By: Marcia Abramson
Fortunately, I was able to raise the required cash to charter a private plane to transport the body to St. Martin for a flight back to New York. Lynne Webber, the manager of the hotel at that time, arranged for me to get the cash that I needed with my credit card. She arranged for the doctor and the government officials to provide me with the necessary death certificate and other required documents and arranged for ground transfers. At the time I had no travel insurance and had to shell out thousands of dollars to cover costly private transportation. I now won't leave home without it. Just the other day, I learned that a passenger on a South American Cruise came down with a high temperature of unknown origin. The ship's doctor notified the Brazilian authorities and the ill woman was removed from the ship and taken to the nearest hospital. She was then flown home by private jet. Fortunately, she and her traveling companions had travel interruption insurance and they did not have to pay for all the transportation, medical bills and received some remuneration for part of the remainder of the cruise they missed. I learned that there has been a two-fold increase in the purchases of travel policies by American travelers, according to Jim Grace, president of on-line broker InsureMyTrip.com in Town &Country Travel Magazine. The increase of favor in active and adventure holidays has made traveling more risky today in addition to hurricanes in Florida and the Caribbean and the tsunamis in Southeast Asia. The insurance can cover accidental death, critical injury and medical evacuations in addition to stolen luggage, lost passports and travel delays. You can figure that the cost of your insurance package to add 6 to 7 percent of the cost of your trip. Also before purchasing insurance, analyze your current medical insurance which may cover overseas medical costs. Additionally, a homeowner's policy may cover lost, stolen or damaged property. Some credit cards when used to purchase travel can also cover certain losses. It is also important to carefully check if the policy covers defaults by tour operators or airlines and cancellations because of illness or death of a family member or terrorism attacks. The Premiere Issue of Town & Country Travel (Joanna L. Krotz) had the following advice on "Picking a Policy" at on-line brokerages: InsureMyTrip.com and TripInsurance.com or scrutinize policies from individual insurers. Top-rated companies are often owned or underwritten by larger insurance corporations and have a history of reputable service. Access America (800-284-8300; www.accessamerica.com) Travel Insurance Services (800-937-1387: travelinsure.com) sell plans that include trip cancellation and interruption, emergency medical and dental, accident and collision, baggage, trip delay and with Access America, concierge services (like finding you a hotel) for about $250 for a $4,000 trip. Travel Guard International (800-826-4919; travelguard.com) has trip cancellation, interruption and delay policies. For a traveler in the 40s age bracket, medical and evacuation coverage starts at $38 for a 15-day trip. HTH Worldwide (888-243-2358; hthworldwide.com) offers medical coverage for international travel at $90 to $120 for 10 days, $8 to $11 per additional day. Hopefully the adage "an ounce of prevention or protection is worth a pound of cure" will prove true.
© Copyright by Marcia AbramsonE-mail: mascrib@aol.com
