Travel insurance! Maybe you've never considered it before. After hearing the story of a local couple and their nightmare vacation, you might just change your mind. Sissy Ralston of Mason, Ohio, and her husband Larry took off for Cancun, Mexico, in March.A day and a half into the trip, they found themselves in an emergency situation. Sissy Ralston describes her husband's condition, "He was delirious in a room and I kept walking back. What are we going to do? " Sissy Ralston recounts the trip that could have ended with her planning a funeral for her husband of 40 years. She and Larry were on day one of their March trip to Cancun, Mexico. Larry started feeling pain in his midsection. Then he got sick. They got in touch with the on-call doctor at their resort. Larry recalls the conversation, “He came in and checked me and decided it was gall bladder and it was very large, so I had to get rushed to the hospital for emergency.” Here in the Cincinnati area, Larry has owned a lawn care business for many years. He's in his 60s, healthy, very active and always outside. But now, almost 3,000 miles away from home, he found himself outside his comfort zone -- in a foreign county, suffering through a medical episode getting worse by the minute. "The stones had been blocking my gall bladder. It was twice the size. Could have burst at any time, which would have been very serious. Could have led to death," he said.The clock was ticking. Larry was lying on a gurney in the hospital and he needed help and he needed it fast. Then came the news we never think about when we go on vacation. The doctors wouldn't do the life-saving procedure until the Ralstons came up with the money. The hospital needed close to$35,000 upfront, otherwise Larry was out of luck. Sissy was nervous."Your adrenaline is going and you don't want to think about it, but it's in the back of your mind and what do I do if I lose him over something like this?" she said.Their story takes a drastic turn in the right direction. They were able to put together $19,000. Friends and family helped collect the rest. Larry got his procedure. And there was one simple decision made that could someday be a game changer for you as well. Before the trip, concerned about COVID-19 and how it could either cancel their fun or cut it short, for the first time ever, they got trip insurance. Lisa Vermaak from Blu Skyy Travel was their agent."There's so many policies for so many different things and it's really trip specific," Vermaak said.Trip insurance. Something 90% of us never think about. For $125 per person, Larry and Sissy got a $50,000 policy. Instead of taking a devastating financial hit, the Ralston's will recover the money lost. Lisa is glad they were covered."It was one of those moments that you thank God, they made that choice and went ahead and got the insurance because if they wouldn't have, they'd be sitting with $35,000 that they wouldn't get back," Vermaak said.Vermaak says $50,000 worth of coverage is what most clients go with, but there's really not a one size fits all policy. If you are going on vacation, especially overseas where often our medical insurance isn't exactly in network, she says do your homework online to find a policy you're comfy with or talk with a local travel agent you trust so you can feel the same way she did after her advice to the Ralstons saved heir savings."Amazing... amazing... it makes me feel like I've done my job," Vermaak said. Larry couldn't agree more."It was only $250 and when you think about that small amount up against what we had to pay, there's no reason why I would think twice again," he said.
Travel insurance! Maybe you've never considered it before. After hearing the story of a local couple and their nightmare vacation, you might just change your mind.
Sissy Ralston of Mason, Ohio, and her husband Larry took off for Cancun, Mexico, in March.
A day and a half into the trip, they found themselves in an emergency situation.
Sissy Ralston describes her husband's condition, "He was delirious in a room and I kept walking back. What are we going to do? "
Sissy Ralston recounts the trip that could have ended with her planning a funeral for her husband of 40 years. She and Larry were on day one of their March trip to Cancun, Mexico. Larry started feeling pain in his midsection. Then he got sick. They got in touch with the on-call doctor at their resort.
Larry recalls the conversation, “He came in and checked me and decided it was gall bladder and it was very large, so I had to get rushed to the hospital for emergency.”
Here in the Cincinnati area, Larry has owned a lawn care business for many years. He's in his 60s, healthy, very active and always outside. But now, almost 3,000 miles away from home, he found himself outside his comfort zone -- in a foreign county, suffering through a medical episode getting worse by the minute.
"The stones had been blocking my gall bladder. It was twice the size. Could have burst at any time, which would have been very serious. Could have led to death," he said.
The clock was ticking. Larry was lying on a gurney in the hospital and he needed help and he needed it fast. Then came the news we never think about when we go on vacation. The doctors wouldn't do the life-saving procedure until the Ralstons came up with the money.
The hospital needed close to$35,000 upfront, otherwise Larry was out of luck.
Sissy was nervous.
"Your adrenaline is going and you don't want to think about it, but it's in the back of your mind and what do I do if I lose him over something like this?" she said.
Their story takes a drastic turn in the right direction. They were able to put together $19,000. Friends and family helped collect the rest.
Larry got his procedure.
And there was one simple decision made that could someday be a game changer for you as well. Before the trip, concerned about COVID-19 and how it could either cancel their fun or cut it short, for the first time ever, they got trip insurance.
Lisa Vermaak from Blu Skyy Travel was their agent.
"There's so many policies for so many different things and it's really trip specific," Vermaak said.
Trip insurance. Something 90% of us never think about. For $125 per person, Larry and Sissy got a $50,000 policy. Instead of taking a devastating financial hit, the Ralston's will recover the money lost.
Lisa is glad they were covered.
"It was one of those moments that you thank God, they made that choice and went ahead and got the insurance because if they wouldn't have, they'd be sitting with $35,000 that they wouldn't get back," Vermaak said.
Vermaak says $50,000 worth of coverage is what most clients go with, but there's really not a one size fits all policy. If you are going on vacation, especially overseas where often our medical insurance isn't exactly in network, she says do your homework online to find a policy you're comfy with or talk with a local travel agent you trust so you can feel the same way she did after her advice to the Ralstons saved heir savings.
"Amazing... amazing... it makes me feel like I've done my job," Vermaak said.
Larry couldn't agree more.
"It was only $250 and when you think about that small amount up against what we had to pay, there's no reason why I would think twice again," he said.
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