Emergency medical travel claim:repayment of non sterling transaction fee?

Hoenir

Voyager2002 said:

Hoenir said:

Voyager2002 said:

This sounds like a good reason not to use AXA for travel insurance: the most basic thing one would expect from them is to authorise necessary treatment in an emergency.

As in the USA. You won't be touched until you pay the money. Speed as they say is of the essence. Nothing to do with treatment authorisation. 

Authorisation from an insurance company means that they confirm to the hospital that they are going to pay for the treatment. In an emergency situation that has to happen as rapidly as possible.

The incident I'm aware of few years back in the USA. Required an immediate upfront payment of $10,000. Otherwise the employee would have left lying on a trolley in the private hospital while they attended to someone else. 

Hoenir

Voyager2002 said:

Hoenir said:

Voyager2002 said:

This sounds like a good reason not to use AXA for travel insurance: the most basic thing one would expect from them is to authorise necessary treatment in an emergency.

As in the USA. You won't be touched until you pay the money. Speed as they say is of the essence. Nothing to do with treatment authorisation. 

Authorisation from an insurance company means that they confirm to the hospital that they are going to pay for the treatment. In an emergency situation that has to happen as rapidly as possible.

That all depends on what the particular hospital you end up in determines. There's many different situations you can find yourself in when travelling globally.  Travellers not paying their bills is far from unknown. 

Voyager2002

Hoenir said:

Voyager2002 said:

Hoenir said:

Voyager2002 said:

This sounds like a good reason not to use AXA for travel insurance: the most basic thing one would expect from them is to authorise necessary treatment in an emergency.

As in the USA. You won't be touched until you pay the money. Speed as they say is of the essence. Nothing to do with treatment authorisation. 

Authorisation from an insurance company means that they confirm to the hospital that they are going to pay for the treatment. In an emergency situation that has to happen as rapidly as possible.

The incident I'm aware of few years back in the USA. Required an immediate upfront payment of $10,000. Otherwise the employee would have left lying on a trolley in the private hospital while they attended to someone else. 

That was actually a breach of US law, where even private hospitals are required to provide emergency treatment regardless of ability to pay.

kezzygirl

Thanks everyone. We fly back 0330 tomorrow morning business class, the doctor flew in from Barcelona to escort him and checked him over-all good to fly. They've also sorted the taxi at Gatwick to take us home. The insurance have been really good after the initial emergency, this really reinforces the need to make sure we are covered by insurance AND take a credit card. The day of the flight I got it out of the cupboard and debated whether to take it, so glad I did! Will update once the claim has settled  

katejo

Voyager2002 said:

kezzygirl said:

Voyager2002 said:

What a dreadful experience!

This sounds like a good reason not to use AXA for travel insurance: the most basic thing one would expect from them is to authorise necessary treatment in an emergency.

I do hope that you will make a complaint about the delay in liaising with the hospital and preferably involve the Ombudsman. I mean, the next person might find their credit card was blocked and that could prove fatal!

They even said on the phone that they were waiting to see if the private hospital is the most suitable for his needs, or if the local government run one was. The government run hospital were unable to perform angioplasty and that was what was needed. Imagine if we had waited for insurance and their medical team to make a decision 😔

Appalling!

That is the kind of thing that should be mentioned on review sites, instead of all these stupid five-star reviews from people who found it easy to pay the premium.

Yes exactly!

katejo

kezzygirl said:

Thanks everyone. We fly back 0330 tomorrow morning business class, the doctor flew in from Barcelona to escort him and checked him over-all good to fly. They've also sorted the taxi at Gatwick to take us home. The insurance have been really good after the initial emergency, this really reinforces the need to make sure we are covered by insurance AND take a credit card. The day of the flight I got it out of the cupboard and debated whether to take it, so glad I did! Will update once the claim has settled  

Glad things are  working out for you. Yes always have a credit card available when you travel!

kezzygirl

Update: we received settlement of the medical costs, phone calls, hospital benefit. We were notified 16th and payment received 17th. Very impressed! 

I have queried though as they have paid just a little less in sterling for medical costs and also seem to have got 2 digits switched around which has resulted in a loss to us (listed as 3198 bhat, when we paid 3918 bhat). I have also asked for the non sterling transaction fee to be paid. Its being looked at again- as yet I haven't received a response, but I'm pleased they paid the bulk of the costs. What a relief!

michele-p

Great to hear you've had a quick payout for the most of it. Hopefully you have sucess with the rest. Now you're home, hope your husband is recovering well. It must have been a very worrying time for you.

kezzygirl

Final update: received full refund of non sterling transaction fees, and the other parts I queried. Very impressed with AXA! 

badger09

kezzygirl said:

Final update: received full refund of non sterling transaction fees, and the other parts I queried. Very impressed with AXA! 

Excellent result. Hope your husband is recovering well.