Just seeing if anyone has had this same problem. My husband was stricken with some kind of bacterial infection in his blood after eating a herring salad on a trip that concluded 3 days ago.. He was sick enough to be taken by ambulance to a hospital in Klaipeda, Lithuania 4 days ago. That means the Gate 1 tour on which we were traveling, had to leave us behind. They moved on to Vilnius, the capital city. After that trip we were scheduled to fly to Venice for two nights and then train to Padua, Italy where the Villages of Italy is scheduled to begin tomorrow. Obviously none of that is going to happen. I had to cancel our Rick Steve’s’ tour entirely. Because he’s still receiving powerful antibiotic infusions. The medicalemergency division of Aegis (our company) is trying hard to assist us. However there is some confusion as to what will be covered in terms of where we go from here. The doctor believes my husband will be fit to travel after she releases him on Monday. Note that communication between the insurance company and the hospital personnel is a struggle. Only a handful of people speak English which is to be expected. However it creates all kinds of difficulty. The doctor is not submitting forms as requested. I don’t think they’re used to getting insurance requests as the town is not a hot spot for Americans. We’re the insurance users of the world.
My real issue is that a claims agent tried to tell me that the only way we can get money back for the time ensuing when we leave the hospital is if we follow our paid itinerary. I tried to explain that we are off the tour. She kept arguing and told me I needed to go to Venice if that’s the next stop. But flights from the closest airport, Vilnius leave for Venice once or twice a week and we’d have to stay in Vilnius for that many days twiddling our thumbs. The insurance company would have to pay for all our hotels, meals, etc. None of this makes any sense to me. I’m not asking them to cover our arrangements on travels that we substitute for the missed opportunities. They’re just reimbursing us for what we already paid for within the month that the travel insurance insured. I’m just not understanding. We can’t do the same Rick Steves itinerary. We could not replicate the experiences, nor do we wish to go to small towns JUST IN CASE my husband ends up with a reoccurrence . We would like to pick some other city to explore for a few days, assuming the doctor agrees, returning home a bit earlier that November 9 and from a different city than Bologna. I will save Bologna for a time we reschedule the Villages of Italy tour. It would be foolish to go now. I am afraid my claims may be denied. Both arms of the insurance company are pointing to one another making it impossible to get an authoritative answer. Has anyone experienced this rigidity and what to me seems more a word rhyming with rigidity? To add insult to injury the claims department individual who took my call was incredibly curt. No, I’ll stick to my original evaluation- a b _____ on wheels. She finally said that she wouldn’t talk to me anymore and that my questions made no sense. She couldn’t understand what was wrong with me. I pride myself on staying cool with difficult people, especially those who hold my future in their power. I did indeed stay calm, not wanting to mark myself as a troublemaker. But I have not experienced this kind of anger coming from a person dealing with the public. It was very stressful after navigating all the challenges of being stranded in a life threatening situation with virtually no communication. That’s all beside the point. I’m just venting here. I’m still wondering if any travelers have run into equally restrictive insurance designations. You can’t try out insurance until you need it. It’s definitely a learning experience.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
10721 posts
Consider going out through Riga. Many more flight options than Vilnius.
This is a “hang up call again” situation. Don’t just take one claims agent’s word on this.
Posted by
Surrey, UK
1192 posts
See if you can get the issue escalated to a supervisor.
Alternatively, is there an email contact where you can set out the issue clearly in writing, which has the advantage of leaving an audit trail in case of dispute.?
Posted by
Virginia, USA
6931 posts
First, I am very sorry for your husband’s illness and the stress you are going through.
We would like to pick some other city to explore for a few days, assuming the doctor agrees, returning home a bit earlier that November 9 and from a different city than Bologna.
This may be part of the issue. This could be perceived that you are changing your plans not due to a medical issue but because you would prefer to do something else. It may be easier to just get coverage to cut short your trip and return home
Before you contact them again, read through the terms of your trip interruption coverage. Trip interruption typically covers the increased costs to return home and the expenses for your unused tour. It may be that you just need to return home following discharge from the hospital if you are unable to continue with your original itinerary. I would then put the facts in writing using the language in the insurance policy.
I hope things work out.
Posted by
Oregon 🌲
558 posts
When my wife got sick in Scotland, the best advise we got was get doctor's order on ability to fly. This was easy in Scotland. I can imagine how difficult it would be in your situation. It was hard to get a bill from the health care system, as it was a public hospital. We weren't compensated for the extended stay, extended car rental, or the new flights, as we actually used these. The original missed flight was compensated as were the hospital expenses.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
6931 posts
One more thing …
You’ve probably already done this but read the section on ” Refundable Medical or Family Emergency ("Refundable Event")” here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/tour-conditions-2026
Posted by
Vancouver, BC
982 posts
Yes we had a very challenging time with our emergency medical insurance provider (an American company that operates as the 3rd party emergency medical processor of claims) last year while in France. My spouse was admitted for 5 days due to a collapsed lung. Once he was discharged, they considered the ‘emergency’ done which left us figuring out his needed outpatient care. His surgeon also did not authorize him to fly immediately. The insurance company put pressure on us to accept a flight home when their physician pronounced my spouse stable enough to fly. If we refused, they would not provide any more coverage for any further collapsed lung issues while still in France. We opted to stay 2 more weeks so he could improve enough to fly and we took our chances.
The insurance company pressured me to obtain copies of his daily chart which of course the hospital refused without going through the proper channels. Eventually they coordinated directly with the hospital.
I am a retired hospital social worker and I can’t imagine navigating a lot of this without the knowledge I have. I had to assert myself with the insurance Case Manager with every single step and because of my healthcare experience I could challenge them on some of their decisions. They relented a bit but mostly it was aggravating. As well even though we were in a popular tourist and university small city, most of the staff did not speak English. Luckily I had been working on my French before we left.
All this to say our experience was a reminder that insurance companies are in the business of making money first.
Posted by
OP
Iowa
57 posts
This is the original poster. Yes we had personal time followed by a tour, followed by personal time followed by a tour, followed by personal time. It was to be a joyful month of travel. So the original tour had to move on after my husband’s illness and we missed the personal time in between tours and the second tour beginning days. That tour doesn’t allow us to join midstream so to speak. We are simply cancelled. So we thought since we’re covered through November 9, that we could continue to travel. We paid for a month of travel. That’s not how things go. We have to fly back to the states.
I am now worried about the medical reimbursement for 7 hospital days. We received a bill which we knew was payable upon hospital checkout. No problem there. However the paperwork is definitely not itemized. Our insurance company has contacted the hospital. I personally contacted them via email with a Lithuanian translation. Our hotel clerk also read a letter to them explaining specifically what our insurance requires and added his own dialogue. The hospital sent me an email with the exact same papers issued yesterday. I think they don’t itemize at all perhaps. It’s a flat fee per day. I have known people whose claims have been denied because the medical paperwork did not fulfill the requirements of USA insurance companies. As I mentioned, one can’t practice using the policy until in the position to need its services. Navigating the system is quite the challenge. Note to others- every time you call the telephone number for services, you speak with a different associate. The company has a case file on us, but we find ourselves still catching up the new guy or gal each time. We have received numerous conflicting status reports and instructions. I’m checking to see if that’s the norm in these situations or I’ve chosen insurance poorly.
Posted by
Freedonia
19670 posts
I think I see the problem. It's just too confusing to the insurance company.
The insurance company is willing to pay out for some expenses but they have to make sure they are legitimate. They have to make sure you haven't just changed your mind and want to travel somewhere else.
The medical expenses will be worked out. It's confusing but insurance companies are used to dealing with hospitals all over the world.
The dates are what's important. If the RS tour started this weekend, and your husband was released on Monday, then yes, you did miss the tour.
However, if the doctor cleared him to travel, they could say you could have flown out to meed the tour. (There are daily flights between Vilnius and Venice but may include a change of planes along the way.)
If he has to stick around to receive antibiotic treatment, then that will also be noted for the dates.
If you said you'd like to go home early due to this illness, the insurance company would probably cover your flight changes to do so.
But here's where it gets tricky. You're not asking to go home, you're asking to stay in Europe and go somewhere else. Now they might be thinking you just changed your mind and decided against the tour. They might be thinking you're trying to get them to pay for everything. (Remember, they don't have any docuimentation yet.)
Rather than trying to argue with them now, gather all the documentation you can. And make sure everything has proper dates.
Remember, the more information you give them that is not pertinent the more confusing it can be.