International SOS

What International SOS is

International SOS is a medical and security assistance company, not an insurer, and its plan for individual travelers pairs its own assistance services with insurance from a separate carrier. The Personal Travel Protection page calls it "One Plan, Two Layers of Travel Protection": International SOS "provides real-time medical, security and travel assistance when you need it," while "Chubb provides comprehensive insurance protection to help cover eligible costs when the unexpected happens." The page states that "The travel insurance is underwritten by Chubb." In practice, the evacuation and assistance layer is International SOS's own service, and the reimbursement of medical bills, cancellations and baggage is a Chubb policy.

Most of the company's business serves organizations: travel risk management, crisis management and executive protection for employers with staff abroad. The personal plan page says International SOS "supports business travelers, aid workers and government employees in some of the world's most complex environments" and offers the same expertise to individuals and families.

What the plan includes

The page's benefit table has columns for "Covered by International SOS" and "Covered by Chubb," and a footnote says the asterisked amounts "reflect the Global Traveler Elite plan," with "All limits are in US dollars (USD), maximum per person." The rows read:

• 24/7 worldwide medical advice, referrals and medication dispatch, "Unlimited access"
• Emergency medical evacuation, repatriation and mortal remains, "Up to $1,000,000"
• Accident and sickness medical expense, including dental and physiotherapy, "Up to $500,000"
• 24/7 security advice, intelligence and referrals, "Unlimited access"
• Security evacuation and repatriation, "Up to $100,000"
• Family and companion travel support, "Up to $2,500 each"
• Bedside or traveling companion costs, "Up to $200 per day"
• Personal assistance with lost documents, messages, cash advances, translation and claims help, plus country reports, alerts and the Assistance App
• Trip cancellation and interruption, "Up to $100,000 / $150,000"
• Trip delay and missed connection, "Up to $2,000 / $1,000"
• Baggage and personal effects, including delay, "Up to $3,000"
• Accidental death and dismemberment, "Up to $50,000"

The trip and baggage rows sit under a heading marked "Chubb Only."

The summary above the table describes the Chubb medical cover as "optional medical expenses up to $500,000." The FAQ explains that the $1,000,000 evacuation figure is an "aggregate limit that also covers medically supervised repatriation and repatriation of remains," and that International SOS coordinates the transport "using our own Assistance Centers and global medical network." Security evacuation, for "civil unrest, natural disasters or sudden geopolitical instability," is "included in most plans, with a $100,000 benefit," though the FAQ adds "It is not included in every plan, check your plan details."

Who can buy and how it works

The plan is "Available as a single trip or annual plan," is "purchased online in minutes," and is "active from the moment you buy until the day you return home." The page names four groups: individual travelers going for leisure or independent work, families, where "every member of your party" gets 24/7 access, senior travelers, "with coverage up to age 85," and students, who get "up to one year of 24/7 medical, security and travel support." The FAQ adds that "Scholastic cover extends to US and non-US academic travelers on study-related trips of up to one year."

Before departure, members get "destination risk ratings, travel guidance and real-time updates via the Assistance App" and can speak with medical and security experts about the trip. During the trip there is "Unlimited 24/7 access to our Assistance Centers." The page lists a subscriber assistance line of +41 22 785 6464. The FAQ draws the line between the layers: assistance is "a 24/7 line to medical and security experts who act on your behalf," while insurance is "reimbursement for covered losses such as a cancelled trip, a delay, lost baggage or medical expenses." It says International SOS acts "in real time, on agreed protocols, before any question of what's "covered" is settled."

The assistance network

The about page says more than 9,000 organizations use the company and that it has "13,000 security, medical, logistics and digital experts standing by to provide support and assistance from over 1,200 locations in 90 countries," with "Over 4,000 medical professionals," "52 Clinics and over 700 Remote and Workplace Sites," and "91,000 Network Providers across security, healthcare, and aviation." The evacuation page describes how a medical emergency is handled: its medical experts "provide immediate guidance to stabilize the patient, coordinate hospital admission and payment, and arrange a medical evacuation home for continued care." It adds that "Evacuations are coordinated within hours, not days," and that its logistics teams can source specialist medication unavailable locally and deliver it "within 24 hours." The personal plan page cites "29 Assistance Centers worldwide" with experts "speaking more than 100 languages." The assistance and evacuation page gives "29 Assistance Centers operating 24/7," "91,000+ vetted providers," "700+ evacuations every year" and "4.3M+ assistance calls," though a later panel on the same page says "27 multilingual Assistance Centers and 85,000+ vetted providers." The quality page lists a CyberVadis Gold Medal score of "926 out of 1000," ISO 31030:2021 certification for travel risk management awarded in June 2025, and "Global ISO 9001:2015 certification across all our business lines."

Case studies show the service at work. In Bali, a 19-year-old injured in a motorbike accident was admitted to a hospital that "insisted on pre-payment before treating her" and would not take her mother's U.S. credit card; the Philadelphia Assistance Center contacted the hospital through a local clinic, recommended evacuation to Singapore, and the evacuation went ahead because the mother's employer held a membership. After the earthquake in Turkey, the company "helped a client locate and evacuate an employee from Hatay region."

Who it suits

Personal Travel Protection suits travelers who want an assistance company to coordinate an evacuation or a hospital admission, not only to reimburse it afterward, with published limits of $1,000,000 for medical evacuation and $500,000 for medical expenses on the Global Traveler Elite figures. It suits families, students on programs of up to a year, and travelers up to 85. The senior cover stops at age 85, the Chubb figures on the page belong to the Global Traveler Elite plan only, and premiums come from the online quote.