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Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 12:54 am
by Gob
Bungy-jumping over Victoria Falls seemed like a "great idea at the time" to Erin Langworthy when she headed to Zambia with mates last summer.
But what should have been a quick thrill left the young Australian seriously hurt after her bungy cord snapped, and she racked up $50,000 in medical bills.
Langworthy has lent her story to a $2.6 million government campaign urging Australians to buy travel insurance before heading overseas.
"Before my turn, 104 others had jumped safely and everyone from my tour group had been and come back," Langworthy said of the day she plunged into the Victoria Falls rapids.
But the bungy cord did not last the 105th jump - it snapped, sending Ms Langworthy plummeting 110 metres into the rapids. Just as she was making her way to the surface, she realised the cord was caught under a rock.
"That's when I said (to myself), 'I don't want to die today'," she told reporters in Sydney.
The young woman managed to swim to a river bank and was taken by stretcher out of the gorge before eventually being airlifted to a high-quality hospital in South Africa.
"If I hadn't had travel insurance I would have been hit with a bill for over $50,000," Langworthy said.
"It would have ruined my holiday a little bit.
"If you can afford to travel, then I think you can afford travel insurance."
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Australians without travel insurance risked poor local hospital care and high medical bills.
"About 14,000 Australians get into some difficulty overseas each year, and that difficulty is going to be a whole lot less if they've got travel insurance and if they're registered with Smartraveller," Senator Carr said.
"It's cheap, it's easy to obtain, and it can save your life when overseas."
The campaign launches on Sunday night and includes a new Smartraveller iPhone app, which allows Australians to register their travel plans without an internet connection.
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-new ... z2Cif2QTwV
Someone is bound to say "don't bungee jump then", two points.
Young people want excitement and adventure on their world tours, why cotton wool them?
Accidents can happen to the most cautious of travellers, (said the man who was bitten by a camel in Tunisia, fell into a gorge in Mexico, spent three nights unintended in a snow cave in the Alps, fell down two flights of iron stairs while pissed in Prague, etc etc....)
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 3:49 am
by Lord Jim
Wow, a nearly 300 hundred foot drop....That's like the length of a 25 story building....
She's really lucky to be alive....
Fortunately, she didn't have a baby on her back....
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 4:23 am
by Gob
Fuck! Fuck!! FUCK!!! FUCK!!!
Why did I forget to put the "baby disclaimer" in...
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 9:28 pm
by rubato
Was that 110 meters from where she jumped to the water or from where the cord broke?
If the latter, then her survival is amazing. The average distance from the road to the water on the G.Gate bridge is less.
Glad she's alive. Insurance is a mere detail after that.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 4:34 pm
by Big RR
Indeed, but I wonder if ordinary travel insurance would have covered this; I scuba dive and carry a special insurance when I travel outside the US as this is considered and "extreme" sport and denied coverage under most travel insurance policies.
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 4:49 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
I always wanted to scuba dive. Maybe this summer I'll take lessons.
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:00 pm
by Big RR
A lot of fun, and fairly easy to learn the basics. Not a lot of good places to dive in the northeast--generally, the water is cold and murky, but there are some, and more if you're willing to travel.
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:03 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
Big RR wrote:A lot of fun, and fairly easy to learn the basics. Not a lot of good places to dive in the northeast--generally, the water is cold and murky, but there are some, and more if you're willing to travel.
I did a little diving with my cousin up at the lake house. I used his spare (emergency) regulator and I thought me ears were going to explode. We were only down about 25 feet, which I have frequently dived to while holding my breath and never had an ear problem. Guess there are some techniques I need to learn. It was cool breathing under water.
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:06 pm
by Big RR
Yep, clearing your ears (hold your nose and blow) is one thing you need to learn. After about 10 feet it can be pretty painful without it.
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:52 am
by Sean
Scuba diving is frowned upon around here. The sharks complain that the tanks get caught in their teeth.
Same with snorkels.
Re: Why you should buy travel insurance.
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:50 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
Sean wrote:Scuba diving is frowned upon around here. The sharks complain that the tanks get caught in their teeth.
Same with snorkels.
Damn whiney sharks. Maybe they need counseling.