DECEMBER 11, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 23

Illustration for TIME by Yan Monchatre

Get Insured: No One Plans for a Shark Attack
By BRIAN BENNETT

Having your appendix removed can really spoil a vacation. When Tom Hetherington, a 23-year-old Lon-doner, was preparing for his trip to Southeast Asia, he packed everything he would need for the region's breathtaking beaches, spartan accommodations and the occasional rave. He remembered his toothbrush, clean underwear and even some aspirin for the odd headache. He didn't pack for invasive surgery, however.

Two days after a full-moon dance party in Thailand's Ko Pha-Ngan, Hetherington was hit by a violent stomach pain. He persuaded the owner of his bungalow to take him to a doctor. After 40 minutes on the back of a moped and an additional two hours in a lurching "ambulance boat," he reached the nearest hospital, on a neighboring island. And he was grateful.

Grateful, that is, until the doctor told him his appendix had ruptured—requiring immediate surgery. The operation didn't take place until 12 hours later and left him bedridden with an infected wound for nearly two weeks. After follow-up work to clean the wound, Hetherington finally transferred to a Bangkok hospital for further surgery. As he learned later, he had initially undergone only exploratory surgery, even though he had been diagnosed with appendicitis. Then came the biggest shock: when he returned to Britain, he found out that his travel insurance, which he had prudently purchased before his trip, had turned his mountain of carefully culled medical receipts into a molehill of reimbursement.

TRAVEL WATCH Get Insured: No One Plans for a Shark Attack Having your appendix removed can really spoil a vacation. Web Crawling Don't know the difference between a deductible and a co-pay, let alone which travel insurance plan is best for you? Detour With its crumbling colonial mansions, languid riverfront and pristine waterfalls, Kampot seems like the perfect vacation hideaway. Travel Watch Archive Browse hundreds of Asian travel tips

No one plans to get seriously ill. But you can still be prepared. Before you leave for a trek across the Gobi, for example, look into the insurance you have and supplement it, if necessary, with the right kind of travel-related coverage. Many credit-card companies and banks offer such insurance with their standard accounts. And some corporate or individual health plans cover certain medical expenses incurred abroad. You can always call a local insurance brokerage directly and have it tailor a plan to your needs. Buying insurance from a travel agent can be relatively expensive, but a trustworthy agent can help weed through the pile and find the underwriter that's best for you.

When you buy medical insurance, find out what portion of the bills you'll have to pay up front. Some plans reimburse you after your trip; the better ones are willing to wire you money. Be sure you don't have a provider that requires you to ask for approval before authorizing the purchase of medication. Some policies, like Blue Cross in Hong Kong, tel: (852) 2163-1333, will even cover non-Western medical expenses like Chinese bone setting.

Whether you are kicked by a horse in Inner Mongolia or hit by a car in Ho Chi Minh City, local health care may not be up to your standards. Emergency medical-evacuation insurance can pick up the several-thousand-dollar tab to get you back to your local doctor.

Many policies have a toll-free hotline that can connect you with board-certified doctors to help you with diagnosis and treatment. Getting a second opinion can confirm you're receiving proper care. The non-profit International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers provides this service at no cost. You can register online (www.sentex.net/~iamat). But allow two weeks for your free membership information to arrive.

You don't have to pack for an appendectomy, but with the right plan in your bag, quality medical care can be just a phone call away.

With reporting by Bernadette Cuasay

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