If you travel frequently, purchasing air ambulance and paramedic services may be worthwhile. Air emergency medical services are a way to bring you back home quickly if you get sick or injured while out of town. Business travelers see this as a benefits perk and a way to protect their health with peace of mind.

Several transportation methods are offered by air emergency medical services companies. Which one you end up using will depend on where you are and how stable your medical condition is.

Accidents do happen. Many problems can be averted, however, by considering the following when selecting an air ambulance and paramedic service:

1. Are you getting the best value for your business travel needs?

2. Are there any details in the contract's fine print that are unacceptable?

3. Does the air ambulance company have planes that fly where you or your employees travel?

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Compare prices closely when shopping for air ambulance and paramedic services

Make certain you are comparing apples to apples by determining what is included in each price quote. For instance -- does the air ambulance fee cover ground transportation? Can family members fly with the patient?

I recommend: Companies like National Jets and Advanced Air Ambulance, among others, will allow customers to input the pertinent travel and medical information and receive price quotes at home.

Check policy fine print -- air emergency medical services sometimes have exclusions

Many travel insurance companies provide coverage details online. While it is suggested you contact each company to ensure any coverage is tailored to meet your business needs, at the very least the websites provide a general idea of services offered.

I recommend: The Travel Assist Network, in addition to air ambulance service, provides a host of other services that may be of interest to the international business traveler. Air Ambulance Card, a membership program that compares itself to an auto club (with the traveler in this case being the car that needs to be towed/flown into the service station/hospital), is also worth investigating.

Confirm the air ambulance services fly where you do

Some air ambulance services travel nationally, some internationally, and some both. Be sure to confirm whatever company you choose flies to the same airports as you.

I recommend: Zoom Info' s list of U.S. based air emergency medical services companies can show you which ones offer domestic and/or international service. AirAmbulanceQuotes.net works to identify "empty legs," an industry term that describes an empty ambulance plane already flying the route you need to go. When this comes available the savings can be substantial. They can provide you up to five pricing quotes simultaneously.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The cost of ambulances and paramedics, particularly in the air, can be costly ($10-$75k per trip). Some companies discount transportation costs drastically in exchange for a regular fee. In some cases the transportation fee is discarded altogether for a monthly or annual fee.