In an age where crowdfunding is all the rage, particularly after holidaymakers have had an ugly mishap and not bought travel insurance, this story comes with a warning worth heeding and a feel-good ending.
West Australian couple Jeff and Jan Gibb love cruising and were on their 19th such adventure when the former started to feel unwell.
They had boarded a Princess Cruises ship in Fremantle in September and were heading to Singapore when sickness struck.
“We were on our way to dinner and I just felt really nauseous and I told my wife to go ahead without me as I wasn’t feeling too flash,” Mr Gibb told news.com.au.
“I headed back to the cabin and just deteriorated from there.”
Visiting the ship’s doctor, the 73-year-old and his wife were forced to disembark in Bali — just two days into their cruise — after tests revealed that he had pneumonia and a severe liver infection.
It was at this point that the Gibbs realised they had got one major holiday issue right — paying for travel insurance.
“The doctor on the cruise was absolutely brilliant,” Mr Gibb said.
“She contacted Southern Cross Travel Insurance (our insurance company) immediately and organised for an ambulance to pick us up in Bali to take us to hospital.”
Mr Gibb spent the next six days in BIMC Hospital in Kuta, with his wife believing her husband was on his death bed.
“I didn’t think I was that crook but I obviously was — so much so when I was in ICU and needed to sit up, I couldn’t and had to have staff help me and that’s when the penny dropped,” he said.
“I was put on two different antibiotics and in time started to feel better, which came as a relief to my wife and one of my three sons who flew to Bali to help.”
But a major relief from the start of the ordeal was when their travel insurer started paying the medical bills before Mr Gibb had even been discharged.
“They started to pay our hospital bills before I was discharged, which helped us have a good relationship with the hospital,” he said.
“They booked our airfares home and made sure, along with the doctor, it was safe for me to fly.”
So at a time when others can find themselves stranded and with bills quickly stacking up, the Gibbs didn’t have this strain on their minds.
Mr Gibb said he was thankful for paying $1074 on travel insurance, which covered their total claim of $35,215.
“It’s a no brainer,” he said. “We have always had travel insurance because you just never know when something can go wrong.
“As it turned out, our travel insurance premium was nothing compared to the cost of my misfortune.
“In reality, if you don’t think you cannot afford travel insurance maybe you should rethink your travel plans.
“We even take out insurance when travelling interstate for holidays. It is called ‘peace of mind’ travel insurance.”
However, Mr Gibb admitted that while the travel insurer had come through with flying colours, his appetite for cruises had not.
The experience has put him off international cruises and he plans to stick closer to home for future holidays.
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