A young couple from New Jersey were seriously hurt in a scooter crash while on vacation in the Bahamas last week, but that was just the start of their ordeal. Not having insurance, these travelers were refused medical treatment by hospitals in Bahama and then later in Miami.
Ms. Barreto suffered a dislocated leg, spine fracture, and lacerated liver; and Mr. Gallinella, broken ribs, a punctured lung, and neck injuries. Both were stuck in a regional hospital in the Bahamas for nearly a week before friends, businesses, and relatives gathered funds and garnered a federal emergency loan amounting to thousands of dollars to get them home.
Their passage home on a medical flight cost over $22,000 – both patients had chest tubes and were required to be transported on stretchers.
At Travel Insurance Review, we hate to hear stories like this because these travelers could have saved themselves, as well as their families, friends, and others a whole lot of heartache and worry. They could have saved everyone some hard-earned cash too. Even without having health insurance back home, travel insurance would have cost them very little and they would have had a travel assistance services team on hand to coordinate their medical transportation so they could start their medical treatment immediately instead of languishing for a week while funds were collected back home.
Running their basic trip details through our travel insurance comparison engine:
- Two travelers from New Jersey, ages 36 and 24
- In the Bahamas for a week, no trip cancellation selected
- Selecting a hazardous sports rider (for the scooter-riding)
We chose three different plans from three different travel insurance providers:
For less than $20, these travelers could have had the medical and evacuation protection they so clearly needed and saved their friends, neighbors, and family a lot of worry and fear.
When you look at it like this, travel insurance really does become a no-brainer.
