For most Australians overseas travel is a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, however,
every day consular officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at home and
overseas deal with human tragedies involving the death, injury or hospitalisation of
Australians abroad. Each year the department handles over 20,000 cases involving
Australians in difficulty overseas. This includes over 700 hospitalisations, 600 deaths
and 100 evacuations of Australians to another location for medical purposes.
In cases where victims are not covered by travel insurance, such personal tragedies are
further compounded by a long-term financial burden. Hospitalisation, medical evacuations,
or even the return of the deceased's remains to Australia, can be very expensive. Daily
hospitalisation costs in Southeast Asia regularly exceed $800; return of remains from
Europe in excess of $10,000. The cost of medical evacuations from the United States
regularly range from $75,000 to $95,000 and sometimes up to $300,000. The department has
handled medical evacuations from nearby Bali in which costs have exceeded $60,000.
Unfortunately, not all of these cases involved travellers covered by travel insurance.
Travellers who are not covered by insurance are personally liable for covering incurred
medical and associated costs. As a result, we have known instances where families have
been forced to sell off assets, including their superannuation or family homes, to bring
loved ones back to Australia for treatment.
Despite these stark statistics, it is not the department's intention to discourage
Australians from travelling, which in almost all cases is a very positive experience. Only
0.6% of Australians travelling overseas encounter difficulty each year.
Instead, one of our key messages to Australian travellers is that there are things you
can do to help reduce the likelihood of becoming one of the more unhappy consular
statistics. With accidents or illness often unavoidable, proper travel insurance is very
important in this context. Of course, the all-too-common occurrence of theft and loss of
personal belongings is also something all Australian travellers should insure against.
Each year the department handles over 16,000 cases involving the welfare of Australians
who have suffered illness, theft, robbery or assault.
In choosing a policy, we would note some insurance policies will not always cover
claims made in those countries to which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
recommends against travel. For up-to-date travel advice, we recommend travellers consult
and monitor www.smartraveller.gov.au/travel_insurance.html
CASE
STUDIES |
Following are some examples of the kind of cases handled by
the Department:
The reasons for Australians requiring hospitalisation vary. Cases handled by the
department have included car and motorbike accidents, a simple misstep and fall at a
temple, and side effects from prescribed drugs. The department advises 'if you can't
afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel'. In many of the cases it is the
traveller's family who have had to foot the bill.
- In Bangkok a man was hit by a car while riding a motorcycle. He sustained a badly
fractured leg and was admitted to the nearest local hospital. His wife was with him. He
did not have any travel insurance, and so had no choice as to hospital or treatment. The
hospital did not have the expertise to do anything for him except clean the wound. After 3
weeks his wife asked the Embassy for assistance as parts of the shin bone had died and the
fractured ends were not healing. The Embassy assisted in having the man medically
evacuated to Australia for admission to hospital, at very considerable expense to his
family.
- In Bali, 5 Australians were injured in a mini-van accident. Consular assistance was
limited to support and routine contact with next-of-kin (NOK), as all the Australians
involved had travel insurance. The travel insurance company paid their hospital bills and
arranged their medical evacuation to Australia.
- A young man who worked in a US ski resort for four months, then took time off to travel
around the US. He permitted his 12-month travel insurance policy to expire just a few days
before his departure for home. He was hit by a car while crossing a road and suffered
serious head injuries. He was admitted unconscious to intensive care and required highly
intensive sophisticated care until he was able to be flown back to Australia. He was still
unconscious and returned on a stretcher. The cost to the family for the medical evacuation
alone was $80,000. They have taken out a second mortgage on their house to raise the
funds.
- A young Australian surfer went to the United States for a surfing competition. Although
an experienced surfer, he unfortunately chose the wrong wave during a practice session.
The wave dumped him on a reef and he sustained serious injuries. He was flown to a local
hospital and immediately underwent two major operations. The hospital bill was AUD290,
000. Fortunately the young manís parents had insisted he take out travel insurance before
he left Australia. The insurance company covered the bill, and the young man and his
family were able to focus on his recovery.
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Don't forget, if you going to include adventure activities in your trip abroad, make
sure that the adventure activities are not excluded from your Travel Insurance policy.
For more information concerning Adventure Travel Insurance
click here
