Travel insurance or assistance policies can save a lot of grief when ...

It seemed innocent at the time: a sightseeing ATV ride down a mountain in Moorea, an idyllic South Pacific island known for serenity and beauty.

But things quickly spiraled out of control for Edwin "Ned" Brockenbrough when he began to tumble, broke 12 ribs and suffered internal injuries.

The Seattle surgeon was evacuated to the best hospital in Papeete, the capital of Tahiti. But the medical staff didn't provide adequate care, which one doctor rationalized by saying Brockenbrough was "an old man."

"They weren't going to do anything," said Jean Brockenbrough, his wife.

The 79-year-old Brockenbrough, of Hunt's Point, Wash., needed a blood transfusion, fast. That's when his family set into motion coverage from a travel assistance policy he had bought separately from his vacation package.

"The company took it from there. They found all the help he needed to get home," Jean said. "They saved my husband's life."

The policy was through On Call International, which specializes in travel assistance insurance, rather than traditional travel interruption insurance.

The company representative knew whom to call to get assistance in Tahiti. The Tahiti connection got gurney-bound Brockenbrough out on the next Air Tahiti Nui flight to Los Angeles, accompanied by a doctor and nurse. From there he was transferred to Seattle by medical jet, then hospitalized for treatment.

Peace of mind policies

In case your travels go awry, consider these types of coverage. Purchases can be made through the websites:

Travel assistance: This goes beyond covering inconveniences by providing boots on the ground for emergency help. Providers include oncall international.com and globalrescue.com; other insurance providers can expand standard policies to offer this broader assistance coverage. Adventure sports: If you're doing something wild (such as "stilt walking" or "zorbing") your sport could be on a list of more than 100 that require special coverage. Providers include worldnomads.com and adventure advocates.com.

Prices: They vary widely, depending on length of travel and type of coverage. Expect to pay from $50 to $600. Weigh your risks, then decide.

The cost of the evacuation was more than $50,000, not a small sum but one the family could have paid. But it was the knowledge and connections the insurance company provided that were priceless, according to Jean Brockenbrough.

"The only question they asked us was whether, while riding on the ATV, he was engaged in a contest of speed," Jean said with a chuckle, recalling her conversation with the insurance company representative.

"We're a medical family. Our son is a surgeon too. We know how to navigate the medical care system pretty well, but not in a foreign country.

"It was a godsend to have this assistance."

When it comes to purchasing insurance or travel assistance, it's a decision left to the individual. Reputable travel agents will inform clients of the options, but a few hundred dollars tacked onto the cost of a pricey trip may not be something everyone wants to bear.

The theory behind insurance is to insure what you can't afford to lose. Still, many travelers choose to insure the wrong thing: the errant suitcase that doesn't show up at baggage claim, while forgetting to insure situations that could save a life, as was the case for the Brockenbroughs.

"The main thing with travel insurance is to know what is covered and what is not covered," said Marie Dodd, spokeswoman for the Portland office of the AAA, North America's largest travel agency. "There are a lot of different products out there. You need to read the fine print and trust your travel agent."

She said purchase of travel insurance is prevalent in Portland, "about 75 percent," for those who buy big-ticket cruise or tour packages through AAA. It is much less common, less than 20 percent, for those who make air, hotel and car reservations.

David Christopher of Happy Valley has led treks from Portland to the Himalayas for more than three decades. His Folkways Institute groups have rarely needed insurance, but occasionally someone does.

One man required a lifesaving evacuation from the Mount Everest area. He didn't have insurance, but his wife was happy to dip into their saving for the $5,000 helicopter flight.

While in Bhutan, one of Christopher's group broke an arm and asked for a helicopter evacuation. Since Bhutan does not use helicopters, the rescue flight had to be called from Nepal. Insurance covered the $30,000 tab.

Another expensive evacuation in Bhutan wound up the responsibility of the trekker because, though insurance was available, the insured did not obtain proper documentation before leaving the country.

Travel coverage usually comes in two forms: trip interruption insurance, or assistance insurance for emergencies that arise along the way. An individual's medical policy most likely has a limit on what is covered when something happens outside the United States, so supplemental insurance can offer additional protection.

Traditional travel insurance is often sold by an agent or on a website at the time of trip purchase. It may cover lost luggage, trip cancellation, costs due to delay, death or illness, and medical evacuation.

Travel assistance policies are often sold as an addition to a tour package, often bought directly from a company's website for single-trip or annual coverage. It may cover such items as medical emergencies and evacuation, prescription drug and dental emergencies, credit card replacement, delayed baggage tracking, language translation, legal assistance and, in case of death, return of remains.

Any policy should have 24-hour contact information, by phone or Internet, from anywhere in the world.

On Call International has thousands of clients who never make a claim, because most trips go as planned and incidents are rare. But accidents do happen and travelers do get sick.

A cruise ship passenger was evacuated at On Call's expense while in the Caribbean, flown to Florida for treatment, then home to Grants Pass (with medical escort) for recuperation. The company also paid when pneumonia required quick transport of the insured from Seattle back home to Phoenix.

"We're like AAA when you have trouble with your car," said Michael J. Kelly, president of On Call International. "You call, we come and get you. We even go to Cuba."

His company also helped evacuate 300 business executives, tourists and students from Egypt during last year's upheaval, something that is normally excluded from traditional travel insurance because it is classified as "political unrest."

Source: http://blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard/2012/03/travel_insurance_or_assitance.html

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