Emergency Assistance Plus
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Frequently Asked Questions


When it comes to learning about the world travel protection that EA+ provides, you’re bound to have questions. Here, we’ve provided answers to some of those most common inquiries.

Pre-Travel Questions

EA+ can help even before you step out the door for your trip.

No! Unlike travel insurance, your EA+ membership travels with you, wherever you go. Since EA+ is a membership program, you do not need to register your trip dates or destination with us in advance. Just contact the Emergency Response Team if you experience a medical emergency while on your trip.

If you are traveling to a country that is on the OFAC-sanctioned list or to a country with a U.S. Department of State Level 4 (Do Not Travel) Travel Advisory at the time of departure, you are not eligible for transportation by EA+*. If you’re unsure of the status of a country in which you are planning to travel, please visit www.emergencyassistanceplus.com/OFAC and www.emergencyassistanceplus.com/traveladvisories to view the current countries with restrictions.

*Note: If your destination has a Level 4 (Do Not Travel) Travel Advisory from the U.S. Department of State only due to COVID, requests for transportation caused by, or resulting from COVID, will not be provided, but transportation requests for other illnesses or injuries will be considered in accordance with the rules and regulations of your membership.

If you want help before your trip, EA+ will get you the latest details on consular services, inoculations, visas, and travel advisories. Then, anytime during your trip, you can call EA+ for up-to-date Security Intelligence — vital if you feel threatened by political or social unrest, bad weather, or any environmental hazards.


Questions about EA+ and Insurance

EA+ is not an insurance policy, but fills the gaps where your health or travel insurance may leave you with unplanned transportation expenses.

Emergency Assistance Plus is not a health insurance policy and does not cover hospital or medical bills if you are hospitalized while traveling. EA+ provides medical assistance and transportation services if you are hospitalized while traveling domestically or abroad. Depending on your destination’s requirements, we recommend researching international health insurance plan options using www.SquareMouth.com or www.InsureMyTrip.com.

EA+ is an important stop-gap between what your medical plan covers and emergency medical transportation services most health insurance plans never cover. If you become sick or injured while traveling and are admitted to the hospital, EA+ provides emergency medical evacuation to get you to a more appropriate hospital if your current facility can’t properly treat your medical condition or gets you home once you are discharged from the hospital and stable enough to travel. EA+ arranges for medical experts to oversee your treatment and even helps your loved ones stay informed from afar with a 24-hour toll-free emergency relay service.

EA+ is not an insurance program, but rather an annual membership to protect you on all your travels, near and far, with medical evacuation and transportation services.

If you are also interested in protecting the investment you’ve made on an upcoming trip through a travel insurance program, we are excited to bring you TripInsure Plus by EA+. TripInsure Plus is a per-trip travel protection plan designed to complement your EA+ membership. Your most valued EA+ services such as Medical Evacuation and Transportation Home do not overlap with the travel protection benefits you get through TripInsure Plus, so you don’t pay for any duplication.

For more information on the benefits available through TripInsure Plus, please visit www.tripinsureplus.com.

Note that TripInsure Plus is designed specifically for EA+ members. You should have an active EA+ membership first before purchasing TripInsure Plus.


Questions about Family Memberships

EA+ is designed to protect the things most important to you – especially your family. With an EA+ family membership, your spouse has access to all EA+ services when traveling together or apart.

When you sign up for the family plan, all family members who meet the definition of spouse (including domestic partner) and dependents (your unmarried children from birth and through age 18; or through age 22 if enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college, university, vocational, or technical school; and children whose support is required by a court decree; or adult child(ren) or grandchild(ren) with mental or physical disabilities who are solely dependent for maintenance and support. Children include biological children, stepchildren, and legally adopted children. They must be primarily dependent on you for support and maintenance and must live in a parent-child relationship with you. If traveling on a trip without you, they are covered provided the trip does not exceed 90 days.) are eligible for EA+ services.

Yes! If you are enrolled in the family membership, your spouse/domestic partner is protected by EA+ whether or not he or she is traveling with you. The family membership gives them access to all of the same services as the primary member.


Questions about Medical Evacuation

Ensuring that you get the care you need in a medical emergency is at the center of what EA+ does.

EA+ is here to assist no matter what type of vacation or adventure you are on. Generally, cruises will transport an onboard member to the closest port, where they can be immediately transferred to a local hospital or facility and properly evaluated. EA+ will be standing by ready to assist and evacuate the patient from there, should it be medically necessary, or, if it has been predetermined by the onboard medical staff and EA+ medical team that there is no appropriate care at the port, and it is imminent that the patient will need to be admitted, EA+ will arrange for an Emergency Air Ambulance to rendezvous with the cruise ship when it arrives at port to transport the patient to the closest appropriate facility.

It is incredibly rare for a traveler to be directly airlifted off a cruise ship for safety reasons, and in those extreme circumstances it would likely be the Coast Guard performing this specific type of transfer. Cruise ship evacuations directly from the boat are very dangerous for several different reasons (the small window of opportunity to grab the patient, weather related concerns, boat rocking, and no specific landing pad on most occasions).  The best, and safest option in almost all cases, is for the ship to relocate to the next closest location and get the member to the initial local hospital – where EA+ can then step in appropriately.

Every situation is different depending on specific medical conditions, patient needs, and even location. The EA+ Emergency Response Team will make the determination if you need to be moved after reviewing your medical records and consulting with the treating physician, if necessary. Our medical team is equipped with a vast knowledge of medical facilities around the world and are trained to determine if your current medical facility is appropriate to handle your treatment or if it is medically necessary for you to be moved to a more appropriate facility due to your specific medical needs at that time. Note: Hospitalization is a requirement to be eligible for emergency medical evacuation services under your EA+ membership.

This is determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the location and the patient's specific condition. EA+ will transport the member to another hospital when the first hospital is not medically appropriate for the patient’s condition. The EA+ team works as quickly as possible to secure the proper Air Ambulance for transport and gain approval at the receiving hospital.

If a family membership was purchased and if the whole family medically requires transportation from a medically inappropriate to an appropriate facility, this service will be arranged and provided by EA+. Each family member must meet the definition of spouse, domestic partner, or dependent.


Other Questions about EA+

Am I eligible for EA+ services if I get COVID-19 while on my trip?

We’re proud to say that EA+ has continued to provide assistance to members who are traveling away from home either domestically or abroad, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Should any of our members find themselves hospitalized with COVID-19 while traveling away from home, we will continue to assist in getting them home as quickly and safely as possible, within the following guidelines:

If at the time of your departure your destination has a U.S. Department of State Level 4 Travel Advisory due to COVID, any request for transportation caused by or resulting from COVID will not be provided.

If your destination has a level 1, 2 or 3 Travel Advisory due to COVID at the time of your departure, transportation requests will be considered in accordance with the rules and regulations of your membership.

We strongly recommend you research your destination before departing. You can check the current Travel Advisory list by clicking here.


Questions about Renewing

We make renewing easy, so you never leave home without the protection of your EA+ membership!

This is the charge for your EA+ membership.

My Account is our online portal that helps you manage your membership. The login link is unique to the group through which you enrolled in your EA+ membership. You can locate your My Account link in the following locations:

  • The welcome letter and/or email you received at the time of enrollment.
  • Your Billing Notice or Automatic Payment Notice
  • Your Monthly EA+ eNewsletter
  • On the Contact Us tab of this website

Once you are on your group’s My Account portal page, you will first need to register before you can log in. Click on “Register for your online account”.

You will need your 10-digit EA+ membership number – this can be located on all of the items listed above, as well as on your Member Guide and EA+ Identification Card.

Enter in your personal information – if you’re receiving an error, make sure that your name matches what we have on file for you. (Reference your billing notice or welcome materials if you’re not sure.) For security reasons they need to match when registering.

Set up your username and password, along with a security question, and you’re all set to log in!

Note: If you cannot locate your membership number, or if you need to update the name that we have on file for you, please give us a call.


Emergency Assistance Plus® (EA+®) is not insurance, it is a membership plan. This is only an outline of the plan’s features. Hospitalization (admitted as an inpatient) is a requirement to be eligible for some services. All services must be arranged and provided by EA+. Please read the EA+ Member Guide carefully to understand all the services available to you, as well as any rules and regulations. EA+ is only available to U.S. residents at this time and is not available to residents of New York. Washington state residents must be traveling more than 100 miles away from home to be eligible for EA+ services.