Winter Travelers Often Take Higher Risks While Overseas

12-10-2008

 MEDEX Global Group Recommends Covering Injuries from Snowboarding, Skiing, Scuba Diving, Extreme Travel and More

 

BALTIMORE, Md. (December 9, 2008) – This winter thousands of vacationers will venture overseas and engage in recreation that can lead to serious injuries, according to MEDEX Global Group.  As travelers look for new experiences during their winter vacations, they sometimes seek out higher-risk activities that can have debilitating and costly consequences.

 

“It’s common for people to feel more adventurous on vacation, looking for exciting activities to round out their experiences overseas,” says Dr. Walter “Ben” Koppel, Medical Director for MEDEX Global Group.  “Whether on the beaches of Cancun or the slopes of Switzerland, people need to remember that they are just as vulnerable on vacation as they are at home, if not more.”

 

The MEDEX Emergency Response Center experiences a higher incidence of broken bones and other trauma cases resulting from snowboarding and skiing mishaps during the winter months. Meanwhile, travelers escaping the cold weather often suffer injuries from jet skiing and parasailing accidents in the warmer climates. Without adequate travel medical insurance, a fun international adventure could lead to a personal financial crisis, with travelers having to pay thousands of dollars cash out-of-pocket for hospital or evacuation fees.

 

Vacationers should look for international travel insurance options to cover medical expenses that result from sports-related injuries.  Through MEDEX’s website www.medexadventures.com, policies start as low as $2 per day and offer an optional Sports Rider for travelers planning to snow ski, snowboard, mountaineer, scuba dive and more.

 

To mitigate the high costs of recreation-related medical emergencies, MEDEX recommends the following:

 

·         Invest in a travel insurance package that includes comprehensive medical and evacuation coverage.

·         Double check with your insurer to confirm that your planned activities are not excluded from your policy.

·         To cover injuries resulting from a broader scope of adventurous pursuits, invest in additional protection against sports-related medical emergencies.

·         Understand that some activities – such as sky diving or hang gliding – may not be covered by sports-related insurance options. 

 

ABOUT MEDEX Global Group

 

MEDEX is the oldest and largest independently owned provider of global travel security and medical assistance in North America. For more than 30 years, MEDEX has served individual leisure, business and adventure travelers, corporations, scholastic institutions, government agencies and humanitarian organizations. MEDEX services range from international medical insurance and pre-trip intelligence to real-time medical case management and complex emergency evacuations.

 

 

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