Disabled Danish War Veteran Let Down In Thailand By Insurance Company

[kissdani]

I am a danish.

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. ...

He lost his leg for your country, the most danger you were in is probably contracting an STD.

What does a Dane in Afghanistan for his country?

And why should that the business of his travel insurance? Would they pay me an immediately trip home if my glasses are broken or my hairdo is ruined?

[ajarnpot]

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.

I think it may be to do with the one leg policy, if only one leg is hurt the policy won't pay, the clever thing to do would be to get run over on both legs

[geriatrickid]

The ignorance of some people is astounding;

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.

An insurance policy is risk transfer contract. The insurer agrees to accept some of a policy holder's risk in return for a payment. No one is forcing anyone to take an insurance policy. If you think the risk is small, keep the risk yourself.

In the case of a war veteran, the story is Bullsh*t. Prosthetic limbs are paid for by the Danish government, including replacement limbs. This comes under the Veteran's Affairs portfolio as part of the rehabilitation and reintegration programs. As well, the Danish public health care system does provide prosthetic limbs. The smart hand project led by the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Italy and Sweden's Lund University relied heavily upon research contributions from Denmark and Israel. The point being that Denmark is hardly 3rd world and it has the means and resources to assist with the prosthetic devices, whether it be from the public system or through various charitable foundations.

If I am injured in my home country, my health plan does not respond to a great many thngs that I am covered for in Thailand because I am covered under my homeland public health care system. Instead of using the story to grind one's axe, how about looking at the big picture?

Edited August 23, 2010 by Maestro
Deleted comment on post that has now been deleted

[sfm]

Of course the newspaper didn't even need to ask the insurance company. Why bother? One side of the story was always enough for that paper.

Insurance policies have exceptions, where they don't cover. I recall motorbike driving being one of these. Could that be simply the problem?

[beppi]

Like all companies, insurances exist to make a profit.

Obviously, the more they pay out, the less profit they make.

Therefore they avoid paying.

If you don't like this, don't subscribe to an insurance.

If you don't understand this, you shouldn't subscribe either.

I never take insurance unless I have to.

[DickFarang]

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.

Do you trust automated translations ?

This one looks fairly good, but ... his name, Benjamin Kragsskjold, was once “translated” as “Benjamin Crow” and once as “Benjamin Crow Nordenskjold” ?!

[gbswales]

The issue has nothing whatever to do whether he is a war veteran or not. I am not sure how it works in Denmark but in the UK if you want travel insurance and have any physical problem then you have to phone a medical clearing centre who will advise the company whether to accept the risk or not. If they exclude anything declared then they should mention this before activating the policy. I for example have hemophilia and if I were involved in an accident the hemophilia treatment alone could run into many thousands of pounds. I would not dream of travelling unless I had a policy that specifically covered my pre-existing condition. Obviously all the facts should be known but if he declared his prosthetic, paid the premium and was inside the allowed period of the travel insurance then I cant see any reason why the costs should not be met by the insurance company. They presumably might be able to recover some or all of this from a claim against the scooter driver in the "unlikely" event that he had insurance or was over the age of 10!!

Insurance companies grab our money with open hands and consistently they try to limit the damage when there is a claim!

[Puccini]

Of course the newspaper didn't even need to ask the insurance company. Why bother? One side of the story was always enough for that paper.

Insurance policies have exceptions, where they don't cover. I recall motorbike driving being one of these. Could that be simply the problem?

I see nothing in the available information to suggest that the injured Dane was driving a motorbike.

[Puccini]

...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.

I see nothing in the available information indicating that the injured Dane was claiming for the cost of replacing the broken prosthesis.

[moe666]

Whats wrong witha wheel chair or crutch to get around on until a new leg can be fitted.

My post is as useful as most on this thread because we know nothing of what the insurance covers and why they denied to pay pay for what a ticket home or a new leg or hospital.

[goldmonky]

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

but should you have to be a hero for them to pay out?? I mean what do we pay insurance for ?? and they aren´t cheap.we don`p have accidents on purpose. :and good on ya danish reporter(respects)

[jazzbo]

again, from my post #10 above: ... the exclusion could be as simple as that his trip exceeded 30 days ... and the accident could have occurred after the 30-day policy expired

[Suradit]

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..

Doesn't sound like he was asking for an artificial aid. Sounds like he wanted the insurance company to fly him and his girlfriend home. Presumably he would get medical attention there.

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.

[featography]

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

These Travel insurance companies are a fraud to a lot of people, not just war heroes. Is it uncommon knowledge, or an uncommon practice with home country insurance companies, to not cover insureds while vacationing in foreign countries?? Mine covered me anywhere in the world with a few exclusions; involvement in war as an example.

[sirchai]

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

He wasn't riding a bike,but was run down by a scooter. Holy shit.

[Maestro]

I have deleted a number of off-topic posts without individual notification of the posters.

[Maestro]

I brought this thread to the attention of ETI head office and received this reply from the company that issued the policy to the Dane mentioned in the news article, quoted here with the sender's permission:

Thank you for your mail regarding the 30 old Dane with a prosthetic limb, who was in an accident in Thailand

The policy is a Danish policy issued in Denmark by Europæiske Rejseforsikring it has nothing to do with any other corporations.

The policy issued does not cover repair and/or replacement of prosthetic limbs (http://www.europaeiske.dk/upload/ER/Insurances/154/Betingelser/Betingelser154.pdf page 16).

However, this was not the core of the case. In accordenc with the conditions Europæiske Rejseforsikring offered to cover "ruined holyday" and explained that the insured should return to Denmark at his scheduled flight which was app. a week after the accident. The issue was then that the insured wanted an urgent repatriation

to Denmark which was not covered by the conditions.

Kind regards

Jakob Bender (JSB)

Head of

Marketing & Direct sale

[jazzbo]

Good one, Kuhn M. -- so I guess the 'fraud' was ETI/Denmark would not charter a G5 for the quick trip home.

[Maestro]

If there were a prize for the best guess it probably would go to moe666, who wrote:

Whats wrong witha wheel chair or crutch to get around on until a new leg can be fitted...

Whereas the news report in the original post says "The traffic accident resulted in a crushed prosthetic leg and a lot of pain" there is no mention that the Dane sought and received medical treatment, nothing to indicated that an immediate repatriation was necessary for medical reasons.

In one of the Danish news reports, the Dane is quoted as saying "I can not take a holiday and go around town without my prosthetic leg, which has been smashed". His holiday was ruined, and the insurance company agreed to compensate him for that, but not the cost of an immediate repatriation for him and his companion.

kissdani put it this way:

...Would they pay me an immediately trip home if my glasses are broken or my hairdo is ruined?

A broken prosthetic leg is obviously more incapacitating than broken spectacles or a ruined hairdo, but is it life-threatening and thus necessitating an immediate repatriation?

[ajarnpot]

If there were a prize for the best guess it probably would go to moe666, who wrote:

Whats wrong witha wheel chair or crutch to get around on until a new leg can be fitted...

Whereas the news report in the original post says "The traffic accident resulted in a crushed prosthetic leg and a lot of pain" there is no mention that the Dane sought and received medical treatment, nothing to indicated that an immediate repatriation was necessary for medical reasons.

In one of the Danish news reports, the Dane is quoted as saying "I can not take a holiday and go around town without my prosthetic leg, which has been smashed". His holiday was ruined, and the insurance company agreed to compensate him for that, but not the cost of an immediate repatriation for him and his companion.

kissdani put it this way:

...Would they pay me an immediately trip home if my glasses are broken or my hairdo is ruined?

A broken prosthetic leg is obviously more incapacitating than broken spectacles or a ruined hairdo, but is it life-threatening and thus necessitating an immediate repatriation?

oh well you've got to hand it to those insurance companies, I mean they do now how to make money,

[Puccini]

oh well you've got to hand it to those insurance companies, I mean they do now how to make money,

I wonder how much premium the Dane paid and how much the insurance company is paying as compensation for the ruined holiday.

(Incidentally, the company I work for in Italy, which is not in insurance, also knows how to make money. If it did not, it would go bankrupt and I would be looking for a new job)