 |
Travel Insurance Experience
The travel insurance we have is an absolute must. Now, five days after the crash we are busy with all the arrangements necessary after an accident like this. Just a few minutes after the accident the money issue were immediately evident.John was still lying on the road waiting for the ambulance, when a translator, arranged by the police, arrived at the spot. Before she even translate a word she points out that I must pay here cash money (100 Euro) no check accepted.
Police Matters Then the police start their examination; again ask first about our travel insurance. John is still not in the ambulance. The horses somewhere out there on the street. I pick up Vienna out of the carriage and tether here up at the police car. At least one of the hurdle is safe. I crawl into the carriage to search for our insurance papers and other valuable belongings. Inside it’s a mess but with some jerk and pulling, I am able to collect three bags with stuff I think necessary within the following hours.
A truck arrives, with Aysha and Isabella in it and I give Vienna also on this transport to the stables. John is gone to the hospital. After loads of paperwork, questions and another list of demands about money for the tow truck this time, we finally go to the hospital. I still don’t know which injury John has. Arriving at the hospital at last, I see John. Emotional, crying, happy to see each other we finally can count our blessings. My question to the doctor: What’s the matter, which injuries are there? The only answer: We have an insurance problem. They don’t think we have a valid national insurance card. Till that is sort out the whole treatment must wait.
National Insurance We always paid our national insurance contributions and we also take out a travel insurance. There can’t be a problem with our card. However, there is. We miss a vital element: a little round sign on it from the EU. A new requirement we don’t know of. (Later we find out that we have the new card at our post address in Holland) About five telephone calls later the insurance crisis centre sends a confirmation fax that everything will be paid. However, the translator and the tow truck I must pay immediately, with a possibility to claim afterwards from the travel insurance company. With a police car, we drive to a cash machine to collect money. I pay the translator and after that, we drive to the tow truck to pay them. We are in a hurry because the policemen are on the end of their shift. Live goes on....
Plaster John is admitted to the hospital. The only treatment is a plaster splint. His ankle is broken on three places and an operation is inescapable. Next morning when I am back at the hospital, the money issue still exists. Now they want (from the travel insurance company) a confirmation fax in Czech. John is hungry and thirsty, keeping sober till the operation. At the end of day two, still nothing has happen. There we have it: The money issue is solved but they don’t have the right equipment. They transport us to another hospital the next morning. The good news? John finally gets something to eat and drink.
At the new hospital, we start from scratch in the emergency room. First question? Do you have this little round EU circle on your card. No, in a matter of fact. Again, several phone calls and faxes they bring us to a new room. It’s a very modern hospital, with nice and friendly staff. The message they have: We have to wait another week before the operation because of the swollen ankle. In that case, it’s better to travel home in expectation of what is to come.
Aid and Assistance We receive hug amounts of emails with encouragement after the accident. We can’t tell you how much it helps reading this emails. Returning email question is a donation button on our website. Aim of telling you about the accident was, and is, not to collect money but to inform everybody reading our blog. However, we admit that we are facing a big financial challenge bringing back the horses and organizing our life. Thanks! Thea and John Verhoeckx
There’s more to it than you would think. In the Netherlands, they are scared really about MRSA a hospital bacterium brought in by patient who has been to a foreign hospital. The crisis centre has the duty to find a hospital which wants John accepting as patient. With a little help from John friends, we can go to a Hospital in Tilburg only 15 kilometers from his hometown. The rest is already history. We travel back in an ambulance, John on a stretcher, I comfortable on a chair. Immense relieve when we pass the border to the Netherlands. This whole previous experience is about John’s treatment and transportation. Next challenges are the arrangements for Aysha, Isabella and Viënna not to mention the carriage. That’s a whole other Insurance Story. Our head is spinning. So much preliminary decisions to make before we even know what we want in the future.
Accident
|
