Global Rescue

What Global Rescue is

Global Rescue sells a membership, not an insurance policy. Its comparison page says so plainly: "Global Rescue is not an insurance company and cannot reimburse trip costs or medical treatment expenses." Instead, the company sends its own teams and arranges transport, and the travel insurance comparison page says "there are no claims to file, no deductibles or copays, and no reimbursements to request when you have a Global Rescue membership." The about page's milestone list gives "2004 Global Rescue Founded September 20th in Boston," and says "Mr. Richards has served as the chief executive officer of Global Rescue since he founded the company in 2004." The comparison page adds that the company "was founded in 2004 in exclusive partnership with the Johns Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations." Membership agreements are held by a subsidiary: the legal page says "GRI LLC is a Global Rescue Company that maintains and manages Service Agreements with Members." The about page also says Richards "serves as the president of Crisis Services Company, a Vermont-based captive insurance company"; the site does not tie that company to the membership.

The about page says Global Rescue "provides 24/7/365 services to more than a million members worldwide," that "Our team receives more than 100,000 calls for help every year," and that "we have delivered more than 25,000 medical and security response operations worldwide." It describes "a robust network of nearly 4,000 operational assets in 150 countries," and names clients "from NASA and National Geographic to Bain Capital and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Teams." The milestone list on the about page includes 2006, when "Global Rescue evacuates dozens of Americans from active warzones" during the Israeli Hezbollah conflict; 2010, when it "assists hundreds injured or trapped by the earthquake" in Haiti; a "First Full High-Altitude Climbing Season Nepal Deployment" in 2013; and the opening of an operations center in Manila in 2016, the same year the "My Global Rescue Mobile App" was introduced. The about page says "Global Rescue maintains operations centers around the world to provide 24/7/365 service," and it names a Manila-based medical operations team. It also says "our medical and security teams are staffed and led by combat-experienced military special operations veterans," and that medical operations personnel "include paramedics, nurses and physicians."

What the membership provides

The site describes field rescue as trained personnel, "paramedics, military special operations veterans or technical rescue teams," who "are dispatched to your location before any hospital or clinic is involved," including "in remote areas, the backcountry, at altitude, at sea or in conflict zones." The travel insurance comparison page says "With no distance requirement, rescue services are available whether you're close to home or on the other side of the world." For its own service, the comparison page says "Medical evacuation is not dependent on hospitalization and can begin in the field," and it describes Global Rescue's transport as hospital of choice, which the site defines "hospital of choice" as a guarantee "to move you to a specific hospital you select," against "nearest hospital" transport, where "you will be stabilized locally, potentially remaining abroad."

Other services named on the same pages include security extraction "from terrorism, civil unrest, unpredicted natural disasters and political instability," repatriation for "medical and non-medical events, including return of mortal remains," and 24/7 medical advisory "through on-staff medical professionals including physicians, nurses and emergency paramedics." The about page says medical operations staff are "supported by the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations, Mass General Brigham (the Harvard Medical School Affiliate), and Elite Medical Group," and that security experts are "military veterans, primarily from the special operations community." Members also get destination reports "for 215 countries and principalities" and "Real-Time Event Alerts," and the travel insurance comparison page says Global Rescue can help with "a COVID-19 screening and testing regimen for a trip."

On activities, the comparison page says "Global Rescue has no activity exclusion and offers High-Altitude Evacuation services." The High-Altitude Evacuation Package covers "travel above 15,000 feet during any part of a trip (excluding airplane travel)," naming the Himalayas, Andes and Denali.

Plans and prices

The site's price estimator asks "Who is the membership for? Myself Me and My Family," then "Do you want an annual or short-term membership?" Short-term trips run "7 Days 14 Days 30 Days," and annual members choose the length of their longest trip from "45 Days 90 Days 180 Days 365 Days." Buyers can "Add Security Package?" and "Add High Altitude Evacuation?" The estimator itself shows no price until every question is answered.

The pages do give starting figures. The comparison page lists "Membership from $139 / 7-day trip," "Starting at ~$139 (7-day individual)" and "High-altitude add-on From $495 (individual)." Its source list cites Global Rescue's own pricing as "7-day from $139, 45-day from $349, 90-day from $455." The travel insurance comparison page says the membership "starts as low as $139." Student memberships, the comparison page says, "protect full-time students under 35 for 45 to 365 days with all five essential services included."

How it works in practice

The site says "One call, email or in-app message" reaches its security team, and the site says the team works "24/7/365 when and where they're needed." The comparison page describes the model as "no claims to file, no upfront costs, no insurance adjuster to satisfy before ground, air or marine rescue transport is dispatched." Use of the mobile app "is subject to the terms of your Member Services Agreement." Member services can be reached at +1 (617) 459-4200 or memberservices@globalrescue.com, per the legal page.

Global Rescue also publishes a ranking of evacuation and travel protection providers on its own site, which rates Global Rescue "Best Overall." The page states "We acknowledge a vested interest in this ranking."

Who it suits

Global Rescue fits travelers whose risk starts before they can reach a hospital: trekkers, climbers, backcountry skiers, sailors, and staff working in remote or unstable places, since the service begins in the field and carries no activity exclusion. The high-altitude add-on is aimed at trips above 15,000 feet, and the student membership at full-time students under 35. It does not pay medical bills or trip costs, which the site states outright; it is a transport and response service.