Medical Insurance: Sky Med vs Good Sam

[lwp99]

My wife and I will be traveling for ~3 months this summer through northern US and Canada. I'd appreciate any information folks have with Sky Med and Good Sam; including any comparisons or experiences you may have had with these two firms; or if there are others that should be considered.

Thanks.

[gaylejoe]

Good question. I would be interested in the same information. We also go out each summer for 3 months and have used the Good Sam insurance each year. I know the SkyMed is very expensive.

[gaylejoe]

From what I have found out is: Sky-Med will fly you back to your home for medical treatment and that Good Sam will fly you to the nearest facility. Good Sam is $100 per year and Sky-Med is $39 per month.

I am suprised that no one has chimmed in on this because a lot of people have Sky-Med.

[lwp99]

Thanks for your response! I'd forgotten I'd asked the question. Sky-med is high!

[mcgraw1011]

That is really a good question. I am also interested in the same information. My family go out each summer for 3 months and have used the Good Sam insurance each year. We know that the SkyMed is really very expensive.

[Aviator]

From the lack of responses, I guess Airstreamers must have stronger constitutions, and don't fall ill when out in their 'stream.

[Ed Brownfield]

We are going on an Airstream Caravan this summer where we will spend at least two weeks in Canada. My wife and I are both on Medicare and have Anthem as a supplement to Medicare. We want to make sure that we have good medical insurance coverage while we are out of the United States. We are considering AAA and Travelers but we are open to other people's suggestions.

My understanding of Sky Med and Good Sam's is that they help transport you and or the RV but they do not from what we understand provide medical coverage if you are hospitalized. Is that correct? We are interested in medical coverage. A person we know was hospitalized in Turkey underwent an operation and needed to spend thirty days in Turkey after being operated on to recuperate. Luckily he had trip medical insurance but I'm not sure from what company.

Cost is important but reliability is the most important issue; we want a good insurance company. Any help that other forum members can give us will be greatly appreciated.

[MissingLink5]

Two days ago I signed up for VFW Emergency Assistance (sickness or accident) Plus, something new that I had not seen before. Cost was $129/year covering my wife and I, and if you are a VFW member, you get:
1. Medical Evacuation & transportation back to your home, if needed, after Dr says OK.
2. Medical Assistance finding doctor or hospital but your insurance policy provides
the coverage.
3. Travel Assistance-they drive your auto and RV home if you or your wife can't. They also will pay a friend to come and get it and pay gas & tolls plus up to $100/day for other necessary items such as meals
4. Assistance for companions-If in hospital for over 7 days, and are traveling alone,
they will pay for one round-trip economy class ticket for anyone to come to your bedside. If you have kids, grandkids and/or a pet with you they will fly them home.
I thought for the cost it gave me "peace of mind".

[jcanavera]

I had the Good Sam travel assist. My major concern was getting the trailer, my dogs, and my wife home if something happens to me that would not allow me to drive home. I dropped it last year due to my wife's illness and our ability not to travel any appreciable distance from home.

The key to Good Sam is that they will fly you to a different medical care facility, if they determine that the nearest facility to you cannot provide adequate care. That probably is a different criteria than what Sky Med supplies. They will get your spouse and pets home if you are hospitalized. They will drive your tow vehicle and trailer home if you are medically unable to do that. Personally I've never had to use the service but like anything the devil is in the detail. Before I would reenroll with them I probably would call and try to get something in writing that talks about the criteria used regarding to determine when your tow vehicle and trailer will start the journey home. Same with the arrangements to get your spouse and pets home.

My gut tells me they probably have some minimal period of time that has to go by before they will even consider return of your car and trailer and pets. Other questions center about your transport to a different facility. If they transport you to a different facility due to the need for care, what happens to your trailer, tow vehicle and animals, especially if your spouse can't tow due to lack of experience?

I think you really need to consider the different scenarios that could occur and see the fine print before you choose any assist or transport type policies. Especially one's that cost $100 annually.

Jack

[StreamNTyme]

We have the Good Sams insurance. it has the benefits I need and several more. It will transport everyone and the trailer too. Even inc. Camping World membership and the Good Sams membership.
It will help w medical placement, payment for treatment is your responsibility. After looking at Sky Med and several other transporters, I feel this is a good program at a fair rate. The difference I see is that Sky Med has a middle man (sales rep)to pay, Good Sams does not. In fact we renewed today and they had a special rate on 2 or 3 years, which makes it really inexpensive insurance. I was under the impression that Sky Med was $2500 for 5 years. I may be mistaken.
The decision is totally yours, you have to do what you are comfortable with.

[JimW]

I was unfortunate to have the medical emergency these policies are designed to provide assistance for, an aortic aneurism that was diagnosed in Santa Rosa, NM. Of course, I didn't have any of these policies at the time. I did have excellent medical insurance, so the biggest bills turned out to be transportation costs for me, my wife, the dog, and the rig.

Knowing these costs, the services that I actually needed, and time period recuperating in Albuquerque, I looked for insurance that would best cover the costs of my experience with the least hassle. I chose SkyMed Ultimate as fitting my criteria. Most importantly, it will pay the emergency helicopter ride or ambulance to the hospital. Competing insurance plans start once you've arrived at the hospital. My 111 mile, Medivac chopper ride to Albuquerque cost $32,120 of which I owed $5600. SkyMed would have covered this expense whereas other plans would not. An ambulance ride from my house to the nearest hospital is way over $300. SkyMed pays that too.

I hope to never need SkyMed, but I'm glad to have it, even at $39 a month.

[Ed Brownfield]

Interesting topic. My wife and I will be traveling to Canada this summer, we have Medicare and Anthem as a supplement. My understanding is that outside of the U.S. These carriers will at best pay little and most probably nothing at all. We were interested in medical coverage NOT transportation for our rig home or being our taken airlifted to another medical facility. We purchased medical coverage from IMG (International Medical Group). I think there maybe an air transportation part of the policy I can't remember. It is important to determine what you want the insurance for I.e. getting your rig home, air lifting you to a good medical facility, or hospital and medical costs. Like most insurance you won't know if you are dealing with a good company until you have a claim and like all insurance you hope that you never need it.