expensive places sick while travelling abroad

The most expensive places to get sick while travelling abroad

By: TPG

New research can today reveal the most expensive countries to make a medical claim while travelling + what the most expensive and common claims are in each country.

The team at William Russell analysed their internal international health insurance claims data to discover the most expensive countries to get sick or injured without cover while travelling and which claim types are the most expensive.

The 10 countries with the most expensive healthcare claims:

Rank	Country	Total Claims (2021)	Total Amount Claimed	Average Claim Value
1	Denmark	3	£16,709	£5,569
2	Taiwan	13	£38,321	£2,948
3	Qatar	26	£57,306	£2,204
4	Lebanon	32	£70,319	£2,197
5	Switzerland	38	£69,035	£1,816
6	Malawi	60	£93,386	£1,556
7	Spain	65	£99,765	£1,535
8	Trinidad and Tobago	14	£19,692	£1,407
9	Thailand	525	£654,048	£1,246
10	Czechia	3	£3,675	£1,225

Denmark has by far the highest average claim value of £5,569, indicating that international health insurance is incredibly important not just for protecting your health but also your wallet.

Second place Taiwan has an average claim value of £2,948 from a total of £38,321 split across 13 separate claims, while Qatar took third place with an average claim value of £2,204.

The 10 most expensive health insurance claim types:

Rank	Claim Category	Total Claims	Total Amount Claimed	Average Claim Value
1	Medical evacuation	7	£71,659	£10,237
2	Pregnancy complications and emergency procedures	12	£104,454	£8,704
3	Treatment for cancer	154	£989,776	£6,427
4	Cover for newborns	1	£4,385	£4,358
5	Terminal illnesses and palliative care	20	£76,294	£3,814
6	Home nursing costs	12	£45,684	£3,807
7	Advanced diagnostic and genome tests	244	£127,311	£3,665
8	Prosthetic implants & appliances	9	£28,446	£3,161
9	Hospital accommodation and nursing	744	£1,801,521	£2,421
10	Hospital treatment	34	£47,489	£1,397

Medical evacuation is the most expensive category you can claim for on your health insurance, with the average claim sitting at a huge £10,237.

The next most expensive category is pregnancy complications and emergency procedures, which refers to any issues you have with your pregnancy while travelling, including the need for an emergency c-section. The average costs for claims in this category is £8,704, so it’s definitely worth being covered as these claims are not issues that can be put off for another time!

Further findings:

The most common health insurance claim in the UK is for ‘GP and specialist consultations’ with 558 claims of this type totalling £124,071 in 2021.

The most expensive health insurance claims made in the UK were for ‘malignant neoplasm of bronchus & lung’ with average claims for this costing £5,681.

Hungary came out as having the cheapest average claim value at just £22.04, followed by Antigua and Barbuda at £25.84.

The least expensive claim type was found to be a trip to the dietician, costing just £4.56 on average, followed by ‘children’s routine check-ups and vaccinations’ with claims averaging £53.20.

To view the full research please click here.

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