By Gregory Nassief
Founder & CEO, Six Kind
Travelers are often told to buy insurance before they leave the country — and they should. It protects against delays, lost luggage, and unexpected medical bills. But it’s not a response system. That distinction matters far more than most people realize.
Most travel insurance does not act in the moment you need it most. It refunds. It reviews paperwork. It helps you after the fact. But it doesn’t coordinate the emergency, initiate medical transport, or speak to the attending physician.
At Six Kind, we are often called in when that difference becomes painfully clear.
What Travel Insurance Does — and Where It Stops
Travel insurance is a financial product. Its design centers on reimbursement — after a crisis, after a claim, and often after internal review. Standard policies cover trip interruptions, cancellations, lost baggage, and some forms of emergency medical treatment. Higher-tier plans may include medical evacuation, but this is typically conditional. It requires pre-approval and strict criteria for what qualifies as “medically necessary.”
What it does not do is take operational responsibility for care during a crisis. Travel insurers do not speak directly with hospitals. They do not deploy air ambulances. They do not organize bedside translators or coordinate post-incident care. If you’re counting on your policy to move you in a moment of urgency, you may be waiting a long time.
The CDC’s Yellow Book states it clearly: “Evacuation coverage may be excluded from standard travel insurance plans… Even then, the traveler is responsible for arranging the logistics.”
The U.S. State Department is even more direct: “The U.S. government does not pay for medical evacuation. You should be prepared to arrange and pay for emergency services yourself.”
The Real Risk Isn’t Financial — It’s Functional
We recently supported a case involving Eva, a university student from the U.S. who sustained a spinal injury while hiking in Europe. Her insurer initially required documentation and internal medical review before authorizing further care. Meanwhile, Eva lay in pain in a rural hospital. Her family was hundreds of miles away. Her friends, trying to help, were placed on hold and eventually asked to “wait for a callback.”
When Six Kind was contacted, we took immediate action. Our team spoke directly with the attending physician — in Spanish — confirmed the diagnosis, activated an air ambulance, and secured her safe transfer. We also coordinated her return to a U.S. hospital and ensured continuity of care through the recovery process.
This wasn’t a critique of her insurance provider. It was a demonstration of what insurance isn’t designed to do.
Why Six Kind Is Indispensable — Even With Insurance
Insurance pays you back. Six Kind gets you back.
Our model is built to function in parallel with your insurance policy, not replace it. When a member needs emergency help 150 or more miles from home, we do not require insurer approval. We work directly with physicians and medical teams. We organize logistics, interpret languages, manage family communications, and initiate transport based on medical urgency — not paperwork or claims processes.
The structure of insurance makes sense on paper. But in the real world, people don’t experience emergencies in the order that insurance systems process them. That’s where we come in.
What You Can Do Right Now
Travel insurance is essential — but it isn’t a plan. It’s a policy. And like any policy, it is limited by design.
Before your next trip, review what your insurance actually includes. Understand the difference between a benefit and a service. Know what “medical evacuation” means in your specific policy — and whether it includes coordination, transportation, and on-the-ground response.
Then read our guide: What to Do If You’re Sick or Injured Abroad. It’s free. It’s fact-based. And it may help you act faster, smarter, and more confidently in the moment you hope never arrives.
Because when something goes wrong far from home, a claim number will not coordinate your care. A policy won’t speak to your doctor. A call center won’t move a plane.
We will.
