Need help? Talk to a live person!
(800) 647-4589 or 01 (480) 821-9052

HTML tutorial

Not Your Ordinary Evacuation

Not Your Ordinary Evacuation Featured Image

Many clients ask me how medical evacuations are handled? My response: No two evacuations are the same.

When there is a medical emergency and the insured is not able to receive adequate local care, then he or she must call the 24 hour telephone assistance number. A crisis manager will begin asking the insured questions regarding his or her location, contact information, a description of injury or illness, policy information and if there is an attending physician. All this information will determine how, where and when the evacuation will be orchestrated.

On January 9th, our client, who was in Haiti, received a needle stick while providing care to patients. Due to the location, the organization he was with had to take precautions that he may have been exposed to the HIV virus. He visited a local American physician and was put on HIV prophylaxis treatment. The insured also called his local Disease Control Doctor in his home town for advice. After the doctors evaluated his condition, it was recommended that the team member return to his home city for further treatment.

In this case, the above medical emergency was not life threatening, but the insured could not receive the proper medical tests and care which were urgently needed to prevent the possible infection of HIV. The insured contacted the 24 hour telephone assistance helpline and was able to reserve a ticket for the next commercial flight home where he received the proper medical care to treat his potential infection. The cost to the change of ticket was covered by the insurance saving the insured a $300 change of ticket fee.

Author: Adam Bates