Accident Abroad - Insurance + UK GHIC

dickibobboy

Hello, 

I wondered if anyone could offer any advice on what to do / where to go for an injury I had while abroad in preparation to speaking with my insurance tomorrow. 

Events:

An event happened where I came off an e-scooter whilst in Spain - this caused me to have an injury to my face where an ambulance was called and I was taken into A&E in a public hospital.

I was given IV pain relief, had a CT scan and stitches on my face. I’ve suffered a fractured skull & a nice bruised face with probably a scar to go with it.

I was in the hospital around 15 hours - the majority of this was just waiting for a doctor to see me and look to say I didn’t need any type of surgery. I then left hospital with a report and instructions to send either insurance or GHIC information.

The following morning I called my holiday insurance company to inform them of the incident and ask what to do next, they advised me to get an emergency GHIC certificate and provide the email address on the report during the application (I didn’t have a GHIC card at the time). My insurance company also asked me to send a copy of all then paper work given by the hospital over to them. At the time my insurance were great and suggested a possible fit to fly may be needed or call the airline etc.. All was good and I returned home. 

At home I went to the local hospital to get checked out and have my stitches removed etc..

Since sending over my documents to my insurance company I heard nothing back, not sure if they were also assuming that this basic cover would be covered by the GHIC. 

Fast forward to now - Today I received a letter in the post from the hospital (In Spanish) which translates to 

“In order to process the reimbursement, it is necessary to submit the required documentation according to the contracted insurance company. The reimbursement will be carried out based on the coverage and limits indicated in the written document. If the requested documentation is not provided, the request will be processed under Article 11 of Royal Decree 8/2004, dated October 29, regarding the assessment of costs: 

Accident declaration.

Documentation proving the status of the injured party: If the injured party is the owner of the insurance policy and the vehicle: Copy of the valid insurance policy and the last paid receipt.

or

If the injured party is different from the policyholder: photocopy of the injured party’s identification document. 

If the insurance company is unknown, the request should be directed to the insurance compensation consortium. 

Accident: Due to traffic accident

The expense incurred is not eligible for coverage under the procedure outlined in the article 23 of the Royal Decree 8/2004, corresponding to healthcare reimbursement. “

There’s then a document attached to this to fill out insurance details for traffic incident. 

Spain is full of e-scooters where general public can go up and download the associated app and pay per minute for its use, you then park them back up and end the ride. 

I will call my insurance company up tomorrow and see what they say but any extra advice or pointers would be useful. 

Thanks.

TELLIT01

Were you riding one of the official e-scooters and, is riding an e-scooter covered on your travel insurance?  Your insurer is unlikely to pay for anything which would have been covered by the GHIC.

dickibobboy

It was one of the official ones dotted around the place, there’s a few companies that offer the service from what i remember all having their own branding/colours but mixed areas to park them up on all the main streets. 

Not sure how my travel insurance covers that part if at all, they didn’t seem to mention anything about it when i called them up and gave an account of what happened but reading the letter from the hospital it could be that the GHIC doesn’t cover the treatment i had from how it reads and then contacting me a few weeks later.