We can talk for a long time about how important travel insurance is, but it’s best to turn to those who have more than once been convinced of the need for insurance from their own experience. We have collected true stories of people for whom insurance has repeatedly turned out to be a life-saving way out of a difficult situation.
Larisa Gulak
28 years old, head of the printing house
Travel insurance is the key to a happy holiday, and you shouldn’t neglect it. I’ll tell you two edifying stories.
The first happened in France, where my careless friend fell off his bike and broke his finger. At the hospital they first straightened him out and then put him in a cast. We were then afraid that the insurance company would refuse payments, considering cycling an extreme sport – this item was not included in our program. We worried in vain: they paid everything without any problems and also helped a lot with communication. In French hospitals, few people speak English, and all communication with honey. personnel ultimately fell on the shoulders of the insurance company, and I don’t even know what we would have done.
The second story happened in Spain. Then there was an emergency: a man was taken to intensive care with a sudden attack of diabetes. After two days in intensive care, he was transferred to a regular ward, and after another four, he was discharged. As a result, we received a huge bill from the hospital for 7,000 euros. Of course, in order to cover them, we had to collect a lot of documents for the insurance company confirming the fact of the insured event. And even though, in my opinion, we were unlucky with the insurance company at that time, I cannot imagine that we would be left without insurance at all. Two weeks later, already in Russia, we received five and a half thousand euros, partially covering the costs. I had to pay another one and a half on my own. All this means is that you need to approach the choice of an insurance company wisely, but it’s better to forget right away about relying on “maybe”.
Maria Samoilovich
26 years old, photographer
When we go on a trip, my husband and I always take out insurance, and for some time now, extended insurance. I can’t count how many times she has helped us out! In each case, we received timely assistance and insurance payments in an expedited manner. The first time I needed insurance was in Bali, where I got sick. The insurance company employees advised us in detail over the phone and directed us to the best hospital in Denpasar. There I was provided with the necessary assistance and prescribed medications, and the company took care of all financial insurance issues.
The last incident happened quite recently: our luggage was lost in Paris, and it could not be found for four days. The insurance company paid us ten thousand rubles for waiting.
Yana Vitkovskaya
26 years old, baker
I take insurance on almost all my trips. It is inexpensive, but gives a feeling of calm. In 2013, I once again went to Bali for three months. I chose the insurance company carefully: I looked at the list of international companies that are in Bali, then I looked at the Russian insurance companies that cooperate with them. I took extended insurance, covering water sports – I planned to go surfing – and riding a scooter/moped. You can’t live without a scooter in Asia, so you shouldn’t save on insurance: medicine is expensive, especially in good international clinics.
During my three-month stay on the island, the insurance came in handy three times. The first time I had something like an allergy, the second time – a cold, and the third – the most serious – a typical accident. I collided with another scooter, fell into the first lane, and had two heavy mopeds on my leg. Fortunately, everything ended well, they helped me. I got home and contacted the insurance company. International clinics are something! Clean, beautiful, bright. They ran tests on me, treated my wounds, gave me medicine and sent me home. By signing the forms, you will find out how expensive medicine is there! A few days later I flew to Russia and continued treatment here. I had enough of all the medicine, and there was even some left over.
The second memorable incident occurred in Bulgaria. There in the water park I hit my head hard on the slide – laughing through my tears! During the examination, the doctor suggested doing a tomography of the head: there was a suspicion of a concussion. This service is very expensive and required the consent of the insurance company. They responded immediately: “If you need to, then, of course, do it!” Everything worked out well, and I was once again glad that I had taken out insurance. Always get insurance, but don’t chase the best price, choose your company and coverage wisely!
Katya Malysheva
28 years old, travel agency employee
My tourists had a situation where they became seriously ill at the hotel with the terrible coxsackie virus. The insurance doctor refused to make a real diagnosis, justifying this by the fact that such a serious illness should under no circumstances be mentioned out loud and written about in certificates, because in this case a quarantine would be introduced and the hotel would be closed. He will simply be fired for this. He wrote tonsillitis on the certificate and that was it. The tourists identified the disease themselves based on symptoms and multiple cases at the hotel, as it later turned out. And we also bought medicines ourselves from those recommended on the Internet by those who had been ill. This suggests that you need to choose an insurance company wisely – not everyone performs their duties properly.
Well, about the good stuff. One day a tourist broke her leg while skiing. The insurance not only provided her with a high-quality examination and treatment, including a cast, but also bought an extra seat on the plane.
Yulia Shcherbakova
24 years old, translator
A few years ago, insurance literally saved me. I was on vacation in Europe when I suddenly started having sharp pains in my abdomen. I immediately called the insurance company, and they sent a doctor to the address given within an hour. The doctor not only arrived with everything necessary for the examination, but also with a list of 24-hour pharmacies (evening in Europe, after all). And just recently, the insurance company organized my actions within forty minutes so that I could receive a free examination by an ophthalmologist at a local hospital (something got into my eye under the lens, obviously, and terribly scratched everything there). They even called back about two hours later and asked how everything went and if everything was okay. They also reminded them to give them a paper with a prescription for medicines and receipts upon arrival in Russia.
