An expatriate in Singapore with European expatriate insurance informed Euro-Center Bangkok that his doctor had recommended he undergo lumbar spine surgery, a very delicate procedure. The Bangkok assistance team recommended a second medical opinion due to the complexity of the surgery. It was advised that the cost could be extremely high in certain Singaporean

medical center’s, without necessarily receiving superior treatment. The expatriate needed the surgery, and so, was admitted to a Euro-Center preferred medical provider. Asides from smooth case handling, this resulted in a medical cost savings of EUR 20,000 compared to the initial quote obtained by the expat from a provider outside of Euro-Center’s network.

A particular vaccine, unavailable in Ethiopia, was urgently needed for an expatriate family. The family requested commercial flights to Kenya to obtain the vaccinations. Euro-Center Cape Town arranged for the vaccine to be imported to Ethiopia via one of its medical network providers in Addis Ababa.

The vaccine was legally registered and stored at one of Euro-Center’s preferred medical providers. Euro-Center Cape Town arranged for the vaccination of the family via a local registered nurse. The family avoided an inconvenient flight to Nairobi, and the insurance company saved EUR 5,200.

A 9-year-old boy on holiday with his family in Turkey was admitted to a local hospital in Izmir with abdominal pain. The medical report obtained from Euro-Center Istanbul showed diagnosis as acute appendicitis. The Euro-Center medical team reviewed the report and found no evidence of this. Euro-Center Istanbul immediately transferred

the child to another hospital in Izmir, one within Euro-Center’s network of providers. This hospital diagnosed the boy with abdominal lymphangitis, which was successfully treated. The child was discharged the day after treatment. Total savings: EUR 10,000 and as important, a 9-year-old boy avoided unnecessary surgery.

When a major earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in January 2021, local resources were overstretched and medical facilities in the vicinity overrun. A Czech tourist was injured during the earthquake. He contacted the Euro-Center emergency assistance team in Prague. The medical team assessed his injuries via video link, and confirmed he was well enough to be transported on a commercial flight. Extraction from the area was however a problem.

Euro-Center’s security partner was activated by the emergency team in Prague, though it was apparent local support was needed. As Asia falls under the responsibility of Euro-Center Bangkok, they organised a local security consultant with local language capabilities and contacts. The local security consultant secured air transportation to the city of Balikpapan, where the Czech tourist could receive treatment, before travelling home.

Due to the unexpected spike in travel following the Covid pandemic, there have been many flight delays and cancellations. This led to an unprecedented high number of assistance cases for emergency accommodation. Euro-Center Mallorca, Euro-Center Cyprus and Euro-Center Prague, are responsible for the high-volume touristic destinations in Europe.

Each office worked relentlessly to keep up with the calls for assistance following delayed or cancelled flights. By expanding the radius of the local hotel and guest house network, areas away from overbooked touristic areas, cities and airports were found to ensure accommodation for the many stranded tourists.

A policyholder in Tonga suffered a laceration of the left wrist, due to a machete knife accident. The suspected diagnosis was a severed tendon. Due to a lack of specialist medical treatment in Tonga, Euro-Center Sydney arranged a telemedicine specialist consultation with

an upper limb Specialist in Brisbane, Australia. Euro-Center Sydney further supported the policyholder by obtaining a medical visa and navigation to Brisbane, as opposed to New Zealand, which was more convenient for the policyholder and saved the insurance EUR 3,900.

Euro-Center’s emergency assistance team received a call from a panicked UAE corporate client in Somalia. One of their consultants; a 38-year-old male from the Philippines, was admitted to a clinic in Chelsea Village; an accommodation camp in Mogadishu. The consultant had been suffering from nausea, headache and fever for 6 days. However, now his oxygen levels had dropped considerably, he also tested positive for Covid. He was rapidly deteriorating.

Euro-Center Cape Town immediately activated the Euro-Center 24/7 global medical team in Prague. A call was set up with the treating doctor. The Somalian hospital could not provide the level of care needed, whilst they had done their best, it was evident that, for his survival an immediate evacuation was essential.

The Euro-Center transportation team in Prague requested air ambulance quotations for evacuation to; Nairobi –Kenya, after review the best (quality, availability and price) air ambulance provider was selected. Ground ambulance and security support where arranged for transportation of the Consultant to the airport in Mogadishu. Within 24 hours of the first call, the consultant arrived in Nairobi and was admitted into an ICU in a private hospital.<br><br> Euro-Center medical team monitored his admission closely, after two months he was discharged. As an outpatient, Euro-Center Cape Town organised a hotel and transportation for the Consultant to attend appointments with the medical providers in Nairobi. When appropriate, a commercial flight was booked to the Philippines. Euro-Center Bangkok took over the case handling and organised mandatory Covid quarantine accommodation. Once completed, transportation to his hometown and ongoing physiotherapy and pulmonologist sessions were arranged. A few months later, the Euro-Center assistance team received word from the Consultant; he was now fully recovered and back in Somalia.

A policyholder had a serious motorbike accident on a small Greek island, with just one limited public medical center. The policyholder needed to be transferred to the nearest medically sufficient island for an MRI scan and potential treatment. The island did not have a landing strip, so the policyholder could not be transported via air ambulance, the distance was too far for a helicopter transfer. The only official transportation off the island was by ferry. Unfortunately, it was not guaranteed that the policyholder could carry out this journey lying flat, this being medically essential.

Therefore, Euro-Center Cyprus hired a private speedboat which swiftly took the policyholder to the nearest suitable island. The trip was not particularly comfortable, but only took 30 minutes. A ground ambulance was arranged to collect the policyholder from the pier. He was then taken to a preferred medical center within Euro-Center’s network of providers. An MRI was carried out, the policyholder was admitted for treatment. Euro-Center Cyprus arranged a nearby hotel for his spouse. After a few days of treatment, the policyholder was transported to his home country via air ambulance.

Euro-Center Sydney was requested to arrange cashless treatment for a policyholder with a doctor at an Adelaide medical centre. The policyholder had already arranged the appointment with the doctor. The provider was not one in the Euro-Center network.

As the appointment was already secured, Euro-Center Sydney checked the provider’s credentials i.e. license, insurance and registration. The objective being that if the provider was of good quality, they could be contacted to become a member of the Euro-Center network and provide cashless services.

In the process of checking the provider’s registration, Euro-Center Sydney established that the particular doctor the policyholder was going to see, had nine different restrictions in practicing medicine; this is a red flag.

The provider was consequently added to the network database as ‘Blacklisted’. When the policyholder was informed, he was thankful and agreed to move his appointment to another medical provider within Euro-Center Sydney’s preferred provider network in South Australia.

A policyholder hit her head on the sea floor as she fell off a boat in shallow waters off the coast of Cancún, Mexico. The insurance of the policyholder had just expired, but, the insurer agreed to cover the accident under an ex-gratia basis due to her critical condition.

Before Euro-Center was contacted, the policyholder was taken to a tourist hospital in Cancún, well known for its excessively expensive medical bills. Euro-Center does not normally refer policyholders to this facility, there are other excellent quality, reasonably

priced hospitals within the vicinity in the Euro-Center network. The policyholder required highly complex surgery and post-operative care. The insurer asked Euro-Center São Paulo to carefully manage the case to minimize the total bill, given the lack of actual insurance.

Euro-Center São Paulo and the Euro-Center global medical team kept in close contact with the policyholder, co-travelers and the treating doctors. Medical audits were undertaken throughout the case. The final invoice was almost USD 500,000, Euro-Center São Paulo negotiated an 18% discount. The hospital was outside Euro-Center’s network, however, Euro-Center’s local reputation and e professionalism within the industry together with fast payment made this discount possible.