Horror Tales Spotlight Travel Dilemma

The horror stories include a boy who fell off a donkey in Spain and needed treatment for a broken thigh that cost $130,000; a mosquito bite that led to malaria and $180,000 of treatment; and an air ambulance rescue in South Africa that cost $250,000. Without insurance the unfortunate patient or family is left to foot the bill.

Although there are no official figures for the number of people who travel without insurance, travel experts believe the number is sufficiently high to cause concern. Following the tragedy in Egypt, the government has launched a series of TV announcements featuring actress Dodo Cheng Yu-ling who reminds people not to leave home without travel insurance.

The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), the insurance industry watchdog, is worried by the number of people who travel without adequate insurance. Last week Commissioner of Insurance Richard Yuen Ming-fai announced the OCI had worked out new regulatory measures which would promote co-operation between the insurance industry and the travel industry.

'To provide the public with convenient access to taking out travel insurance, the OCI took the initiative to introduce a new regulatory system to enable travel agencies to be registered as travel insurance agents so they can sell this type of insurance under proper supervision,' said Mr Yuen.

While group travel and package tours usually include travel insurance, it is the independent traveller who often overlooks or ignores the need to arrange travel protection.

The facility of booking travel on the internet means that an increasing number of people are abandoning the travel agent in favour of doing it themselves.

'This is all very well but many people are now forgetting to buy travel insurance,' said Albert Cheung, manager of Travelmore, an independent travel agency with a reputation for arranging challenging itineraries and last-minute plans. 'There seems to be a worrying trend towards forgetting to arrange an adequate travel insurance policy.' Mr Cheung said he advises all face-to-face and online travel inquirers of the need for insurance.

Terry Lo, HSBC general manager and head of personal insurance, said the London terrorist attacks of July 7 last year and the tsunami were a reminder of the unpredictability of overseas travel.

'A bad accident in the US where medical treatment is expensive or up a mountain in Nepal is going to cost far more than the money saved by not investing in travel insurance,'' he said. 'Within 24 hours you could easily have racked up a $200,000 bill. Helicopters and removing bits of scooter from a leg do not come cheap. If you have no insurance, someone has to pay the bill as there is no wriggling out.'

Mr Lo said: 'For the price of a meal travellers can buy a travel insurance policy that provides protection anywhere in the world.'

HSBC offers travel insurance that starts from $100 for a trip of 1-3 days in Asia and $160 for the same period worldwide.

According to an unofficial HSBC survey, the number of residents travelling out of Hong Kong grew by 13 per cent last year. HSBC recorded a 22 per cent increase in the number of people buying travel insurance in 2005 compared to a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in 2004. Mr Lo said a growing number of travellers were using HSBC's online service, which offers a discount.

Many people seem to forget that taking a short business trip to the mainland or a leisure visit to Macau means they are not covered by Hong Kong's health service. Multi-trip protection such as HSBC's China Medical Card, which guarantees access to 120 mainland hospitals that have undergone due-diligence scrutiny, is one way of dealing with the problem.

When buying insurance Mr Lo pointed out crucial points to consider: check to see if there is a 24-hour help line that will provide local assistance such as medical and legal referral services and emergency evacuation; remember that travel insurance is not just for them - in the event of an accident the policy should provide third-party coverage, especially in the US and other countries where third-party litigation is common.

HSBC's travel insurance includes cover for winter sports and extreme activities, including bungee-jumping, hang-gliding, parachuting, rafting, speed-boating, jet-skiing, scuba diving, mountaineering, rock climbing, and hot air ballooning, providing these activities are not practised professionally. There is even golf insurance that protects against hole-in-one expenses and personal liability.

Mr Lo said travellers should ask for details on any policy before they decided to buy. In addition, insurance should be acquired as early as possible before the start of a journey to benefit from trip cancellation cover. This generally kicks in if the cancellation is due to an accident, illness or other specified event that affects the insured person, a close family member or a travelling companion.

Travellers should also check for cover relating to serious illnesses. In most cases pre-existing conditions - for example, cancer treatment - are not covered under the medical benefits of a policy.

Leo Ma Chan-hang, general manager of general insurance and employee benefits for Prudential in Hong Kong, said travellers should identify their specific needs. If they planned to take part in any high-risk activities such as bungee jumping or parachuting they might need additional cover.

'Travellers should not purely compare costs but they should compare the coverage, especially for personal accident and medical expenses in order to make a sound decision,' said Mr Ma.

Prudential's PRUchoice Travel Insurance provides comprehensive cover including medical expenses, personal accident, 24-hours emergency assistance, accidental loss of or damage to baggage and personal effects, trip cancellation, curtailment, re-routing, travel and baggage delay and personal liability.

'Our plan is mainly divided into single trip and annual cover, which provides frequent travellers continual coverage throughout the year, regardless of the number of trips, up to a maximum of 60 days per trip.'

Shadow of the pyramids

Since the January bus crash in Egypt that killed 14 Hong Kong tourists and injured another 30, insurers have revealed other sad cases:

- A traveller who felt ill on a mountain in Nepal faced a bill of more than $700,000 for an air ambulance and medical fees

- A boy who fell off a donkey in Spain and broke a thigh had to pay $130,000

- A broken ankle in Europe simply from falling off a curb cost a traveller $196,000