Urgent travel warning as failure to secure insurance nearly costs Brit his life

A mum has warned Brits to always secure travel insurance before they book holidays this summer – or risk losing their lives.

Debbie Stewart, 53, has stressed the importance of the cover after her brother Dennis, 58, was left unconscious and fighting for his life in hospital following an accident abroad. Dennis has overcome his battle and returned home from Durban, South Africa, where he had plunged backwards down a flight of stairs.

The Mirror told in March how Dennis, who works in security, cracked his skull and lost all recollection of the accident and urgent treatment which followed. He and his sister both forgot to secure his travel insurance, which Debbie says would have been just £20, and the mistake left the family facing bills of up to £10,000.

But Dennis is home – and, against odds, is back at work, less than four months after his ordeal. It is all due to the help of kind-hearted strangers and work colleagues, whom donated to Dennis’s fundraiser.

Speaking to the Mirror, mum-of-two Debbie said: “We had to rely on complete and utter strangers. We were humbled, very humbled for the support. So it shows the world is a good place and strangers can be so kind. We couldn’t have done it without the help of strangers.

“Work colleagues we had not met before, or met once or twice donated so much. Dennis’ colleagues were great; one colleague who he had only ever spoken to once donated £100 alone, which was overwhelming.

“Dennis will never forget to sort out insurance before he goes on holiday again. He actually wants to go back to Durban, but I’ve said he’s not, unless he gets that insurance booked first. It would have cost him £20, and instead it nearly cost him his life. He said he forgot and I did, I had an extremely busy week when he booked the trip, I remember.

“It is a lesson learned the hard way but he has realised the importance of insurance. He could have died but now he knows the importance of it. He realises as well that he is not invisible. It has brought him way back down to Earth in some ways, and now he appreciates a lot more things.

“Regardless of where you are going, or if you know the area or not, my message is you must always sort travel insurance, before you even book a holiday. You have to prepare. If you can’t afford insurance, which often is something like £20, then you shouldn’t go on holiday really. Don’t leave the country until you have that, because it nearly cost my brother his life.”

Debbie’s stark warning comes with school summer holidays approaching and many families prepare to enjoy breaks abroad. Her message echoes that of Thelma Francis, a gran from Hullbridge, Essex, who last year told the Mirror travel insurance is crucial – after Ryanair initially refused to refund or reschedule her flight to Murcia, Spain, following her heart attack.

Dennis’s plight was more severe as, after medics in South Africa told him the scheduled flight to London Heathrow would “probably kill him”, he anticipated costs of private healthcare, accommodation and other charges to amount to £10,000. After encouragement from friends, Debbie reluctantly created a fundraising page to help cover her family’s bleak costs.

Debbie, who lives in Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, said: “It was a frightening to go through this experience. The journey back was a test. It was one hour to Johannesburg, and then a ten-and-a-half hour journey to Heathrow. Dennis felt like he had no life left when we got to Heathrow but we were told to expect that.

“It really took it out of him. It then took him probably around one month to get his stamina back and now he’s, I’d say, 99.9% back to his former self. He is back at work, which is great news because we thought he might not be able to go back to work at all. His work have been very supportive, so he is very lucky in that he has the option to reduce duties until he gets his stamina for work completely back.

“He was able to regain his strength over time because he was very fit before the accident. He still has no memory of what exactly happened. He has no recollection of that night, or the first few days in hospital. So it’s nearly one week of nothing, and I doubt he will ever get that back. This frustrates him, but I tell him ‘Dennis, it could have been a lot, lot worse’. He does get frustrated but it is what the brain does. We are human beings; we break, and he is still alive.”

Dennis, who lives in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, has been back at work for two weeks and has reduced duties as he recovers. He still has regular appointments with doctors but the long-term impact of the injuries doesn’t appear as bleak as it was first feared in March.

When a British pensioner went to Marmaris, Turkey with out travel insurance recently, he fell ill and was eventually put into into an induced coma. Malcolm Stocker’s family, from Weymouth, Dorset, said they were being forced to pay a £40,000 “ransom” to free their father from the hospital.

His daughter, 33-year-old Emma-Jane Stocker, said: “The hospital are holding him and demanding payment. Everyday they have him the bill goes up. It is like they are holding him hostage and won’t release him until the first £20,000 is paid. The bill is currently £41,000 but they won’t give us an itemised bill or any paperwork. It seems like it is all made up.

“We know he shouldn’t have gone and we can’t be held accountable for his choice but he is our dad and we need to do everything we can to get him home.”