– Then I wouldn’t have been here today. I had to sell my apartment. That’s what Marit Holm says about what she would have had to do if she hadn’t had travel insurance that covered medical expenses and transport home on the holiday trip four years ago. news meets Marit Holm at her home in Tønsberg four years after the accident. Photo: Fredrik Hansen / news What actually happens if you get sick on holiday was moved further into the consciousness of many when King Harald recently fell ill on a holiday trip to Malaysia. The king needed hospital stay and transport home, and was looked after from several quarters. The defense has estimated the price tag for his repatriation at around NOK 2 million. But what happens to “ordinary” Norwegians who fall ill or are exposed to an accident on holiday abroad? Record high compensation amounts More than 122,000 Norwegians with travel insurance were exposed to an accident or illness while traveling last year. Illness or accident cost insurance companies close to NOK 1.4 billion, according to figures from Finans Norge, a member organization for insurance companies. Stine Neverdal, communications manager at Finans Norge Forsikringdrift. Photo: Thomas Brun / NTB Kommunikasjon – Travel insurance claims are at a record high for last year, says communications manager at Finans Norge Forsikringdrift, Stine Neverdal. – There is a total of around NOK 2.6 billion, and this figure is higher than it has ever been. It is particularly the sickness benefits that attract a lot of attention. Compared to before the corona epidemic, 2019, the increase is around 10 per cent. Parts of this are linked to the Norwegian krone exchange rate, which means that we get less for our money abroad, Neverdal points out. news has also been in contact with four of the largest insurance companies in Norway, If, Tryg, Gjensidige and Fremtind, about what expenses they have related to patient transport. You can read more about it here: Expensive patient transport The expenses the insurance companies have for repatriation naturally vary greatly depending on both the method of transport and which country the patient is in. Fremtind states to news that in the past year they had 54 cases of repatriation by air ambulance, to a total cost of NOK 21.5 million. They also had 756 cases of medical repatriation with a total cost of NOK 34 million. Gjensidige states that last year they had approximately 70 home transports by air ambulance, and 1,360 home transports in total. Gjensidige states an average cost for transport by air ambulance at NOK 300,000-500,000, but in individual cases it can amount to millions. Tryg states that of all medical cases they handled in 2023, 0.5 per cent ended up with transport home by air ambulance. 3.5 per cent of the cases ended up with transport home on a regular scheduled flight, either medically arranged or in a regular flight seat. Overall, there was a need to send patients home to Norway by ambulance or scheduled aircraft in 4 per cent of the medical cases. The most expensive repatriation Tryg has had recently was NOK 1.2 million from Thailand. news has asked Tryg for specific figures, but they will not provide this for reasons of competition. If also states that they will not provide figures due to competition concerns. Should adjust sunbed – broke your back If you fall ill abroad without travel insurance, it could cost you several million kroner. Marit Holm from Tønsberg knows this well, because she was exposed to an accident when she was going on a group trip to Bali in March 2020. – I was just going to adjust some sunbeds, then I fall backwards and break my back in seven places, says Marit to news . It was a bed of this type that Marit Holm lifted on and got over when she broke her back. Photo: Per Annar Holm She has previously told the story to Byavisa Tønsberg. – I just remember that I fell, and that I thought it was very embarrassing. I tried to get back on the sunbed, but suddenly I got such pain that I just collapsed. In the midst of the covid lockdown, Holm describes the coming time as “porridge”. At the local hospital, she is said to have been given large amounts of morphine. But she managed to call her brother Per Annar Holm (66). Per Annar and Marit Holm look at photos he took from his stay in hospital and the journey home. Photo: Fredrik Hansen / news The journalist with 40 years’ experience in VG and Aftenposten contacted the insurance company If and SOS International, and went down to his sister’s as quickly as he could to help. – The next day there was a shutdown. The problem for us in Indonesia was that they had no test kits for covid. And that meant that the journey home would take us three weeks, says Per Annar. Marit: – Will I come home in an urn? Marit spent several weeks in a private hospital in Jakarta. – I felt very lonely. I just remember being very despondent and thinking, ‘Am I ever going to get home? Or will I come home in an urn?” says Marit and adds: – I was really down, but then my brother cheered me up a bit, who lifted my spirits. Per Annar visited her several times a day, and set up a workplace at the hospital. Price tag: 2.3 million The main problem was that they did not get tested. Per Annar believes that it was only after three weeks, after he sent an e-mail to the trade unions in the foreign service, that the ball started to roll. 36 hours after that, the siblings were on their way home. The trip took three ambulance planes: First from Jakarta to Muscat via a stopover in Sri Lanka. Then with a Turkish ambulance plane, to Eastern Turkey. Then the last leg from Istanbul to the military part of Gardermoen. See more photos from Marit’s complicated medical journey here: Marit Holm at one of the two private hospitals she was admitted to in Indonesia. Photo: Per Annar Holm Marit Holm another private hospital. One of the ambulances that helped Marit home. The first of three ambulance planes that took part in airfreighting Marit home to Norway. Several ambulances were needed to complete the transport. Another ambulance plane. Also on board the planes, Marit was supervised by medical personnel. Another plane was needed. There were many people involved in the painstaking transport home. Finally home: Holm after she landed at Gardermoen before Easter 2020. – The market was quite vacuumed and the prices were top notch. That meant that the total bill came to 2.2 or 2.3 million, says Per Annar. If Europeiske has confirmed to news that the total cost of hospital stay and transport home came to over NOK 2.3 million. Warns against traveling without insurance Finance Norway and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warn Norwegians against going on holiday abroad without checking that they have travel insurance and what it covers. – If you travel abroad without travel insurance, you must be aware that in the worst case you may incur large private costs, says communications advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Siri R. Svendsen. Read more from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here: Questions and answers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs news asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs several questions about what applies to “ordinary” Norwegians on holiday abroad. Here they are in their entirety: 1) Is there any automatic way in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is contacted when repatriating sick people, or must the travelers have registered themselves at reiseregistrering.no? – If a Norwegian citizen needs transport home due to illness, you must contact your insurance company. There is no automatic way in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is contacted when sick Norwegians are repatriated. 2) Do you have any figures on how many Norwegians on holiday need transport home due to illness each year? – It is voluntary to register your trip abroad in the Reiseklar app or on reiseregistrering.no. Therefore, we do not have an overview of how many Norwegians are abroad at any given time, or how many Norwegian citizens fall ill and need transport home each year. 3) Do you have figures on how many people have been transported home by ambulance in the last ten years? – See answer to the previous question. 4) What happens to those who (against the advice) have not obtained travel insurance that covers transport home in case of illness, but become seriously ill abroad? Do you have any figures on how many this applies to? – If you travel abroad without travel insurance, you must be aware that in the worst case you may incur large private costs, for example if you have to go to hospital. Anyone traveling abroad should contact their insurance company to find out whether they have valid and comprehensive travel insurance. 5) Does the help you can provide depend on which countries the Norwegians who fall ill are holidaying in? – Norwegian authorities help Norwegian citizens abroad who request consular assistance. What we can offer depends on which country you are in. If you go to a country or area covered by our travel advice, it may be difficult for us to help you. Acts of war, the security situation, travel restrictions or other circumstances make it more difficult for us to do our job. It may therefore be difficult for us to get you a new passport if you lose your passport, or help you if you fall ill or end up in prison. Go to the country overview to see more information about the country you want to travel to and whether it is covered by a travel advisory. 6) Does the help depend on the travellers’ previous medical history and age? – No. You can find more information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about traveling abroad here: Questions and answers about traveling abroad Marit today: – Life is absolutely wonderful! After several years without travel, first because of covid, and then because Marit “got a bit of a scare”, she has now gone on another holiday trip: – Now I’ve been out and traveled again and had a great trip! says Holm, who still swears by travel insurance: – I can’t understand people who even dare to move outside the municipal boundary without having travel insurance. It’s worth its weight in gold, says Holm. Per Annar Holm with his sister on a stretcher in one of the ambulance planes. Photo: Per Annar Holm Four years after the accident, Marit is doing very well: – I think life is laughing. I think it’s absolutely wonderful! I have no after effects from that fall at all. So I think I’m doing very well, she states.
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Marit Holm fell ill on holiday – return journey cost 2.3 million – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
