The recent Spanish train crash, in which 79 people died after a train derailed near the famous pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela, shows just how quickly disaster can strike. So, too, did last week's coach crash in southern Italy, which saw 38 people killed when a tour bus plunged off a flyover and into a ravine.
Tragedies like this are the last thing we expect when we head off on holidays – yet they can happen. Aside from the personal trauma experienced if you or a relative are injured (or worse) in a foreign accident or disaster, the financial headache can be debilitating. If you don't have insurance, you could have to cough up hundreds of thousands of euro to cover the hospital bills that arise from a medical emergency abroad.
SCARY BILLS
How to estimate the cost of an Air Ambulance.
We the constant global travel that takes place nowadays it goes without saying getting ill abroad is a concern. Having lived in Portugal for a few years a topic amongst expats is often health care and cost of same. I know people have Medical Insurance for cover in excellent Portuguese Private Hospitals. On the other hand, I know English and French people that will always return to their native countries for medical care.
I recall a few years ago a French lady living in Lagos Portugal and she required a serious neurological intervention surgery. She opted to make the punishing journey back to France by car.
Having travelled all over the world medical insurance and the cost of Air Ambulance has often entered my mind.
I recently read an article in the Irish Independent that gave an insight into this scenario.
If you're seriously injured while travelling in the US, for example, your hospital bills could reach almost half a million euro, according to Ciaran Mulligan, managing director of Blue Insurances.
Mulligan, who has more than 20 years' experience in the insurance industry, cited a case where an Irish man was paralysed from the neck down after diving into a pool while holidaying in Las Vegas. "The medical bills, in this case, came to almost €450,000," said Mulligan.
In another case cited by Mulligan, an Irish holidaymaker was injured in a motorcycle accident in the US. The medical bills came to €100,000, including a €60,000 bill to have him flown back to Ireland by air ambulance.
A stint in a European hospital could set you back tens of thousands of euro. "A week in a hospital in Europe could easily cost from €5,000 to €10,000," said Dermot Goode, of healthinsurancesavings.ie. "If you're in a hospital for a few weeks, you could be talking around €25,000."
AVOIDING FINANCIAL HEADACHES
So what can you do to avoid ending up in a financial nightmare if a medical emergency strikes while you're abroad?
If you are holidaying in Europe, get a European Health Insurance card E111 through your local health office before you travel.
With this card, you are entitled to free emergency care in a public hospital if you become ill or injured while travelling in the European Economic Area (that is, the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
REPATRIATION COSTS
If you have to be flown home for medical care after being injured abroad, the repatriation bill could run into tens or hundreds of thousands of euro.
Earlier this year, VHI Healthcare said the average repatriation costs for an air ambulance was €150,000 from Australia and New Zealand, between €59,000 and €65,000 from the US and €9,000 from France. If you don't have insurance, you'll have to foot the bill yourself.
Most travel insurers and private health insurers cover repatriation costs but you should check if this cover is included in your policy – as well as any limit to the costs for which you are covered.
Your insurer will only cover you for repatriation if it's done on medical grounds. "If you simply don't like the hospital abroad and hop on a plane home, you won't be covered," said Goode. "You have to be declared fit for flying – otherwise, your travel insurance will be null and void."
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