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Boating Safety Tidbit:
First Aid for Embedded Fish Hook
- Wash your hands to reduce risk of infection.
- Expose the injured area and inspect the wound,
without touching it.
- Gently place clean dressings around the object.
- Place bulky dressings around the object to
keep it from moving. This will apply pressure
to the wound but not the object.
- Secure the bulky dressings in place with
a narrow bandage; taking extra care to ensure
that pressure is not exerted on the embedded
object...
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Full Article ] |
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Boating Articles
Get the Right Cover Before You Ride
That Holiday Jet-Ski
Sunday Herald, The, Jun 10, 2001 by Teresa Hunter
If you don't think it's worth getting the correct jet
ski insurance before you go abroad Teresa Hunter says
it's time to think again.
WE all save for months to pay for that brief escape to
paradise in the sun. Yet all too often our dream trip
turns into a nightmare when we fall ill, have an accident
or get caught up in crime.
Recent horrific jet-ski fatal accidents have served as
an unpleasant reminder of the dangers of rushing headlong
into pursuits and activities while on holiday abroad which
we would be much more cautious about undertaking if we
were still at home.
For some it may be drinking copious amounts of alcohol
all night, and burning on the beach during the day in
temperatures never seen in this country. Then people wonder
why they have heart attacks or strokes or otherwise end
up in hospital.
At the same time, more and more holidaymakers are taking
part in hazardous water sports. Buying good quality travel
insurance is vital if we are to survive any subsequent
holiday traumas relatively unscathed.
Last year, a British tourist in the Middle East spent
months in jail after being caught up in a jet-ski accident
which was not her fault, but where the other driver died.
Her travel insurance helped pick up the legal bills and
fight for her freedom.
Yet surprisingly, large numbers of people happily venture
abroad without any cover at all. For the majority of these
the biggest risk is not landing in jail, but in hospital.
Without insurance, hospital bills can amount to tens of
thousands of pounds. These have to be paid, and can cripple
the victim financially for the rest of their lives.
Of those who do buy, most sign up for cover with their
tour operator or travel agent, which could be just about
the most expensive mistake of their holiday. Not only
is this cover normally much more costly, the cover provided
may be inappropriate.
A recent survey from the Consumers' Association, for example,
found a #220 gap between what Thomas Cook would charge
a family for a two-week holiday to Florida, and the same
cover with JourneyWise. With Thomas Cook, the bill came
to #270, but just #46 with the "best buy" insurer.
There are plenty of opportunities to buy travel insurance,
so it pays to do your homework. These days, you can buy
competitively- priced cover from supermarkets such as
Tesco and Boots. Even clubs and trade unions may offer
cover. Charities such as Age Concern sell policies targeted
at the elderly, as does over 50s travel club, Saga. You
can buy it over the telephone, the internet or from your
local branch of your bank or building society.
It is possible to obtain some limited health care in Europe
if you obtain an E111 form from your Post Office. This
entitles you to the same treatment free which a native
of the country you are visiting might qualify for, under
reciprocal EC arrangements. However, this will almost
certainly be more limited than what would be available
under the NHS in this country.
In France, for example, you may still have to pay up to
a quarter of the cost of hopsital treatment, plus a daily
fee of around #7. In Spain, on the Costas, private hospitals
greatly outnumber public ones, so you may have no choice
but to sign up for the expensive private option. On the
Greek islands, there are no public hospitals.
Furthermore, the E111 provides no financial assistance
for extras such as repatriation or holiday cancellation
following illness, or indeed additional costs resulting
in having to extend a stay in a country because you are
too ill to travel home.
Nevertheless, it is sensible to always take an E111 form
with you as back-up, not least because many insurers will
not charge you any excess if you have made full use of
the reciprocal arrangements.
One-third of all travel insurance claims relate to ill-health
so ensure you declare any pre-existing medical condition,
because these will not normally be covered.
It is also important to look carefully at any other exclusions.
Most policies, for example, exclude water sport or other
hazardous activities. If you are planning on being sporty
in the sun, they make sure you buy specialist cover.
A policy should normally cover your belongings and baggage,
but again look carefully at exclusions, excesses and ceilings
on each claim. You may, for example, only be able to claim
a maximum #500 for any one item. This could prove inadequate
if you are travelling with an expensive camera or computer
equipment or jewellery, when additional cover should be
investigated.
If you have good insurance for your personal belongings
through your household contents cover, it may be possible
to delete this cover completely from your travel policy,
which could reduce the price further.
Similarly, you should be covered for the loss of cash,
in a mugging or handbag snatch, sadly prevalent in many
tourist destinations. But again watch the excesses. If
you only ever carry #50 cash on you, and the excess is
#50, you aren't getting much by way of cover.
The best way to keep the cost of insurance down, particularly
if you take more than one holiday a year, is to buy an
annual policy. These often cost little more than single
trip cover. Similarly, family policies are usually cheaper
than buying separate insurance for everyone travelling.
Age Concern, for example, offers a family contract where
children travel free.
A spokeswoman explained: "We find three generations
of a family frequently holiday together, but while we
were insuring the grand- parents, the rest of the group
were buying cover elsewhere. Once we started to cover
the children for free, we found we got grandma and grandad
as well as mum and dad."
Finally, make sure you don't buy more cover than you need.
A worldwide annual policy is much more expensive that
one limited to travel in Europe, because of the US's high
medical bills.
If you have no need of US cover, stick strictly to Europe.
Copyright 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.
All rights Reserved.
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