Quoted from the BUPA's Membership Guide version April 2018

-----


There are two levels of Assistance cover: Evacuation and Repatriation. 


What is Assistance cover? 


When the treatment you need is not available locally, the Evacuation and Repatriation options both cover you for reasonable transport costs to the nearest appropriate place of treatment where the treatment that you need is available, if it is not available locally. 


Repatriation also gives you the option of returning to your specified country of nationality or your specified country of residence when the treatment is not available locally. We may not be able to arrange Evacuation or Repatriation in cases where the local situation makes it impossible, unreasonably dangerous or impractical to enter the area; for example from an oil rig or within a war zone. 


Assistance cover–general rules :

The following rules apply to both the Evacuation and Repatriation levels of cover: 

  • you must contact our appointed representatives for confirmation before you travel, on +44 (0) 1273 333 911 for Classic and Essential customers +44 (0) 1273 718 470 for Gold customers 
  • our appointed representatives must agree the arrangements with you 
  • Assistance cover is applicable for in-patient treatment and day-case treatment only 
  • the treatment must be recommended by your consultant or family doctor and, for medical reasons, not available locally the treatment must be eligible under your plan 
  • you must have cover for the country you are being treated in, for example the USA 
  • you must have the appropriate level of Assistance cover in place before you need the treatment 
  • Evacuation or Repatriation will not be eligible if you were aware of the symptoms of your condition before applying for Assistance cover. 
  • We will not approve a transfer which in our reasonable opinion is inappropriate based on established clinical and medical practice, and we are entitled to conduct a review of your case, when it is reasonable for us to do so. Evacuation or Repatriation will not be authorised if this would be against medical advice. 


Evacuation cover: 

  • We will pay in full for your reasonable transport costs for in-patient treatment or day-case treatment. It may also be authorised if you need advanced imaging or cancer treatment such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy. 
  • We will only pay for Evacuation to the nearest place where the required treatment is available when the required treatment is not available locally. This could be to another part of the country that you are in, and may not be your home country. 
  • We will pay for the reasonable travel costs for a relative or your partner to accompany you, but only if it is medically necessary. 
  • We will also pay for the reasonable costs of yours and your relative or partner's return journey to the place you were evacuated from. All arrangements for your return should be approved in advance by Bupa Global or our appointed representatives. 

We will pay for either: 

  • the reasonable cost of the return journey by the most direct route available by land or sea, 
  • or the cost of an economy class air ticket by the most direct route available, whichever is the lesser amount
  • we will pay reasonable costs for the transportation only of your body, subject to airline requirements and restrictions, to your home country, in the event of your death while you are away from home. We do not pay for burial or cremation, the cost of burial caskets etc, or the transport costs for someone to collect or accompany your remains 

Note: we do not pay for any other costs related to the evacuation such as hotel accommodation or taxis.

Please also note that for medical reasons the member receiving treatment may travel in a different class from their companion. 


Repatriation cover: 

Repatriation cover also includes Evacuation cover — see above. 

  • We will pay for repatriation to your specified country of nationality or your specified country of residence, when the required treatment is not available locally.
  • We will pay for one repatriation for each illness or injury per lifetime. 
  • We will pay the reasonable costs for a relative or your partner to accompany you to your specified country of nationality or your specified country of residence if we have authorised this in advance of the repatriation. 
  • We will also pay an allowance of up to GBP 25, USD 50 or EUR 37 per day for up to 10 days to cover the living expenses of the person accompanying you.
  • We will pay for you and the person accompanying you to return to where you were repatriated from. All arrangements for your return must be approved in advance by Bupa Global or our appointed representatives.