How Travel Insurance Saved Us $25,000
We worked it out. It would have cost us at least $25,000 US in medical treatment alone.
A little while ago, I wrote about choosing the best travel insurance for your ski or snowboard holiday. I emphasise in that post how important it is to have travel insurance and why I consider myself a bit of an expert on the topic.
I wanted to share with you an insurance claim that we had to make that would have cost us at least $25,000 US if we had to pay for it. It ended up costing us $500 for the excess on our claim.
We were on a snowboarding holiday in Colorado with a bunch of friends. We had planned a 3 week holiday, spending one week at Breckenridge, one week at Vail and one at Keystone. We were right in the middle of our holiday in Vail and Mick went out snowboarding with one of our friends. I had decided to have a day off. They were riding and having fun when they accidentally collided. They both came back to our apartment and Mick said he had a sore shoulder. We iced it, had a bit of a laugh and Mick planned to drive to the shops to get some groceries. He then realised that he couldn't actually lift his arm up and that perhaps it was dislocated.
We thought we better get it checked out and I drove us to the emergency ward.
It turned out that yes, he had dislocated his shoulder, but HE HAD ALSO BROKEN IT.
STILL SMILING EVEN THOUGH HE CAN'T SNOWBOARD
We couldn't believe it. It was going to require surgery. We called our travel insurance company immediately and started the discussion on next steps. After a few days, it was decided that the surgery would be done in the US. Mick was booked in a few days later and the operation was performed. It was a shame that his snowboarding holiday was cut short, but on the positive side, he was at least on the road to recovery before the long plane ride back to Australia. Our travel insurance company were great and even booked two seats on the plane for Mick on the way home so that he had enough room. They also offered wheelchair assistance to get us around at the airport which we didn't need because I am super strong (sorry, couldn't help myself).
It was a really unfortunate thing to happen but without travel insurance, we would still be paying for that holiday now. Our travel insurance covered us for doctors appointments, emergency care, an excellent surgeon, an anaesthetist, hospital accommodation, post care, medications and an extra seat on the plane home. I don't know what we would have done without it.
So yes, we are fans of travel insurance. We take it out for every holiday and hope that we don't ever have to call on it. You might save a few bucks by not purchasing it as long as nothing goes wrong. But trust me, when something happens you'll be so thankful that you have it.
If you're not sure which travel insurance provider to go with, check out our earlier post on How To Choose The Best Travel Insurance For Your Ski Holiday. I recommend a few and also cover what to look out for in a travel insurance company. The travel insurance providers listed cover all types of holidays, not just ski and snowboard holidays. We use them again and again because we have had good experiences with them.
Have you had any crazy experiences with travel insurance? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you! (Make sure you click on 'subscribe via e-mail' to be notified when we write back).
Jen