Travel Insurance Blog
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
- 26
May
2010 -
Sam’s Insurance Escapades-II: Missionary Insurance and Emotional Trauma
Filed Under: Blogging
Sam Traveler counts among his friends a great many travelers who do so for humanitarian purposes. Most of them, he finds, are covered by missionary travel insurance. He recounts the tale of a co-passenger on a flight who told him about why it is important to look for some kinds of coverage in travel insurance for missionaries in particular.
His friend, Sam says, first started as a career missionary with a stint in the forests of Namibia. He had gone as part of his church group. Not only did his group face extreme pressure and resistance, the conditions there were simply abysmal.
He witnessed atrocities that he had never even imagined possible, and being just 21 years old and fresh out of college, he bent toward the bottle. Soon, he was drinking like a fish, and obviously needed professional help. The silver lining was that his insurance plan was a solid one—HTH Worldwide’s Global Navigator health insurance plan.
Many missionary insurance plans include coverage for mental, emotional and nervous disorders; alcoholism, and drug abuse as well. Sam’s friend was covered at 100% for alcoholism and drug abuse when in Namibia, and at 80% or 60% up to the coinsurance maximum upon return to the U.S., depending on whether the caregiver was part of the network or not.
Travel tip: While religion is a great salve for emotional needs, do not underestimate the conditions under which you will be working, especially in under-developed areas of the world.