Bill left me travel sick
TRAVEL insurance saved Chris Breskal more than £1,000 in medical bills after he fell ill during a trip to America’s West Coast. But while he got better, the side-effects over a charging mix-up lasted a little longer.
Chris, who returned from his travels last autumn had been told by his insurer Intana Assist that his claim had been accepted.
“But then I got a letter from the Seattle clinic, where I’d been treated for sickness, saying two bills relating to me remained unpaid and debt collectors would be chasing me if I didn’t settle,” Chris tells Crusader.
“I certainly didn’t want to end up on a blacklist somewhere. It could cause my entry to be blocked in future. And I didn’t have £1,000 to pay this bill either,” he added.
Chris, who had taken out a single trip policy through online travel agency Opodo, had sent his paperwork to Intana and been told the processing was under way.
But as more demands arrived at home, he became seriously rattled. Crusader contacted the insurer to alert them and it came back just a couple of days later confirming the account had now been cleared. Most travellers know medical treatment in the US is very expensive but we were puzzled by the complications Chris encountered. Was his a “oneoff” problem or was it symptomatic of the system there?
America is not straightforward, according to insurance industry experts, so it’s worth holidaymakers bearing that in mind.
If a traveller receives multiple treatments, they could be billed separately, which involves more processing and potentially further confusion as insurer or customer can think they have paid when they haven’t.
Hospitals in the US also don’t like being paid directly, so settlement is often through local agents, which can open up the invoicing process to more communication hitches.
“The most positive thing to come out of this for me is the importance of having travel cover,” says Chris.
“I would hope my claim would have been sorted out eventually. But Crusader took action for me when most needed and that has been a big relief.”