A recent report by USA Today Travel, Sick cruise passenger dropped into Arctic waters, highlights the need for evacuation coverage in travel insurance plans.
According to the report, 73-year-old Janet Richardson was suffering from internal bleeding and an emergency call was made by the cruise ship, Ocean Countess, to Norwegian rescue authorities who dispatched a rescue boat. During her transfer from the cruise ship to the rescue boat, the patient plunged into the Arctic sea and had to be recovered from the frigid waters. Richardson was taken to a hospital in Norway where she was treated for several days before being airlifted back to England, where she is recovering according to current reports.
Here at Travel Insurance Review, we’re cheering Janet Richardson’s bravery and wishing her a speedy and thorough recovery.
While this emergency evacuation was bungled, and it’s not clear from the article weather Richardson and her husband had purchased travel insurance, it’s important to note that emergency evacuations from cruise ships, mountain tops, and jungles could still play an unwanted part in your future travel plans.
These evacuations are not cheap thrills; they are very costly efforts involving a number of experts and without travel insurance protection, you could be footing the bill on your own. Of course, the cruise ship won’t pull into port and wait while you recover either, so you’ve got to figure out how to get home once you can safely travel. Travel insurance with emergency evacuation coverage can arrange and pay for transportation to the closest medical facility. This coverage (depending on the plan) will also help you arrange transportation appropriate to your condition to get back home.
