A victim of the claims crackdown
Attacked abroad — then insurers leave him with a £2,000 medical bill . . .
A STUDENT stabbed while on a dream holiday to Thailand has been locked in a two-year battle to have his medical bills paid.
In another example of how insurers use crafty small print to wriggle out of claims, 23-year-old Steven Duck was left with a £2,000 bill for treatment following the attack, which happened at an all-night party.
Furthermore, his insurer Direct Travel, which has a popular policy rated as five star, has twice been told to pay up by the independent Ombudsman.
Experts say insurers are increasingly refusing claims made by young people who visit events that could put them at high risk — this includes all- night parties i n Thailand and night-clubbing in Ibiza.
It will be a warning to thousands of families with sons, daughters and grandchildren heading off to spend a gap year abroad.
Meanwhile, complaints to t he Ombudsman about travel insurance jumped 27 pc last year.
‘Unfortunately, some insurers will throw up their hands in horror if you attend some kinds of parties,’ says Bob Atkinson, spokesman for Travel supermarket.
‘ They will consider some events to be full of drugs and alcohol — even i f you haven’t taken any yourself. As a result, they are likely to enforce medical exclusions very rigorously. It’s vital to check and doublecheck the terms and conditions of your policy and make sure you look at advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).’
Mr Duck was attacked shortly after arriving at an all-night beach party on the island of Koh Phangan in 2009.
These events, known as ‘ Full Moon parties’ are popular with young backpackers. But they are also a honeypot for thieves. The FCO warns that druggings, muggings and assaults are common.
‘ I’d just arrived when a woman brushed by me and I felt a sharp pain in my arm,’ says Mr Duck.
‘I saw she was holding a syringe and there was a green liquid oozing from my arm. I shouted: “What have you done? What have you stabbed me with?’’ I started to feel very strange, extremely unwell and disorientated.’
His girlfriend Jasmine Holly, 22, sought medical help and Mr Duck was rushed to a hospital in Bangkok. There, he was told he may have been infected with HIV and was given powerful drugs to combat the virus.
This treatment had horrendous side-effects, leaving him nauseous and suffering hallucinations and terrifying nightmares.
Doctors advised him to return to Britain immediately — but not before he was forced to pay a £2,000 hospital bill by credit card.
Back home, Mr Duck claimed his treatment and the cost of cutting short his trip on the single-trip £50 policy with Direct Travel.
But it turned him down, citing a clause in the policy that states it is not liable for injuries received ‘ while under the influence of drugs not given by a doctor’.
And the insurer has even insinuated Mr Duck took drugs himself, even though there is no firm evidence to support this claim.
Mr Duck, who studies sports therapy, says: ‘I am so angry Direct Travel accused me of lying — it is hugely upsetting to me and my family. ‘I have never taken drugs in my life and drink very rarely. I was stuck in Thailand believing I might have Aids, yet my insurer refused to help and I had to turn to a relative to help me get home.
‘I was told there would be terrible side-effects to these drugs — do they think I would have really risked this if I wasn’t concerned about being infected? It makes me wonder what’s the point of buying a policy.’ Mr Duck took his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Over the past two years it has ruled twice that Direct Travel should pay his medical expenses, plus interest, saying the drugs exclusion was ‘not fair or reasonable’.
Yet, until last week, Direct Travel maintained its hardline stance.
Every year thousands of young British travellers visit Thailand on gap years to attend parties such as those on Koh Phangan.
Thailand travel guide writer Andrew Spooner says: ‘If you are young and not street-wise, you are definitely at risk in places such as Koh Phangan.
‘Gangsters and thieves flock to these islands to prey on young travellers. Tourists view Thailand as a happy, peaceful Buddhist country, but the reality can be far from this.’
A spokesman for Chartis, which is the underwriter for Direct Travel’s policy, said it will abide by the Ombudsman’s final ruling.
It will pay Mr Duck’s medical bills, but not the cost of his lost holiday.