Palau Travel Insurance
Everything you need to know before your trip
Healthcare Cost Level
High
Avg. ER Visit
$800
Recommended Coverage
$250,000
Evacuation Risk
High
Healthcare in Palau
What to expect if you need medical care
Palau's healthcare system offers limited facilities that can handle only basic medical needs. While medical staff generally speak good English, making communication straightforward, the quality of available care is limited compared to what you might expect at home. An emergency room visit will cost you around $800, with hospital stays averaging $1,200 per day. For serious medical conditions, injuries, or complications, the local facilities simply cannot provide the necessary treatment. This means you'll need evacuation to better-equipped hospitals in the Philippines, Guam, or Hawaii. The island's remote Pacific location compounds these challenges, as getting advanced medical care requires expensive air transport across significant distances.
What Your Policy Should Cover
Country-specific considerations for Palau
Your policy must include robust medical evacuation coverage, as this is the most critical feature for Palau. Ensure your policy specifically covers scuba diving to appropriate depths and includes decompression chamber treatment, since decompression sickness presents a high risk year-round. Water sports coverage is essential, as marine injuries are common throughout the year. Verify that your policy covers dengue fever and other tropical diseases, which pose moderate risks. If you're planning to visit outer islands during island hopping excursions, confirm your coverage extends to these remote locations where medical emergencies pose particularly high risks. Your policy should also cover the specific evacuation routes to the Philippines, Guam, or Hawaii where you'd receive advanced treatment.
Marine Injuries
Moderate Risk
Peak: year-round
Dengue Fever
Moderate Risk
Peak: year-round
Decompression Sickness
High Risk
Peak: year-round
Remote Location Medical Emergencies
High Risk
Peak: year-round
Activity-Specific Coverage
Scuba Diving: Ensure coverage includes diving to appropriate depths and decompression chamber treatment
Water Sports: Marine injuries common; verify water sports coverage
Island Hopping: Remote location coverage essential for outer islands
How Much Coverage Do You Need?
Our recommendation based on Palau's healthcare costs
The recommended $250,000 coverage reflects Palau's challenging medical reality. While local healthcare costs are high ($800 ER visits, $1,200 daily hospital stays), the primary concern is medical evacuation. Serious cases requiring evacuation to the Philippines, Guam, or Hawaii exceed $50,000 in transport costs alone—before any treatment begins. The $100,000 minimum barely covers evacuation plus basic treatment, leaving little buffer. The $250,000 recommended amount provides adequate coverage for evacuation costs, extended hospital stays at your destination, and complex treatments like decompression chamber therapy or surgical procedures.
Minimum
$100,000
Basic emergencies only
Recommended
$250,000
Full protection
Making a Claim in Palau
Tips for smooth claims processing
Documentation Required: Medical reports, receipts, evacuation documentation if applicable, proof of incident for activity-related claims
- Keep all medical reports and receipts from any healthcare facility in Palau, no matter how minor the treatment seems, as documentation requirements are thorough
- For diving-related incidents, obtain detailed reports from dive operators and decompression chamber facilities, including depth and time information, as proof of incident is required for activity-related claims
- If evacuation occurs, collect all transportation documentation, including flight manifests, medical necessity certificates, and receiving hospital records from the Philippines, Guam, or Hawaii
- Document any marine injuries with photographs and incident reports from tour operators or local authorities, as water sports claims require proof of how the incident occurred
- Expect moderate difficulty with claims processing due to Palau's remote location; allow extra time for document collection and submission
Get Covered for Palau
Adventure destinations like Palau require solid evacuation coverage. Don't leave without it.
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