Insurance For EFL Teachers At Home

It’s that time of year again, when people all over the world head home, spend quality time with their families, and revert to childish, immature behavior. Oh wait, that last one is just me. Lots of people regardless of their job will face a long or stressful journey, cold weather, and possibly even family food fights, but many EFL teachers have an additional concern: insurance.

Most full-time teachers will be covered within the country they work in, or within countries that the host country has some sort of reciprocal agreement with but here’s a shocker: the US tends not to have those types of agreements, so if you travel home to the US for the holidays, you won’t be insured.

I’ll be honest: I’ve been in the US without health insurance before and it’s a big risk (interesting fact: because many ESL teachers in the US are paid by the contact hour and because this total sum “includes” prep time, they are considered part-time and hence aren’t eligible for insurance from their employers…even if they work the same number of hours as teachers abroad who do get insurance). Save yourself the worry and stop by the Bootsnall Insurance Shop. It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s cheap, and it will be a godsend if you get ill or hurt.

UPDATE
Word has just arrived from Dave The Insurance Guy at Bootsnall and it’s this: “If you have health insurance from your employer in a foreign country and want travel insurance for a brief return home, I suggest a “Trip Protection Insurance”. This type of policy includes medical coverage and the trip cancellation is optional.”
Apparently, some medical policies for US citizens will cover you when you are abroad and only on a two week incidental return to your home country – but not if you purchase the policy only for the trip home.

So, take it from Dave, get yourself the right kind of insurance, and have a happy and SAFE holiday.