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Real Life Traveller Claim Stories

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Our partner, Tugo has provided some real-life travel insurance claims examples to help show the importance of making sure you don’t travel without insurance.

Horse-back riding accident would’ve cost a family over $191,000 without travel insurance

Destination: West Palm Beach, Florida

9-year-old Kate had an unfortunate horseback riding accident, while vacationing in Florida. Her parents rushed her to the hospital, where doctors performed several scans; the X-rays showed a fracture on the upper portion of her right arm, which she landed on during the fall.

Due to the fracture type, surgery was required to realign the bone, including the need for external pins. Kate was kept in hospital overnight and discharged the next day. A follow-up appointment was scheduled, as well as several X-rays, to ensure she was healing correctly.

Even one night in an American hospital is costly; luckily, Kate’s parents purchased travel insurance for the whole family, covering their daughter’s medical expenses and care.

• Hospital fees – $169,147.85
• Doctors’ fees – $23,341.69
• Radiology – $3,998.01
• Fracture benefit – $348.55
• Provincial healthcare – $3,739.83

Amount paid by TuGo – $191,833.14

Travel Insurance saves Paul $200,000+ on medical bills, caused by double pneumonia

Destination: Boca Raton, Florida

77-year-old snowbird, Paul, was vacationing in Boca Raton when he began experiencing weakness in his body, foot pain and increasing confusion. He fell multiple times as well.

After a week of enduring these symptoms, he was hospitalized. Tests revealed that the cause of his illness was pneumonia in both lungs and blood poisoning, known as sepsis. Gangrene had developed on one toe, which needed to be amputated before re-infection set in. After eight days in the hospital, he was medically stable enough to be air-evacuated to a hospital in Canada for further treatment.

Paul always ensures he buys emergency medical insurance before travelling, which covered his medical expenses and got him home safely.

• Hospital fees – $226,202.11
• Doctors’ fees – $9,953.79
• Radiology – $5,073.47
• Air ambulance – $28,947.33
• Provincial healthcare -$2,266.10

Amount paid by TuGo – $268,610.60