Expat Daily News: International Travel Insurance & H1N1

Back in June 2009 when news first broke about a flu pandemic that was potentially of threat to us all, panic began spreading around the world far faster than any influenza type virus ever could! This was because global media jumped on the bandwagon when the World Health Organisation declared that the flu was of the H1N1 class, but that this time it came from a new strain of swine origin.

All of a sudden there were news reports about the mass culling of pigs in Egypt, there were images shown of people at international airports in America wearing facemasks, and stories spread about people in the UK being quarantined in their own homes if they were thought to have contracted ‘swine flu.’

During this initial period of panic, calls to international health insurance companies went through the roof as people living all over the world wanted to ensure that they had the right cover in place to protect them if they were to succumb to the virus. However, since this initial period of global concern, media interest in the story about an H1N1 pandemic has fallen away, and so has people’s awareness of the fact that we are still at threat from this virus – and all strains of it – particularly as winter approaches in the northern hemisphere.

For those of us who are strong, fit and healthy, a dose of the flu is of no great concern. However, for those who have respiratory problems as simple as mild asthma, for babies and children, the elderly, pregnant women and perhaps even more worryingly, for those of us who have an as yet undiagnosed condition that could be exacerbated by a particularly strong case of the flu, serious concern needs to be taken. What’s more, concern needs to be intensified if we’re away from home, perhaps living in a country with reduced access to essential medicines such as Oseltamivir, (trade name Tamiflu), and where levels of basic hygiene are not particularly high.

Swine flu and other strains of the H1N1 virus spread easily and with speed when basic hygiene standards are poor. Symptoms are made far worse and can result in devastating consequences when proper care is not taken of any patient suffering with such an illness. Therefore it is essential to ensure that if you’re living abroad, about to go traveling, if you’re thinking of working overseas or you’re just off on vacation, that you have a good level of comprehensive insurance in place that will support you whilst you’re away from home.

You need an insurance company behind you that can guide you to local medical facilities that can assist you if you fall ill abroad. You need a hotline that you can call 24 hours a day. You need a company behind you that will pay for you to get the drugs and treatment you need if you do become sick – and ultimately, if you succumb to any serious illness, whether that is as a result of swine flu or not, you need a level of health insurance in place that will always get you to the care and treatment you need – even if that means you have to be medically evacuated.

The world’s media alerted us to the fact that a virus as common as the flu can have globally devastating consequences – therefore we should all use this newfound knowledge and take responsibility for our own health and wellbeing no matter where in the world we’re living. We should get the right, comprehensive health insurance policy in place now so that we have the peace of mind that comes with knowing no matter what ills may befall us, we will always get the medical treatment we need.