HOUSTON — With travel season approaching, experts say you need to make sure you're covered in case of an emergency.
It's something you never expect to need, but if something happens, you'll be thankful you're covered.
Once you get an insurance policy, make sure you know what it covers.
Shayla Northcutt, the CEO of Northcutt Travel Agency, said research is important.
Travel insurance depends on a few things:
- Length of vacation
- Where you're going
- How much you want to cover
For your health, insurance can cover up to $500,000.
"Medical insurance can cover up to, you know, $500,000. So this is, it's really important to have that medical coverage in case something happens," Northcutt said.
Health insurance in the United States doesn't cover you when you're in other countries. You could have to pay out of pocket to get treated at an out-of-country hospital.
"Your insurance here in the US doesn't cover when you're in other countries," Northcutt said.
Here's a tip -- carry an extra credit card so you're covered in case of an emergency. Your insurance company might be able to refund you.
If you travel outside the country and the unexpected happens when you don't have insurance coverage, you might not get treated at all.
"You're going to be faced with not getting help at all or just being subjected to a really high medical bill because they can inflate what they want to. There's not a lot of regulation," Northcutt said.
The bottom line is to make sure you're covered in case of the unexpected.