Have you ever been deathly ill while travelling? Or at least felt like you weren’t going to make it home alive? If you’re a street-food lover or prone to travelling off the beaten track, chances are you have (and hopefully, like this Canadian traveller, you had travel insurance).
Half the fun of travelling is the adventure. But our travel insurance customer, Clara, had an adventure that took a turn for the worst when she got sick in the jungles of Malaysia.
It’s not the heat…
Clara was deep in the jungles of Malaysia when she was suddenly gripped by nausea. She started sweating profusely, and it wasn’t from the heat. She slipped into unconsciousness…just as the local doctor arrived.
A daring rescue, thanks to Clara’s travel insurance
Once Clara fell unconscious, her travelling companion contacted our emergency assistance team. We quickly realized Clara’s life was at risk and arranged for evacuation. We set up ground transportation and multiple air transfers to get Clara to an appropriate medical facility in Kuala Lumpur. The journey took 24 hours.
A welcome trip home
Once at the hospital, Clara was diagnosed with malaria and stabilized until she was able to be air evacuated back home to Canada to begin her recovery.
Clara’s story is a testament to the fact that while every traveller should be covered with the right travel insurance, travel insurance alone is nothing without great service. After all, what good is a policy without experienced professionals to coordinate care if you experience an emergency in a remote location?
Not all care is created equal. While we would have paid the claim to the local doctor if needed, we went the extra mile, making sure Clara got the best care available.
Remember, travel insurance protection is about more than just money. Make sure you find an insurance provider you can trust to provide the best possible care—from the cities of the US to the jungles of Malaysia and everywhere in between.
Over to you
Have a travel adventure or misadventure of your own? Share your story with us—we’d love to hear from you!
Happy travels,
Sarah
Getting sick so far from home must be terrifying! I’ve never been in that situation, but I’m glad Clara got home safe to the care she needed 🙂
That reminds me of a, not so life threatening, story from my honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta. A woman staying at the hotel fell at the bar one night, banging her head on a table. She was taken to the hospital to receive stitches. We spoke with her 3 days later and it turns out that the injury was actually fairly deep and she received a bill for $27,000 for the procedure. She had no travel insurance.
The next day her airline (Canada 3000) shut down and she had to buy another ticket home and extra days in the hotel! My wife and I were very happy that we’d bought our travel insurance.
A real emergency fund will give you great peace of mind in difficult times. Very informative post. I really learned a lot on how to spend less on a vacation. I found your ways very useful, Because no one knows what happened next to us or with anyone. I felt scary, when I read Rob mentioned story, Thanks for sharing. I will keep this on my mind and now I have also a travel insurance. I discuss with my family and I will travel now happily and without any stress.