Monday, December 23, 2024

Tourists urged to check travel insurance after family given £41,000 medical bill

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The travel advice and holiday information organisation ABTA has shared a number of checks tourists should consider before buying insurance for their time away.

The advice comes after a family of tourists accused a hospital of holding their grandfather ‘hostage’ on a holiday to Turkey.

Malcolm Stocker was admitted to an intensive care unit at the Ahu Hospital in Marmaris, Turkey for nearly one month after being diagnosed with pneumonia and falling into a coma.

Whilst family members of the former pub landlord, who was refused travel insurance due to pre-existing medical conditions, say Malcolm is now out of the induced coma, the Turkish hospital refuses to release him until they pay medical expenses of £41,000.

The family has received nearly £5,000 from fundraisers so far, with an aim of getting Malcolm an evacuation flight, which typically costs around £20,000.

According to ABTA, tourists are advised to always take out travel insurance before going on holiday, and should check to see how much money the policy will cover.

Generally, the organisation suggested that the policy should have up to £2million of medical cover for trips to Europe and at least £5million if holidaymakers plan to travel elsewhere in the world.

Whilst both figures sound incredibly high, medical expenses can be particularly high around the world, particularly in the USA, where locals paid an average of $13,493 (£10,650) per person in 2022.

ABTA also recommended that tourists should carefully check if the policy they are interested in covers repatriation.

Whilst no tourist likes to think it will happen to them, repatriation means that those who are seriously ill or have passed away can be quickly transported back to the UK, either on a scheduled flight or, if necessary, an air ambulance.

Repatriation is covered in the majority of standard policies available, however it is always a good idea to double check that it is included, with most providers listing it under ‘key features’.

Finally, tourists planning to go on holiday should also check if their travel insurance policy will cover them should their trip be extended due to medical problems.

If tourists need time to recover from their illness abroad, loved ones they are travelling with will likely be faced with paying more than expected for their accommodation.

Making sure that a travel insurance provider will cover this can help holidaymakers avoid running up high bills at their hotel, and can also make sure they can get home if they miss their initial flight.

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