Why You Should Always Take Travel Insurance

We always recommend that you add travel insurance to any vacation package. We offer options through many of our suppliers (cruise lines, Disney, etc.) and also through our partnership with Travel Guard. Here’s a story of one couple who was very happy they had purchased insurance for their vacation. This excerpt is from the latest industry newsletter sent out by Travel Guard.

Richard K. and his wife were on a dream vacation; a seven day tropical cruise with stops in Belize, Honduras, and Mexico. The vacation was a gift to Richard from his wife of 47 years to celebrate his 68th birthday. But what should have been a time of celebration, turned into a terrifying ordeal.

“I wasn’t feeling well a few days into the cruise so I went to our cabin to lay down that evening,” said Richard. “My wife, who happens to be an intensive care unit nurse, noticed that I was extremely pale. After I discovered blood when I went to the bathroom, my wife called the ship’s infirmary and I was rushed to the ship’s hospital.”

Luckily his wife recognized the importance of getting Richard to a doctor because soon after Richard lost consciousness from loss of blood. The ship’s doctor realized the severity of the situation and asked Richard’s wife for her permission to transfuse his own blood into Richard, a move that saved Richard’s life. An announcement was made over the loudspeakers on the ship asking others to donate their blood, and within minutes the room was filled with donors.

“After receiving a total of 5 units of blood, I was transferred about 8 miles out at sea to a small Mexican Navy Boat. An hour and a half later I was brought to a hospital in Cancun where they repaired and stopped the internal bleeding. The wonderful people at Travel Guard were notified and a decision was made to airlift me to a hospital in Miami, Florida for further care,” said Richard.

With a medical crew in tow, Richard was airlifted to a hospital in Florida where he was in the ICU for several days and received further treatment. Travel Guard stayed in daily contact with Richard’s doctors and received regular updates on his status and condition. After a few setbacks, Richard was eventually fit to travel and was looking forward to getting home with his wife.

Thankfully Richard had purchased a travel insurance plan with Travel Guard and he didn’t have to worry about how he and his wife would get home.

“Once my doctors deemed me fit to travel, Travel Guard coordinated a medical escort to assist me on the flight home,” said Richard. “Travel Guard coordinated all of the flight arrangements and ensured I got home safely. The people at Travel Guard are the best, I really can’t say enough about the professionalism and service I experienced.”