Personal/Travel Accident and Emergency Medical Expenses: What's the Difference?

They might sound like one and the same, but the key thing to remember is that Personal/Travel Accident and Emergency Medical Expenses are separate sections. This means they’re designed to protect you in different ways. While medical costs are covered under the Emergency Medical Expenses section, you might also be entitled to a separate payout under the Personal/Travel Accident section, depending on the nature of the injury and the policy terms.

The EMERGENCY MEDICAL EXPENSES section of your policy provides cover for emergency medical, surgical, hospital, ambulance, nursing fees and charges incurred outside of the United Kingdom. These charges should be reasonable and necessary for the care that you receive, if you experience an unexpected illness, injury, or medical condition while abroad.

The section covering PERSONAL/TRAVEL ACCIDENT provides a lump sum payment if you have an accident (an unexpected and unintended event that causes physical bodily harm) that occurs during your trip and results in your death or permanent disability, as defined in your policy.

As these two sections of cover are separate, there may be an event where a claim for Personal/Travel Accident is excluded but your claim for Emergency Medical Expenses is reimbursed. 

For example:
Some policies exclude cover under Personal/Travel Accident if you have an accident whilst riding a motorcycle above 125cc while on your trip. 

However, there is no such exclusion under the Emergency Medical Expenses section, as long as you have declared and paid the necessary premium (if applicable) to ride a motorcycle above 125cc. 

You would then be reimbursed for your medical costs, in accordance with the policy terms and conditions but not receive a lump sum payment as compensation for your accident.