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Originally posted by Poyntman:
Many of us ( as in several million people ) already have embedded coverage through Assist America embedded as a standard feature in your employee benefit contracts for life insurance and other products like group disability and no one even knows they have it.
The embedded charge the big insurance carriers pay is literally about .05 per month per employee and covers domestic and international medical evacuation/relocation to the nearest "westernized medical treatment" including the air evac etc

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Originally posted by Poyntman:
medical evacuation/relocation to the nearest "westernized medical treatment" including the air evac etc

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Originally posted by Poyntman:
I agree the Devil is most definitely in the details.

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Originally posted by Poyntman:
I can't imagine any policy from any carrier not covering such a basic lowest common denominator such as " medical necessity"

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Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

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Originally posted by Poyntman:
I agree the Devil is most definitely in the details.

And the detail is ... "medical necessity."

Do you NEED to be moved back home? In almost all cases, no. You don't have to be moved all the way home. In some cases, you need better treatment, but that would be to Joberg, Nairobi, Europe maybe, but it is a hard case to make that you need to come all the way back to Dallas, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles ... wherever you live.

Case in point. I had cerebral malaria in Tanzania. Flying Doctors evac me to Nairobi. There is no reason to move me from Nairobi to Dallas. I can recover in the hospital there no problem.

The difference is I want to be in Dallas. That is why I buy a Global Rescue policy.

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Originally posted by d.unger:
Interesting thread.

I got salmonella poising on a buffalo hunt a number of years back. After ingesting lord knows what I became progressively sicker. I wasn't able to keep any fluids in from the most extreme vomiting and diarrhoea I had ever had and after a couple days became extremely dehydrated. 100+ degree heat didn't help either. My Limbs were going numb, I had extreme shakes, fever, black outs, had a hard time communicating, etc.

My PH called Global Rescue on my sat phone and they questioned me briefly. I don't remember much of the conversation but that was the last I, my hunting partner, or my wife, who was my emergancy contact back home, heard from them until I arrived home. I had a sat phone, an 'InReach', and an iPhone, so I was available 24/7 by phone, email or text.

My outfitter flew me out of the bush and had an 'ambulance' waiting at the airport on my arrival where they took me to a backwoods clinic and I received IV and antibiotics. I still felt very sick after this but I wasn't blacking out and could now think clearly. The first thing I asked my hunting partner when the IV started to take affect was if the needle they stuck in my arm was clean. Thank God for good friends. The clinic was very small and couldn't keep me so my outfitter arranged a room at a local guest house for my hunting parter and I.

I was thankful my regular scheduled flight home wasn't for a few days because there was no way I could fly, that wouldn't have been pretty scene. It took 2 days before things settled down and I started feeling better.

Two days after I got home I sent Global Rescue an email after my outfitter forwarded me a corraspondance they had with them. Global rescue was under the impression I flew back to camp after being treated at the clinic and I continued on with my hunt. My outfitter knew where I was so I can't see how they got this info. A simple Call on my cell or sat phone or even an email would have told them differently. They had all my contact info.

I'm not going to debate what warrants an emergency field evacuation, thats not my point.
Because of the complete lack of communication on Global Rescue's part I lost confidence in them. And really, confidence and peace of mind is all your buying until you need them.

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Assist America

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Originally posted by d.unger:
Interesting thread.

I got salmonella poising on a buffalo hunt a number of years back. After ingesting lord knows what I became progressively sicker. I wasn't able to keep any fluids in from the most extreme vomiting and diarrhoea I had ever had and after a couple days became extremely dehydrated. 100+ degree heat didn't help either. My Limbs were going numb, I had extreme shakes, fever, black outs, had a hard time communicating, etc.

My PH called Global Rescue on my sat phone and they questioned me briefly. I don't remember much of the conversation but that was the last I, my hunting partner, or my wife, who was my emergancy contact back home, heard from them until I arrived home. I had a sat phone, an 'InReach', and an iPhone, so I was available 24/7 by phone, email or text.

My outfitter flew me out of the bush and had an 'ambulance' waiting at the airport on my arrival where they took me to a backwoods clinic and I received IV and antibiotics. I still felt very sick after this but I wasn't blacking out and could now think clearly. The first thing I asked my hunting partner when the IV started to take affect was if the needle they stuck in my arm was clean. Thank God for good friends. The clinic was very small and couldn't keep me so my outfitter arranged a room at a local guest house for my hunting parter and I.

I was thankful my regular scheduled flight home wasn't for a few days because there was no way I could fly, that wouldn't have been pretty scene. It took 2 days before things settled down and I started feeling better.

Two days after I got home I sent Global Rescue an email after my outfitter forwarded me a corraspondance they had with them. Global rescue was under the impression I flew back to camp after being treated at the clinic and I continued on with my hunt. My outfitter knew where I was so I can't see how they got this info. A simple Call on my cell or sat phone or even an email would have told them differently. They had all my contact info.

I'm not going to debate what warrants an emergency field evacuation, thats not my point.
Because of the complete lack of communication on Global Rescue's part I lost confidence in them. And really, confidence and peace of mind is all your buying until you need them.

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Originally posted by Poyntman:
In general I certainly agree...nor do I care what brand people buy.

I want to be clear in that I'm not arguing against any carrier like Global which do a fantastic job. I simply want people to potentially educate themselves that not only is this type coverage a necessity but that there are numerous options out there...several of which they may actually be already covered by and don't know it. I assure you all that Global does not have a Monopoly on the business of " I'm in the bush and got hammered by a ''' what the F ever business"
The real deal is there are so few incidences that virtually no one really understands the deal unless you happen to be on the inside of an incredibly small boutique market for insurance and there are only a couple that advertise to folks like ourselves which is demonstrated by the brand loyalty several folks have thus advocated.
I can't imagine any policy from any carrier not covering such a basic lowest common denominator such as " medical necessity" but don't kid yourself as your term is ubiqutous and getting care for a tetse fly bite might be theoretically necessary but I guarantee you people aren't being flown to the Mayo clinic in the U.S. to get Benedryl rubbed on their boo-boo's by Global or anyone but I also guarantee you that all the carriers cover someone getting gored by a Cape buffalo and needing to be flown out not just to some filthy place in Nairobi but a real... Quality facility which is typically where terms like "westernized" come in but also don't kid yourselves that Global or anyone just fly you to an facility of your choice like " I want someone to fly me to Houston" which is BS too...
Buy Global... Who gives a S if it gives piece of mind, which is really what they sell and they have branded themselves wonderfully.

What I might do for our audience is call one of them and have them do an actual comparison across multiple carriers and try and post that for us as an educational item. They wouldn't do it for the public but I can probably get it.
They don't like to publish that stuff because some competitors frown on the exposure and like to send little letters from their legal departments because they spend a lot of money for all of you to believe you only have one real option for the safety of yourself and your family.

If everyone wants.. Buy Global and be safe and be good, but perhaps examine options within your current insurance portfolio you maybe did t realize you even had and save a couple hundred bucks and buy me a Bourbon in the Delta lounge on the way to Joberg. Or drink Kool-aid and enjoy the refreshing flavor.