Camino Essential: Travel Insurance

[Desert Rain]

Although it has been mentioned in passing, I want to emphasize the importance of travel medical insurance, especially for those from the U.S. and other non-E.U. countries. Let me share my cautionary tail....

Last March, I was starting my 4th day of the camino via mountain bike – on the trail rather than the paved road. Less than five minutes after leaving the albergue in Logroño, my rear tire lost traction on the rain-slicked cobble stones in the center of the city. My foot hit the pavement, and as I fell to the ground, I saw that my knee was completely dislocated. To make a long (and painful!) story short, I had torn every ligament in my knee – ACL, LCL, PCL and MCL!

Within 12 hours, I would learn how very fortunate I was in two ways....

First, absolutely EVERYONE with whom I came into contact during the accident and subsequent hospitalization was amazingly kind, caring and generous. From the municipal police and ambulance drivers to the nurses and social worker at the hospital to the airport staff in Madrid, I was so very impressed and moved by the care they showed. The police even took my bike back to the police station where they disassembled it, and packed it up for my plane flight home to the U.S. In terms of the medical care, I do not think I could not have received better care anywhere in the world.

Second, purchasing travel medical insurance turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Although my normal health insurance at home would have eventually reimbursed me for most of the hospitalization, I would have had to pay out of pocket. More importantly, no home insurance would have paid for the many non-medical costs or helped me with the logistics of getting home in a hip-to-toe cast. My $80 investment in the travel insurance saved me more than $10,000 in expenses. Upon giving the nurse my insurance information in the emergency room, I had absolutely no further paperwork or out of pocket costs. My medical travel insurance both paid for and helped me arrange the following:

• 100% of the cost of hospitalization for 3 days.
• 100% of the cost of the ambulance ride to the hospital.
• 100% of the cost of a four-hour ambulance ride from Logroño to the airport in Madrid.
• 100% of the cost of a Business Class flight from Madrid to my home in Arizona purchased the day before the flight. (With my cast, I couldn't even fit into a coach seat and this plane ticket alone would have cost me $4000!)

More than just paying for these things, the insurance company worked directly with the hospital social worker to make all of the arrangements for my return journey. Imagine trying to arrange for a 4-hour ambulance ride without this help: not only would the logistics be a nightmare (even if you speak spanish fluently), but you would have to arrange for payment.... all from your hospital bed while drugged out on pain meds! Instead, all I had to do was concentrate on getting better.

Please, please, please.... spend the small amount of money needed to obtain travel medical insurance. If nothing else, it will give you peace of mind. That alone, is worth $3 per day!

HAPPY ENDING.... After two surgeries, two months lying in bed, and four months of physical therapy, I am planning on returning to Logroño where I will continue my Camino exactly one year after my accident. This time, I will be walking....

Will I have insurance? You can count on it!

[zzotte]

Well first I hope you are doing well considering what happened, I think is a great idea to have insurance when traveling the problem I find is finding a good insurance company so maybe you could send me a PM with the name of company? That would be great.

Zo

[Desert Rain]

I found my travel insurance through a basic on-line search. I used Frontier Medex: http://www.medexassist.com. I am sure that there are other equally good companies out there, but I cannot provide any first-hand feedback on them. In my case, Medex was affordable and very, very helpful when the ALMOST worst-case scenario came to pass.

[zzotte]

Thank you Desert Rain, wow a search for "international travel insurance" yields tons of companies thanks for the info at least is a starting point.

Zo

[heyjude]

Thank you for this post. We will definitely buy travel medical insurance, but what is your advice on trip cancellation insurance? It sounds like that didn't come into play in your case, but did you have that, too?

[cherylpatton]

Thank you so much for this information! It's exactly what I need.
Cheryl