Maybe you have a Recreational Vehicle and you’re a true RVer, or maybe you’re thinking about RVing on your next trip. RVing can be a great escape from the grind of everyday life. It’s a chance to get out in nature, explore new places, and spend time with your loved ones. But this lifestyle also comes with a price. Did you know there are challenges to maintaining a healthy RVing lifestyle?
Depending on your experiences, its important to have your health insurance handy for so many reasons – don’t leave home (or a sticks and bricks lifestyle) without it.
The health challenges of RV Life
No matter what type of vehicle you are in, first thing is that you’ll have to do a lot of driving as an RVer. Driving can be the most stressful aspect of RVing. It may take time to get used to driving a large vehicle or pulling a trailer, and it can be like learning to drive again – creating anxiety every time you get behind the wheel. If road conditions are not ideal, like driving in a heavy rainstorm or winds, it can be terrifying to learn to deal with sway.
Whether you’re behind the wheel or just watching out the window, you’ll notice plenty of annoying behavior from other drivers. It’s easy to fall into road rage when someone cuts you off or refuses to let you merge. Road rage might feel cathartic in the moment, but in the end, it just adds to your pile of stress. You’re also more likely to get into an accident if you react in anger and begin to drive recklessly. The more time you spend in your RV, the more likely you are to succumb to the dangers of road rage.
As you travel along, you are constantly uprooting yourself to go explore the next place. Whether it’s every few days, weeks, or even months, frequent relocation makes it difficult to set a schedule and stay consistent.
Relocating can affect your access to fresh food. Some destinations may have several large grocery stores from which to shop, while others may only have a dollar store-type place for groceries making it tough to maintain a consistent way of eating.
Travel days tend to have a routine of their own, and one that often doesn’t allow much time for fitness between packing up, driving, and setting up again when at your new location.
And then there is the weather, which can have a big impact on you. RVers spend much of their time outdoors! Weather, bugs, terrain — all of these can vary from day to day, campsite to campsite, and some environments can pose risks.
How can health insurance help you make the most of RVing?
When you’re living in an RV, it can be difficult to maintain good health. Having health insurance can increase your opportunity to better manage both your physical and mental health. Here are some ways it helps you overcome obstacles you may face
Stress management
It’s easy to see yourself as camping or vacationing 24/7 when you are RVing, but mentally it can be very challenging. Health insurance assists by covering some costs for your counselling provided by a psychologist so you can think about your problems differently and find ways to manage. You can also get remote access to medical professionals for video consultations, eliminating the obstacles of travel and waiting room time delays, making taking care of your mental health convenient and easy no matter where you are. It can be enormously comforting to have a professional to talk to when life feels overwhelming
Dealing with aches and pains
Travelling can take a toll on you physically — you may spend a lot of time sitting in your vehicle and driving. That prolonged posture can cause back and neck pains that may radiate as a dull, non-throbbing ache to a shooting, burning, or stabbing sensation. The pain can radiate down a leg. Bending, twisting, lifting, standing, or walking can make it worse. Health insurance provides coverage for physical therapies to help like Swedish and shiatsu massage or working with a chiropractor which is not covered by your government health plan.
Sleep support
Sleeping in your RV may not be as comfortable as sleeping at home. You may not have the comfort of air conditioning or a furnace, or the sun may stream through the windows if you don’t have blackout curtains. Over time, lack of sleep, which is anything less than six hours on average, can change how your body processes blood sugar and how your body regulates hormones that control hunger and appetite. Health insurance delivers many mindfulness tools that can help you learn ways to deal with sleep issues and prevent other health problems.
Diet support
Your coverage can include tools to help you proactively work on your resiliency and wellbeing, and coverage to help you pay for experts like a dietician you may need – keeping you mentally fit and strong especially during extended time aboard.
Allergies and accidents
Health plans include access to secure medical consultations with friendly, knowledgeable clinicians on your mobile smartphone or tablet by text or video chat whenever and wherever you need it. Will you have a severe allergic reaction to an insect sting, or an accident? If you are injured, you may need dental repair,
medical equipment for unexpected breaks like crutches or canes, or prescription medications for the pain of sprains and strains – and health insurance helps cover the costs.
Online access to trusted medical information
Through your health insurance app or online you can access recent articles on finding care, managing your health, and preventing illness. There are easy-to-use search tools to help you find a doctor, health facility, or community support group in your area and provincial health resource information too.
Take your health insurance with you for a great RVing experience
To help you prepare and get more from your RV adventures, here is a free go-to resource, Brian Baeulmer’s Essential RV Handbook packed with tips, tricks and RV insights. And to help you choose the best health and dental insurance plan for you and your family, at SBIS we have access to almost 50 different plans from many major insurance companies like Manulife, Greenshield Canada, and GMS. If you’re ready to start your RVing adventure and take care of your health go online or contact us today. We can provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision about health and dental insurance coverage that will fit your needs and budget.
