In Reply to: Travel insurance-incredibly important!! posted by Kiwi Carol on Thursday, 16. April 2009 at 20:52 Bali Time:
I can speak from my personal experiences as a Travel Agent having been involved in a number of claims by clients and also as a Dive Resort Manager assisting guests requiring urgent medical attention.
Naturally, if an illness/accident required just one or two doctors' visits, then the policyholder should pay up-front and claim on return to their home country. Remember too, that the majority of Insurance Policies including those included on a Credit Card, have an excess payable.
All reputable Travel Insurance Companies work in conjunction with one of the major "Emergency Assst" firms. In the event of a serious accident or illness which would require surgery and involve a substantial amount of money, it is a matter of making a reverse-charge call to the Emergency Assistance Company, all of which have English-speaking qualified staff on-call 24/7. It is wise to always carry with you, details of your Policy Number and Emergency Assisance Telephone Number.
The officer at Emergency Assistance would consult with medical personnel to assess the situation. I feel confident that, in a case such as this one, immediate authority would have been given to proceed with whatever action was necessary at the Insurer's cost.
Just a month or so back, a lady on a Liveaboard Dive Boat suffered severe appendicitis. DAN (Divers' Insurance") when contacted and given full details of her condition, immediately ordered the provision of a Medivac Jet from Siloam Hospital in Jakarta to fly to Sorong in Papua to evacuate her to Jakarta. Because of distance, the lane needed to land twice in each direction to refuel. The lady was lucky and was in surgery at Siloam Hospital in time for successful surgery. She needed to remain in hospital for almost two weeks during her recovery process and ALL costs (except excess of perhaps US$100) were met by the Insurer. I spoke with her on two occasions after her operation and she could not speak more highly of the co-operation she received from her Insurance Company. I may add that Siloam is one of Jakarta's most expensive International Hospitals and shudder to imagine what the total outlay would have been for her evacuation or hospitalisation.
When I had my Travel Agency, I refused to accept an International Reservation unless the client took Travel Insurance offered by me, or provided me with proof of Insurance. It is just a pity that all Travel Agencies do not follow along these lines. I believed that if a client could not afford Insurance then they should not be travelling.
Many young people will not even think about the need for Travel Insurance unless the need is pointed-out to them by their Travel Agent, which may even have been the case in this instance.