The following story illustrates how TIC helped a client in his hour of need.
Traveller: Norman
Location:Osaka, Japan, Total claim amount:R430 000
"Norman, a 41-year-old South African businessman, travelled to Osaka, Japan for business where he had an allergic reaction to shell fish
after a meal at a local restaurant, and subsequently suffering cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Norman ordered a vegetable stir-fry in Japan and the chef was told to avoid any shell fish, but it was somehow contaminated," says Sue, his wife. "He
recognised that it was a shellfish reaction and told the restaurant staff to call the ambulance. The paramedics put a needle into his throat for air.
When he got to the hospital they cut the tracheotomy. And then he was able to get air. But his heart stopped for 15 minutes, resulting in a lack of oxygen.
When I got the news, I contacted TIC from South Africa," Sue continues, "and the assistance company contacted the hospital in Japan
and arranged everything. The language barrier was a problem - so the assistance company organised an interpreter to talk to the doctor.
Norman was in Japan for seven weeks. Then the assistance company organised a doctor and a sister from South Africa to go over to Japan to escort
him back.
Travel insurance is essential," Sue says. "You have to take it out. Like any insurance, you don't realise how important it is until you need it.
If it hadn't been for the assistance company, we wouldn't have been able to get Norman back. If I'd had to do it on my own it would have been a nightmare.
Norman and I would like to say thank you to TIC and the assistance company because we wouldn't have coped without them. It wasn't just about finance
- the help was in the small things which we needed. My airfare and accommodation in Osaka were organised by TIC, and there were so many little things
we wouldn't have managed on our own."
Norman underwent treatment in a rehabilitation centre, and everyone at TIC and the assistance company wishes him a speedy recovery.