Scottish woman’s cliff plunge in Thailand sparks insurance debacle

[webfact]

Scottish woman’s cliff plunge in Thailand sparks insurance debacle: Scot left hanging
by Bob Scott

 

Picture courtesy of Daily Record

 

An insurance company left a Scottish woman hanging after they refused to pay out after she plunged almost 20 metres to her death off a cliff on Ko Lanta island in West Thailand.

 

Glasgow-born NHS nurse Kerry Hughes almost fell to her death after renting a scooter on the West Thailand island. Despite the swift action of an emergency rescue team, who transferred the 35 year old to a local hospital on Ko Lanta island, Hughes faced further complications when she was moved to the mainland for additional treatment. It was there that she received the disheartening news that her insurance would not cover the hospital costs.

 

“I had to put the costs of the transfer onto my credit card before they would transfer me.

“I was with a friend who I met on a scuba diving course. She helped me put the charges on my credit card. I was admitted to ICU for days then had an email from my insurance saying they rejected my claim due to the scooter I hired being classed as a motorbike.

 

“The scooter I hired looked like a scooter and was called a scooter when I hired it but the insurance company classed it as a motorbike due to the engine size. I didn’t even know the engine size when I hired it.”

 

Despite the severity of her injuries, including large lacerations, back pain, a head injury, a broken nose, and a knee wound, Hughes wanted to leave the hospital due to the high treatment costs. However, the compassionate medical staff insisted she stayed. One doctor even offered her a room at her home for recovery.

 

“I had amazing care and treatment in Thailand and the doctor who treated me was very kind and understanding.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2024-02-05

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[KannikaP]

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

after they refused to pay out after she plunged almost 20 metres to her death off a cliff on Ko Lanta island in West Thailand.

Does this not suggest that she died?

[Will B Good]

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

An insurance company left a Scottish woman hanging after they refused to pay out after she plunged almost 20 metres to her death off a cliff

Cute sense of humor do you think?

[Geoffggi]

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

An insurance company left a Scottish woman hanging after they refused to pay out after she plunged almost 20 metres to her death off a cliff on Ko Lanta island in West Thailand.

 

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

Glasgow-born NHS nurse Kerry Hughes almost fell to her death after renting a scooter on the West Thailand island. Despite the swift action of an emergency rescue team, who transferred the 35 year old to a local hospital on Ko Lanta island, Hughes faced further complications when she was moved to the mainland for additional treatment. It was there that she received the disheartening news that her insurance would not cover the hospital costs.

Confusing to say the least, obviously some poor reporting somewhere, good to hear she is still alive

[Will B Good]

Just now, KannikaP said:

Does this not suggest that she died?

I had to read it a few times.....the almost is the key....555

[KannikaP]

1 minute ago, Will B Good said:

I had to read it a few times.....the almost is the key....555

And ALMOST a 20 metres fall.

[retarius]

Did she fall off the scooter and fall 20 metres? She should appeal the scooter vs motorbike decision. When I was a kid they had scooters that were 250cc....most Thai 'motorbikes' like Honda Wave of Click are/were 125cc. Honda made the Click 160cc recently for no apparent reason. The bike is now too heavy for my wife to ride and it's too fast for my liking. I'm old so have no wish to tear about the place.  

[Will B Good]

Just now, KannikaP said:

And ALMOST a 20 metres fall.

19m?

[retarius]

3 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

I had to read it a few times.....the almost is the key....555

It would be nice if they had a native English speaker review the copy before they post it. 

[petermik]

Renting scooters/motorbikes anywhere is a death wish to Insurance policies....will folk never learn?

[roo860]

1 minute ago, retarius said:

It would be nice if they had a native English speaker review the copy before they post it. 

Absolutely, that Thaiger News is a load of <deleted> 

[Elkski]

Such a bad article.   I will not reread it but i thought it daid she was cliff diving and died.  But somehow it seems like she drove a motorcycle off and insurance wint cover it but would have if a scooter?   I think my US motorcycle license is good up to 600cc.    Glad she is alive. 

[petermik]

5 minutes ago, Elkski said:

Such a bad article.   I will not reread it but i thought it daid she was cliff diving and died.  But somehow it seems like she drove a motorcycle off and insurance wint cover it but would have if a scooter?   I think my US motorcycle license is good up to 600cc.    Glad she is alive. 

Nothing to do with what your Driving licence states.....in most cases anything above 125cc is not covered

[JoePai]

12 minutes ago, retarius said:

 Honda made the Click 160cc recently for no apparent reason. The bike is now too heavy for my wife to ride and it's too fast for my liking. I'm old so have no wish to tear about the place.  

Yes, it is 5 Kg heavier

[retarius]

6 minutes ago, JoePai said:

Yes, it is 5 Kg heavier

Only 5kg.....I'm shocked....I thought at least 15kg heavier. The wife wobbles all over the show on the new bike so I won't let her ride it; and she goes to market on the old Click that we had a sort of sidecar added, a sa-ling as she calls it, but that's even more dangerous. 

[mikebell]

19 minutes ago, retarius said:

It would be nice if they had a native English speaker review the copy before they post it. 

I'll do it; I'm an ex-Head of English with 39 years of correcting hazy expression/grammatical/spelling errors + I am cheap.

[NoshowJones]

I always thought a scooter was what a child used to hop along the pavement. as the lady is a nurse you would think she had the education and intelligence to know that she would not be covered for insurance by not having a motorbike license "it does not mention she did not have a motorbike license though I believe that is the case".

[petermik]

1 minute ago, mikebell said:

 I am cheap.

Yes and we have heard that before LOL........

[JackGats]

What's the deal with scooters/motorbikes accidents? I don't mean the semantics. I mean would insurances routinely reject claims if an accident is a motorbike accident? How can you be covered then?

[connda]

Word of caution to any tourist visiting Thailand.

If you don't have experience driving motorcycles back home, don't rent one here.

If you do have experience driving motorcycles back home, turn your defensive-driving dial to 11.  (For those who don't understand that, watch Spinal Tap).  And have a policy that covers motorcycle accidents.

[petermik]

Just now, JackGats said:

What's the deal with scooters/motorbikes accidents? I don't mean the semantics. I mean would insurances routinely reject claims if an accident is a motorbike accident? How can you be covered then?

In general Travel Insurance policies you are covered for up to 125cc....above that you will have to pay a premium and a specialist policy is my belief.

[JackGats]

Just now, petermik said:

In general Travel Insurance policies you are covered for up to 125cc....above that you will have to pay a premium and a specialist policy is my belief.

I don't have any travel insurance. I live in TH and I have world-wide coverage (Cigna). Whenever I file a refund claim there a box to tick regarding whether the claim is because of an accident or not. Up to now I never had to tick the box.

 

A friend said he had once a light motorbike accident but he lied about it. He reported instead having fallen somewhere. 

 

So if I rent a motorbike a good move is to see to it that it doesn't exceed 125cc?

[petermik]

Just now, JackGats said:

I don't have any travel insurance. I live in TH and I have world-wide coverage (Cigna). Whenever I file a refund claim there a box to tick regarding whether the claim is because of an accident or not. Up to now I never had to tick the box.

 

A friend said he had once a light motorbike accident but he lied about it. He reported instead having fallen somewhere. 

 

So if I rent a motorbike a good move is to see to it that it doesn't exceed 125cc?

Yes......

[BenStark]

5 minutes ago, petermik said:

In general Travel Insurance policies you are covered for up to 125cc....above that you will have to pay a premium and a specialist policy is my belief.

 

I assume that is if you have a Thai motorbike license or an international permit.

 

https://www.travelfish.org/travel-planning/travel-insurance-motorcycles-asia

 

As far as I'm aware most travel insurances do not cover motorbikes by default.

 

https://fastcover.com.au/travel-insurance-guide/travel-insurance-for-motorcycle-riding-overseas

 

Most travel insurers do not automatically provide rental vehicle insurance or cover for equipment including bicycles, motorbikes, mopeds and scooters. This may be an optional extra you can add to your policy when you purchase travel insurance.

[petermik]

2 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

 

 

As far as I'm aware most travel insurances do not cover motorbikes by default.

 

 

All the Travel Insurance policies I had in the UK covered motorcycles/scooters up to and including 125cc....this was some time ago and possibly things could have changed since then

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, roo860 said:

1 hour ago, retarius said:

It would be nice if they had a native English speaker review the copy before they post it. 

Absolutely, that Thaiger News is a load of <deleted> 

 

Completely agree - there isn't a Thaiger article that isn't incomplete, inaccurate or not full of contradictory information. 

On another thread, someone suggested The Thaiger was like a Satire News site without the humour !!...

 

Usually, the inaccuracies are due to very poor translations from a Thai Article, re-written by Thai writers who clearly lack experience and QC skills... 

In this case the article is written by a lad called 'Bob Scott' who we may assume is a native English speaker, but clearly lacks QC skills to proof read his own work...  even something as basic as 'died vs didn't die' !!! 

 

 

[Enoon]

35 minutes ago, JackGats said:

I don't have any travel insurance. I live in TH and I have world-wide coverage (Cigna). Whenever I file a refund claim there a box to tick regarding whether the claim is because of an accident or not. Up to now I never had to tick the box.

 

A friend said he had once a light motorbike accident but he lied about it. He reported instead having fallen somewhere. 

 

So if I rent a motorbike a good move is to see to it that it doesn't exceed 125cc?

You think you can't get seriously injured riding a 125cc bike?

 

Don't ride any MC unless you are certain that your insurance covers you.

 

 

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, retarius said:

Did she fall off the scooter and fall 20 metres? She should appeal the scooter vs motorbike decision. When I was a kid they had scooters that were 250cc....most Thai 'motorbikes' like Honda Wave of Click are/were 125cc. Honda made the Click 160cc recently for no apparent reason. The bike is now too heavy for my wife to ride and it's too fast for my liking. I'm old so have no wish to tear about the place.  

Appeal for what reason? Like you said there are scooters in all sort of sizes. The engine size she used is too big to drive without a motorcycle driving's license. Coming with the excuse, I didn't know is pretty dumb.

 

[retarius]

20 minutes ago, petermik said:

All the Travel Insurance policies I had in the UK covered motorcycles/scooters up to and including 125cc....this was some time ago and possibly things could have changed since then

Presumably it depends where you buy the travel policy? I don't rent motorbikes when I travel abroad....indeed I don't rent anything as I don't like driving now. But lots and lots of people rent motorbikes (small bikes), they shouldn't be renting them if they haven't got proper insurance, and in my opinion they should have a full motorcycle license from abroad. I don't see why tourists should be able to get away with not being legal on Thai roads, and driving in Pattaya I see that the plurality of motorbike drivers are accidents waiting to happen.  

[richard_smith237]

13 minutes ago, petermik said:

20 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

As far as I'm aware most travel insurances do not cover motorbikes by default.

 

All the Travel Insurance policies I had in the UK covered motorcycles/scooters up to and including 125cc....this was some time ago and possibly things could have changed since then

 

Obviously all policies vary....   but I think for the most part, people are not covered if they are not licensed (at home).

 

In this case I wonder if there was any 'Scooter vs Motorcycle' wording in the policy.

 

 

I have a current Travel Insurance Policy for an upcoming trip.... 

The Policy is 117 pages long...

 

The Policy is confusing.

It states I cannot ride a motorcycle without a home license.

It also states in a separate section, Scooter / Motorcycle  >> There's a Special Exclusion (V)... 

 

I can't find a Special Exclusion's section in the Policy... I cant see anything about size of engine that indicates scooter or motorcycle.

 

My takeaway of course is that I'm not insured at all to ride a Motorcycle in Thailand unless I have a home license.

 

(I do actually have a Thai Motorcycle license, but thats irrelevant, this insurance is for overseas and I wont be using a motorcycle).

 

 

My point here - is did the girl really believe she was insured to ride a 'scooter' in Thailand without a license ?

 

Is there any policy wording here that dictates this ?

 

Or did she rent a motorcycle / scooter without any consideration to insurance ?