Travel Insurance Saves a Life

Insurance industry providers like to say that there are three reasons travelers don’t become consumers of their product: cost, difficulty making a claim, and “I’ll never need it.”

This month, Conde Nast Traveler has published an article on how critical travel insurance can be. Published online May 12, “How Travel Insurance Saved My Life” describes in great detail how author Mary Holland contracted dengue fever in Vietnam, and how her travel insurance stepped in to save her.

“It was an insurance representative, not a doctor, who best advocated for the author’s health,” the article says. “Here’s why you need coverage, too.”

According to Holland, after waking drenched in sweat and itching horribly in a Saigon apartment, she made several trips to the hospital that proved “useless.” Finally, getting sicker every day, she called her father, who contacted her travel-insurance company, who immediately called her back and took charge.

The representative, from South Africa, started asking Holland about her condition. “What were my symptoms? How long had I been experiencing them? What were they testing me for? Many of her questions, the hospital staff hadn’t thought to ask. Finally, in a time and a place where I couldn’t help myself, someone could help me.”

The representative called the hospital and spoke to the staff there. Holland was tested the next day for dengue fever, which if left untreated is fatal in 50% of the cases. Holland describes the rest of her ordeal, and provides tips on what kind of insurance to purchase and how coverage works.

Insurance literally saved her life, she said.