Travel insurances and vaccines
- 26 October 2018 - Travel Diary
Why should you get a travel insurance ?
Because, for example in France our social security and our mutual insurance are no longer valid outside Europe, a problem can quickly occur and health costs abroad may soon become significant….
In addition, our civil liability coverage abroad, included in multi-risk home insurance policies, no longer works after 90 days spent abroad….
What are the guarantees of a travel insurance?
Of course, coverage levels and prices vary from one insurance company to another, so it is important to compare them carefully and read the small notes before making your choice.
Below is a list of the guarantees you will find in the different products:
– Repatriation assistance
– Medical expenses and hospitalization abroad
– Daily allowance in case of hospitalisation
– Research and rescue costs
– Anticipated return
– Luggage insurance
– Civil liability
– Death allowance
– Juridical assistance
According to our researches, the 3 most popular insurances are those of Chapka, AVI and ACS. We have chosen Chapka’s “Cap Aventure” insurance, which is ideal for journeys beyond 90 days and world tours. As well as providing a very complete list of benefits, it is the one with the most attractive ceilings. It stands out particularly in terms of luggages and legal insurance coverage.
Credit card insurances
If you plan on using your credit card insurance, we strongly advise you to contact your bank and check all the guarantees offered, their conditions and their duration.
For example, in France, Visa Premier travel insurance is only valid for the first 180 days of travel and only if you have paid for your ticket or car rental with this card. The assistance guarantees are valid if you have a Visa Premier card but only during the first 90 days of the trip…
Vaccines
When traveling it is also important to check out the vaccines! In many countries, several vaccines are highly recommended, and some are even mandatory.
As for us, we looked at the Pasteur Institute website and booked an appointment at a vaccination centre in Bordeaux. We first explained our itinerary and the conditions of our trip to a doctor, then we reviewed the vaccines that had already been administered.
We were up to date for:
– Diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis
– Measles, mumps, rubella
– Tuberculosis
– Hepatitis B
After the doctor’s recommendations, we therefore chose to get vaccinated against:
Yellow fever (1 injection)
Typhoid (1 injection)
Hepatitis A (2 injections, recall at 12 months which can be done after the trip)
Rabies (3 injections, recall at 7 and 28 days before the trip)
Pasteur institut – Preparing to travel abroad
Pasteur institut – General recommendations
Rabbies
We have been hesitating for a long time to get vaccinated against rabies. Indeed, the vaccine is expensive (3 injections costing €50) and it does not prevent you from getting the disease but only gives you an extra 1 to 3 days to reach a hospital and have access to a curative treatment.
Nevertheless, South America is a high-risk area where only big city hospitals are in possession of the curative vaccine. And rabies being a deadly disease, we didn’t want to take the risk…
Pasteur institut – Disease sheet – Rabies
Malaria
As for malaria, there is no vaccine yet. To protect yourself, you are advised to take preventive treatment, the modalities of which depend on the destination, the conditions and the duration of your stay, the season… However, this treatment does not provide total protection, so it is important to protect yourself from bites by wearing long clothes, sleeping under a net and using repellents (to apply on the skin and clothes).
As preventive antimalarial drugs have a significant cost and side effects, we have decided to take only the curative treatment with us in case of emergency and to make sure we protect ourselves well from being bitten.
First aid kit
For the first aid kit, you can simply ask for a prescription of the medicines you need during your appointment at the vaccination center.
We will bring:
– An anti-diarrheal
– An intestinal antibacterial
– An antispasmodic
– A general antibiotic
– Paracetamol
– Bandages
– Steri-strip
– Disinfectant
– Water purifying tablets