Testimonial

Tourists and business travellers often become victims of crime simply because they stand out from the locals and can be seen as easy targets. TIC has recently processed two gunshot wound cases, which highlight the danger of travelling to certain countries. Mr G was mugged and sustained a gunshot wound while walking back to his hotel. His medical and repatriation expenses reached a total of R980 000.

Mrs W was a victim of a terrorist attack. Her medical and repatriation expenses have come to R1,4 million. Before you travel abroad, TIC recommends that you keep up to date with social travel advisories and the news so that you are aware of the nature of crime in the countries you intend to visit and take due precautions. However, sometimes you can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time as Mr G's story reveals. He says, "I was walking along a road between the two Pembe milling factories in Nairobi when a man started shouting at me. He grabbed my laptop bag and tried to pull it away. I was resisting him when he pointed a gun at my groin at point blank- range. He then got me onto the ground and kicked me in my face. "A passerby came to my assistance and helped me up. Within a matter of minutes my work colleagues and my driver arrived on the scene and they took me to hospital where I was sent for a scan. It showed the bullet had entered on my left groin, then turned left across my lower stomach and lodged in the ball joint of my right leg. "I was rushed into theatre where they opened my stomach to repair the damage done to my lower intestine and upper bladder. They had to remove three litres of blood and I was sent to the ICU ward for recovery. "My injuries were reported to our main contact in Johannesburg. I was informed that my medical expenses were covered by my travel insurance and that TIC had been notified. The TIC representative was in daily contact with the doctors at the hospital and with my brother, who had travelled from South Africa to assist me. I was in hospital for a total of six weeks and underwent surgery on my hip. "The service provided by the assistance company was of a high quality. We were kept informed on a daily basis and the cover for the family member expenses was an absolute blessing. After this experience I will make sure that I have travel insurance on all future trips. I can't even imagine the disaster I would have been facing if I wasn't covered. Besides the financial cover there are many other advantages to having travel insurance. The fact that TIC has representatives in foreign countries is a major help in understanding how other hospital systems work. Language can also be another huge problem that can be resolved with a representative. I definitely recommend that anyone travelling abroad should have travel insurance; anything can happen at any time. "I would like to say thank you to everyone at TIC. Both my brother and I were very impressed with their service. We found them very efficient and always -first class with communication. I personally would recommend them to anyone travelling."