Evacuation?????????????????

Hi there

My husband and I live in Ireland and have yearly travel insurance with our private medical insurers. I have just found out that our insurance covers everything except if we have to be airlifted from a ship! I have tried to find an insurance company that will cover us for this add on but I'm having no luck. We are both in our 40's but my husband has quite a few pre-existing illnesses although his day to day health is very good. What would you do?

Alison

You should go to insuremytrip.com and see what insurance packages are available that do include medical evac/airlift.

There are two different kinds of medical evacuation: Medical airlift from a foreign airport, and medical airlift from the ship itself.

Finding a policy that will airlift you from an airport should be relatively easy. (In the US anyway, such policies are cheap and widely available.)

No policy will airlift you from the deck of the ship. Firstly, it's quite rare for this to occur at all. The weather conditions have to be ideal, and the ship has to be within helicopter range of a country that has this capability. (Organizations such as the US Coast Guard, a suitable Navy vessel, etc.) When it happens at all, it will usually be done free of charge by said organization. (I don't know if it's universal, but I do know the USCG doesn't charge.)

Lastly, it doesn't occur often because there is usually no need for it; the medical facilities on-board are going to be much better at keeping you stable than whatever could be on-board a helicopter. There are few conditions in which you'd be better off being picked up by a helicopter vs. waiting for the ship to make the nearest port with usable facilities. Certainly chopper evac does happen, but it's very rare.

Because it requires a specialized helicopter (of limited range) and highly-trained crews, no private medevac company even has the capability to do this. (A single private medical plane can cover an entire continent in a few hours... covering just the entire Carribbean would take a whole fleet of helicopters which would spend most of their time idle.) This is why you cannot find insurance that promises such a service.

Thanks this puts my mind at rest. My insurance covers all medical expenses and repatriation from another country but it does not include being airlifted from a cruise ship and because they included this in the policy details I thought I should be worried! Phew!!!!