Dear Tripped Up,
I am a 68 year old solo traveler who was touring Sicily in June 2022 when I got off a bus, breaking several ribs, vertebrae and a pelvic bone. I had purchased Seven Corners Travel Insurance’s RoundTrip Choice plan, so I called, expecting them to help coordinate my medical care with Italian-speaking doctors. But they told me to get help myself, keep the receipts, and file a claim when I got home. Our guide was an angel, arranging drivers to take me back and forth to the hospital and even interpreting with doctors over loudspeaker. Days later, I had a doctor fill out a form (which I had to Google Translate for him) that said I could travel home as long as I was in a recumbent position. My family paid a contribution to buy a business class seat for the return flight, a day and night trip from Palermo to Munich, to New York to Jacksonville. Seven Corners ended up paying $5,772 for my bills and missed trip, but refused to refund most of my Business Class fare. Worse still, I believe they failed to provide me with the promised assistance, effectively leaving me to my own devices and unable to communicate with hospital staff. I have registered complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the state insurance companies of Florida and Indiana (where Seven Corners is located), but to no avail. Can you help? Helaine, St. Augustine, Florida.
Dear Helaine,
What a terrifying ordeal. And also a valuable reminder for solo travelers that while exploring the world on your own can be exciting, it can also be dangerous. If you get sick or injured in a place where you don’t speak the language (or understand the healthcare system) and who will be there to help you?
Seven Corners says it will boast, according to its website, “a 24/7 multilingual team available to assist with travel emergencies,” including help finding medical care and second opinions, as well as “referrals from interpreters” and medical evacuations. The website tells the reassuring story of Makenzie, a 22-year-old who fell ill near the French-Belgian border. The Seven Corners staff are portrayed as springing into action, talking to her doctors, arranging for a family member to fly in, and finally making Makenzie “book a lounger to ensure maximum comfort” upon her return to California.
You clearly didn’t get the Makenzie treatment.
To find out why, I went through your policies and the other documents you sent me, talked at length, and exchanged emails with Greg Jung, executive vice president of Seven Corners, and even a Times colleague, Ilaria Parogni, asked to translate that form. Sicilian doctor completed from Italian doctor’s scribble to standard English.
