benefit is a lifetime limit, not a yearly one.

What Lisa checks for you

1. Your Medicare route first: whether your Medigap letter includes the foreign travel benefit, or what your Medicare Advantage plan covers abroad.
2. How much of the $50,000 Medigap lifetime limit you have already used, if you have claimed on it before.
3. The length of your trip against the 60 day limit on the Medigap benefit.
4. Evacuation limits on any travel medical policy, against the State Department range.
5. Pre-existing condition rules and the date you made your first trip payment, so a waiver is not lost.

Questions to ask Lisa

• Does my Medigap plan or Medicare Advantage plan cover emergencies on this trip?
• What would I pay myself for a $10,000 hospital bill abroad?
• Does this policy cover medical evacuation, and up to how much?
• Is my heart or diabetes condition covered, or do I need a waiver?
• What if I spend three months somewhere warm in another state?

How Lisa helps

• What your Medicare, Medigap or Advantage plan covers abroad, checked first
• Travel medical, evacuation and trip protection explained in plain English
• Pre-existing condition rules and waivers read before you buy
• Limits sized to your destination and the cost of your trip
• Out-of-state care for snowbirds on Medicare Advantage reviewed
• Help understanding a claim when you are home

Who it fits

You are on Medicare and travelling abroad, taking a cruise, spending part of the year out of state, or prepaying for a trip you cannot afford to lose.