Health/Travel Insurance when traveling back to US

Hi everyone. I'm not sure if this topic has been brought up before, but I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a good provider/option for travel insurance when going back to visit in the US?  My main concern, of course, is to cover any potential expenses in case of illness or injury more than lost luggage, etc.  I'm sure everyone knows how disastrous it could be to end up in a hospital back home with no health insurance.

I plan on going home over the holidays, and normally when I go back on my own I'm not too bothered about insurance, but my partner(who's English) is coming along and we'd rather not take any risks.  Any suggestions would be most helpful!

You both should definitely plan on getting travel insurance. It's very inexpensive to purchase, and you can typically tailor it to your specific needs. I'm not sure why you're not bothered about your own insurance, unless you still have a US health plan. Your expenses would be just as high as his if anything were to happen to you when visiting the US.

I think I used Direct Travel Insurance when I was in the UK. I picked that company because my housemate recommended it. If you google 'UK travel insurance' you should get loads of options. I never had to place a claim with my company, so I can't comment on how easy it was to do this.

I have pretty good international travel insurance through my Gold account at Lloyds TSB. It covers a lot and we already pay the £8 monthly fee for the account (which also gets us mobile phone insurance, air miles, AA coverage and high interest savings).

I think a few other banks offer this with their accounts, so you might be eligible (or already have it!).

Thanks for the pointers.  I have no health insurance in the US as I've lived over here for quite a few years now, so obviously it's a bit risky of me to go back with no insurance at all.  I maybe go home once a year, although I recently spoke with a friend who is in a predicament over a hospital bill and I got a little paranoid.  Hence why I am finally investigating!

Anyway, I will check with my bank and Direct Travel Insurance and see what works best. Thanks again!

Just check the small print on the insurance options you look at, as the UK companies might require ILR and/or for you to have been living in the UK for a certain amount of time. 

Travel agents at Thomas Cook/Thomsons have tried to sell me policies that I'm ineligible for, so don't take their word for it.  And the small print can be quite hard to find on some of the internet sites.

Seven Corners and World Nomads were the only 2 companies I found that would insure me as an American citizen after already having left the US.  But as you've said you've been in the UK for a few years now, you shouldn't have that problem 

You also have to be careful if you have any pre-existing conditions.