Visit InternationalBenefits.com for travel medical insurance coverage plans, travel insurance quotes, travel tips and advice, and information for travellers.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Traveling with Elderly Parents

Planning for a trip when you have elderly parents.

I just received a call from a client planning a trip to Paris. The cost of the trip is $5,000 and is non-refundable. She is most worried about her elderly father who has numerous medical problems but noyhing life threatening at this time. She wanted to plan the trip but cancel if her father became very sick.
The answer is trip cancellation insurance. This type of insurance will not only reimburse nonrefundable costs if you get sick but will pay if traveling companions or certain relatives get sick.
The catch is to buy the plan within 14 days of making the first deposit.
By doing this, the companies waive the pre-existing clause. This is most important of course if there are problems such as the elderly parent.
Go to www.internationalbenefits.com to learn more about trip cancellation insurance.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Travel Insurance Experience

From an actual Travelguard claim:

Less than a day into his seven-day Caribbean cruise, Mark from Colorado unexpectedly fell into a seizure aboard the cruise ship during his annual vacation. His wife, Sharon, was terrified and begged the crew to turn back to Fort Lauderdale, the city from which they had departed. Despite Sharon’s pleas, the crew decided to continue with the trip. Fortunately for Mark and Sharon, they had purchased a travel insurance plan through AIG Travel Guard.

The cruise ship’s doctor didn’t feel that the ship was properly equipped to handle Mark’s medical condition, and recommended that Mark be admitted to the nearest appropriate medical facility for a C.T. scan and consultation with the facility’s neurologist. As soon as the ship reached port, Sharon called AIG Travel Guard, and they quickly arranged medical evacuation by air ambulance for Mark to Fort Lauderdale for further evaluation.

To complicate matters further, Mark and Sharon’s luggage never arrived onboard the ship at the start of the cruise and they needed help tracking it down. Using the BagTrak program, AIG Travel Guard was able to track down the couple’s luggage, helping them avoid yet another mishap.

Fortunately, Mark’s condition started to improve, and he was soon cleared to travel. The couple considered requesting re-boarding permission in order to catch up for the last leg of their foiled cruise vacation, but with the logistics involved and bad weather on the way, they decided against it.

From coordinating the medical evacuation for Mark, to arranging adequate medical treatment in the appropriate medical facility, to tracking down the couple’s luggage and arranging Sharon’s hotel while Mark was in the hospital, the coverage through AIG Travel Guard helped soften the blow of this otherwise traumatic experience. In addition to all of the travel assistance services provided, the family was reimbursed for all covered expenses, trip interruption, travel delay and luggage delay expenses, totaling over $16,600.

Because Mark and Sharon traveled with travel insurance through AIG Travel Guard, they were able to quickly bounce back from an otherwise awful vacation experience.

The scenario summarized above is offered only as an example. Coverage depends on the actual facts of each case and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy. Anyone interested in the above product should request a copy of the description of coverage for a description of the scope and limitations of coverage. Policy terms may vary based on individual state requirements and may not be available in all states.


Go to www.internationalbenefits.com for more information.

Visit InternationalBenefits.com for travel medical insurance coverage plans, travel insurance quotes, travel tips and advice, and information for travellers.