For years I travelled all over the world and never carried emergency evacuation travel insurance. I didn’t really think about it until three events spaced closely together changed my mind.
The first event was when I read about a travel blogger. While travelling in South Africa, she was in an auto accident. Her health insurance paid for her medical bills, but she had no way to get back home. Her injuries were too severe for commercial airline travel, and she didn’t have the money to pay for a private jet. She had to stay in South Africa until she was able to fly commercially, which caused all kinds of additional problems let alone being away from home for so long.
ACCIDENT
Shortly thereafter, I visited Germany, Luxembourg and France. While travelling by train from Luxembourg City to Lyon, France, I had to change trains. It was a wide gap between the train and the platform. I put my luggage on the platform, and when I used the step to get to the platform I slipped and fell between the train and the platform. You can imagine my panic! To this day, I don’t know how I slipped or how I managed to pull myself up onto the platform just before the train took off.
A conductor asked if I was all right and I thought I was. Within an hour, my right leg had swollen to near double its regular size, painfully pushing against my blue jeans. I asked at the dining car for ice. The young woman said they didn’t have any ice and asked why I needed it. When I told her, she immediately had the conductor ask if there were any doctors on board.
Three doctors, who spoke a little English, told me they thought my leg was broken. This was an express train, but it stopped in a small village. Paramedics took me off the train and to a tiny hospital. After x-rays, they determined it was a severe contusion and that there were no broken bones. I spent the night in the hospital before continuing to Lyon.
ILLNESS
Six month later, I was on an expedition ship sailing to Antarctica when I became violently ill. At first, the doctor thought it was sea sickness because we were crossing the Drake Passage, notorious for its rough seas.
The ship pitched and swayed.
When we arrived in Antarctica, I felt better and was able to visit Palmer Station, an American research facility. Once back on the ship, I became ill again.
Not knowing what was making me so sick, the doctor gave me intravenous antibiotics. This time, the doctor quarantined me in my room for nearly the entire time in Antarctica. For nearly a week, I observed the beauty of Antarctica from the window of my stateroom. I was fortunate to be able to leave the ship on the last day to see Chinstrap penguins on a rocky beach.
I was fortunate. My private insurance policy covered my medical expenses in both cases, but what if I broke my leg or worse when I fell off the train and couldn’t fly commercially to get home?
What if my Antarctica-illness was life threatening?
THE RIGHT POLICY
I decided I would, from then on, always purchase emergency evacuation insurance. I started by purchasing separate insurance for each trip, but because I travel so much, I now carry insurance with an annual premium.
According to Travel Guard, “when you leave Canada, even if it’s only for a few hours, you are leaving behind up to 90 per cent of your government health insurance plan (GHIP) coverage. Only a portion of your medical expenses are covered by your GHIP when you travel domestically within Canada outside of your home province.
Medical costs outside Canada can be very expensive and medical bills can quickly add up. For example, US hospitals can charge over $5,000 per day for in-patient care.
If you carry private insurance, check to see if it offers emergency evacuation. Some policies do. And know what you are buying. Sometimes, travel insurance is coupled with trip cancellation, interruption or delay, and lost, damaged or stolen luggage and other personal items.
I only carry evacuation coverage, but that’s my preference. There are several different options to choose from and several different companies offering travel insurance. The insurer should offer 24/7 telephone assistance.
Know, too, that a lot of tour companies are now requiring participants to carry evacuation insurance, so it’s good to do a little research before you travel.
I was foolish to think I didn’t need it, but fortunate to learn without any dire consequences. And, of course, I hope I never have to use my insurance policy, but having it gives me the security to know it’s there if I need it.
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