Disabled Danish War Veteran Let Down In Thailand By Insurance Company

[webfact]

War disabled Dane Let Down in Thailand by Insurance Company

30-year old Danish war veteran, Benjamin Kragsskjold,

had his prostethic leg crushed during Thai holiday,

but was denied any help from his insurance company

The 30-year old Danish war veteran had his prosthetic leg crushed as he was run down by a scooter during a holiday in Thailand. But his insurance company left him hanging with no way home.

Last week Danish ex military professional Benjamin Kragsskjold was run down by a scooter while he and his girlfriend were enjoying a holiday in Thailand. The traffic accident resulted in a crushed prosthetic leg and a lot of pain.

Benjamin Kragsskjold was severely wounded in Afghanistan two years ago costing him his one leg, but the prosthetic device has since then made it possible for the Danish soldier to walk again.

Thinking it was a matter of course, Benjamin contacted his insurance company, European Travel Insurance, asking them to cover the charges for him and his girlfriend to get back to Denmark.

But as it turned out there were absolutely no help to be found for the suffering Dane, as European Travel Insurance completely denied any responsibilities.

“I’m still in absolute chock being denied any form of assistance from European Travel Insurance. It’s like a nightmare,” Benjamin Kragsskjold says.

Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet,covering the story, was outraged by this behaviour and decided to pay for all charges. That way Benjamin Kragsskjold and his girlfriend, Yasmin, could return to Denmark yesterday.

Source: scandasia.com

--SCANDASIA

2010-08-22

[techno]

These insurance companies are a fraud for not helping a war hero in his hour of need. I hope the Insurance company loses a lot of business over this as other tourists may be worried about what they do cover under the terms of the policy. The Danish newspare should be congraulated for stepping in to help

[PoorSucker]

Interview here (In Danish).

http://ekstrabladet.tv/nyheder/indland/article1390881.ece

[jazzbo]

The Insurance policy may have a specific clause excluding 'artificial aids' as does BUPA Travel... which would also exclude damage to a heart pacemaker ... Without referring to the gentleman in question it is a good idea to actually read the policy especially if one has a 'special' situation or requirements..

[Boater]

U hear good and bad things about insurance policies , remeber a while back the guy who had hsbc insurance that had expired , but they still paid up

[schmutzie]

Why should an insurance company be more responsible towards a "war veteran" than other people?

Without the details of the actual incident it's hard to tell if they were wrong or not in their assessment.

But anyone thinking travel insurance will just give you a magic carpet and come riding' like the cavalry better take a reality pill or two.

[iko]

Maybe guys (veterans or not) with a prosthetic leg are not supposed to ride a bike. Not sure this is the reason, but it makes sense to me.

[metisdead]

Maybe guys (veterans or not) with a prosthetic leg are not supposed to ride a bike. Not sure this is the reason, but it makes sense to me.

He wasn't riding a bike:

Last week Danish ex military professional Benjamin Kragsskjold was run down by a scooter

[souvenirdeparis]

the bright side, his good leg wasn't crushed in the accident.

@jazzbo

The Insurance policy may have a specific clause excluding 'artificial aids' as does BUPA Travel

::

but he was also in lots of pain and he needed to come back anyway.

[jazzbo]

The ETI-Group Policy for UK (English language) specifically excludes 'repair and/or replacement of prosthetic limbs' ... however the exclusion could be as simple as that his trip exceeded 30 days ... from the info in the report one cannot tell...

ETI Group Insurance has been in business for over 100 years ...

[Wallaby]

I do think more info would be needed. He may well have damaged his prosthetic leg but would that warrant him needing to return home? Any other injuries that would warrant that?

[Maestro]

The ETI-Group Policy for UK (English language) specifically excludes 'repair and/or replacement of prosthetic limbs' ...

I was looking for ETI's terms and conditions on www.eti-group.biz but only found a "Policy summary" and this makes no mention of "prosthetic limbs". Could ETI be one of those insurances that give you easy access to the the full terms and conditions only after you sign up and pay the premium?

[ableguy]

These insurance companies are a fraud for not helping a war hero in his hour of need. I hope the Insurance company loses a lot of business over this as other tourists may be worried about what they do cover under the terms of the policy. The Danish newspare should be congraulated for stepping in to help

you could have ended your post at most insurance compaies are a fraud, total waste of money, trying to claim is like trying to lock pick a locked toilet door with a cotton bud whilst suffering the trots.

[Maestro]

The ETI-Group Policy for UK (English language) specifically excludes 'repair and/or replacement of prosthetic limbs' ...

I was looking for ETI's terms and conditions on www.eti-group.biz but only found a "Policy summary" and this makes no mention of "prosthetic limbs". Could ETI be one of those insurances that give you easy access to the the full terms and conditions only after you sign up and pay the premium?

I have now found ETI's full terms on conditions here on the website of Air Berlin. No mention of "prosthetic limbs", as far as I can see. At any rate, the newspaper article does not say that the injured Dane claimed for "repair and/or replacement" of his prosthetic leg. It would appear that he required some sort of medical treatment and perhaps also an early return to Denmark, as he was unable to continue his vacation in his condition. I guess will shall never get to know the details.

[jazzbo]

I got the policy wording straight off of the eti-group website (30 pages long) -- at any rate I guess we will know when the Gent in question returns to the country from where he purchased the policy and sues the sh-t out of them for breach of contract ...

However, my guess is that he purchased a 30-day travel policy and the accident occured after the policy expired because -- as you say -- they would not even provide him with an aspirin.

[Neonben]

What good leg, by the sound of it he only ever had one leg and lost that in Afghanistan.

"Benjamin Kragsskjold was severely wounded in Afghanistan two years ago costing him his one leg".

the bright side, his good leg wasn't crushed in the accident.

@jazzbo

The Insurance policy may have a specific clause excluding 'artificial aids' as does BUPA Travel

::

but he was also in lots of pain and he needed to come back anyway.

[Puccini]

Thinking it was a matter of course, Benjamin contacted his insurance company, European Travel Insurance, asking them to cover the charges for him and his girlfriend to get back to Denmark.

I once had to cut a vacation short because of an emergency (burglary at home). I had travelled with a return ticket and the Italian branch of ETI refunded me without any problem the additional costs I incurred for changing the flight date and for the change of fare class, as no seat was available immediately for my originally-booked fare class.

From the news report it would appear that this Benjamin flew to Thailand with a one-way ticket and expected ETI to cover the full cost of the return flight. If this were the case it would obviously be unreasonable, as without his accident he would also have had to pay for the return flight out of his own pocket.

[farangtopper1]

sometimes wonder why take insurance at all. You need but this is not a case of fraude. They should pay.

It means then that handicaped people can not go on holiday?

strange

[Puccini]

Google translation of an extract from the Danish newspaper article linked to by PoorSucker:

Benjamin Crow shield had an accident in which a scooter drove into him and smashed his prosthetic leg. This meant that he could not walk. But the couple could not return home prematurely because their insurance company, European Insurance, refused to pay. The insurance company does not believe that there is coverage for Benjamin Crow Nordenskjold road accident in the couple's travel insurance.

This makes me wonder what type of policy this man bought, or how accurate the paper's reporting is.

[rich54321]

NO LEG TO STAND ON - couldnt resist, sorry - must be his policy??

[harrry]

The photo is not a bike in Thailand so what does it show.

Edited August 22, 2010 by harrry

[elcent]

Not sure, but I think they (insurance company) uses a loophole when the tourist had this accident in an area where still an emergency degree is in force. It should be covered to up to $10,000.00 by the Thai government as promised.

[bkkflyer]

The newspaper Ekstrabladet is a quite "colorful" Danish Newspaper. They paid DKK10,000 (around THB54,000) to get him and his girlfriend back home prior to their original return date. Dont think for a moment they did it to be nice, they wanted to sell the story. Fair enough.

From the article it sounds like he did not suffer physically exept from the prosthetic limb.

Buttom line, I think it is in a grey area, and in a way I dont think it is 100% clear that they should pay the full costs to change the ticket for him and his girlfriend.

On a side, Denmark is a very liberal Country. The headline in Ekstrabladet is quite "direct" "Endelig hjemme: Krigsinvalid røvrendt af rejseforsikringen", translates to something like "Finally home: War disabled rammed in the (the place where the sun never shines) by the travel insurance company.

[hardy1943]

These insurance companies are a fraud for not helping a war hero in his hour of need. I hope the Insurance company loses a lot of business over this as other tourists may be worried about what they do cover under the terms of the policy. The Danish newspare should be congraulated for stepping in to help

Insurance companies are out to screw people where ever they can.So what is so unusual about this case? I bet there are millions more like this in the world.

Edited August 22, 2010 by hardy1943

[chainarong]

Read the small print ladies and gents, read the small print, Insurance companies at it again, a black mark against this lot, great stuff from the newspaper, thanks guys.

[neilf]

Maybe guys (veterans or not) with a prosthetic leg are not supposed to ride a bike. Not sure this is the reason, but it makes sense to me.

your joking when i ride home every night pissed i might as well have pros thingy arms cos bike does what it likes innit hic

[waytox]

I am a danish.

I use to go to Thailand and rent a motorbike

I make an insurence every year, and one of the conditions in that is: dont run a motorbike in another country.

everybody know that..so no pity from me.

and by the way, Ekstrabladet is a colorfull tabloid paper who lov to make a big story out of nothing.

[TheBarbarian]

Good promotion for the insurance company. Let's hope that they lose a lot of customers.

[TheBarbarian]

I am a danish.

I use to go to Thailand and rent a motorbike

I make an insurence every year, and one of the conditions in that is: dont run a motorbike in another country.

everybody know that..so no pity from me.

and by the way, Ekstrabladet is a colorfull tabloid paper who lov to make a big story out of nothing.

You must be the jolly joker of Denmark. First of all I have hardly ever seen a EUROPEAN insurance which stipulates what can and what cannot be done abroad. The only exception might be when you do not have a drivers license or when you are drunk, but even than the insurance will take care and ultimately claim the money back. However National Health insurance companies are mostly always obliged to pick up the bill anyhow. It looks to me that have no clue about the EU rules. Moreover this man should be in a totally different league than you are. He lost his leg for your country, the most danger you were in is probably contracting an STD.

[kissdani]

I am a danish.

I use to go to Thailand and rent a motorbike

I make an insurence every year, and one of the conditions in that is: dont run a motorbike in another country.

everybody know that..so no pity from me.

and by the way, Ekstrabladet is a colorfull tabloid paper who lov to make a big story out of nothing.

He was run over by a scooter and the article nowhere suggest that he was driving a motobike by himself.

But i can imagine that is still not a case for the insurance if his prosthetic leg is broken; probably exluded as pre-existing medical condition and so definitely not a case that the insurance company cheat on him.