Santiago
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UPDATE: Air Ambulance included with all Lewis and Lewis policies?
I just received my annual renewal and see that this is included. The notice says I will get the coverage and terms when they receive the renewal
which I have just mailed. Anyone know how this will work or IF it will work?
Specifically, who is covered, just me, my wife, all people traveling with me?
Thanks
UPDATE:
Just received the policy, will scan and send if you U2U your email.
In a nutshell (I have not read all 4 pages yet) you contact the carrier, Ausa, and they confer with your doctor. then Ausa will arrange for land/air
transfer to the hospital of their choice. If none in Mexico that can treat, according to your and their doctors, then they will fly you to San Diego,
Houston or Vancouver BC.
There are a lot of other percs such as finding a doctor, conting them and paying for them to come to where you are, paying for someone in your family
to come take care of you if you are traveling alone, having meds brought to your location (you must pay for the meds).
Here are the main headings of the policy:
I. Medical Assistance
1. Land/Air/International Air
2. Medical References
3. Medical Assistance Coordination
4. Drug Delivery
5. Incidental Expenses
II. Tourist Services
Many subcategories such as call center, luggage and document loss, urgent communication and the like.
III. Road Services
All sorts of things, towing, running out of gas, dead battery, flat tires, loss of keys, transport if vehicle breaks down, etc, etc.
This is included in the auto policy as a perc, as far as I can tell.
On inquiry, Lewis said that my spouse is covered.
[Edited on 7-19-2014 by Santiago]
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woody with a view
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be interested to hear the details as mine is up for renewal.
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EnsenadaDr
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Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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Probably calling the issuer of the policy will give you the most accurate response. As a reminder, Doug went through the extra effort of putting a
Health and Wellness Category on the Board, could we please post all questions related to this topic under that category so others can find answers to
their Health and Wellness category questions more easily!!
Thanks and Salud!!
Dra. Janene Caracaus
[Edited on 7-13-2014 by EnsenadaDr]
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bajabuddha
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I am no expert on this subject, but I do know that even with 'platinum' coverage or whatever the extra med-BS coverage is, YOU have to come up with
the initial cost, up front, and pay in full out of your own pocket; then you submit your paperwork i.e. receipts, etc. to the insurer, and THEN they
reimburse you with whatever their terms stated as total coverage and what parts they will or will not cover. That's the way it was explained to me;
and I was told it's a sheeit-pot of money up front, too... no tickie, no laundry. Others will have a more definitive answer, but I think that's a
'nutshell' for you.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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Pescador
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Jim, can you get a copy of the policy. Lewis and Lewis site is a registered seller of Sky Med evacuation policies, but I can find nothing about an
included policy. I would love to read the policy and fine print to see what you really have.
Most evacuation policies do not require you to pay up front because they, in fact, have the contract with the evacuation companies and medical flight
companies. Those policies that offer a cash amount in the case that one needs an evacuation, normally require you to pay, then submit the claim to
their claims department for payment. These are the cheapest policies available and there are lots of complaints against them because sometimes the
"trigger event" for claims may not be what one would think or customarily expect. In other words, people would normally expect that a doctor
recommended evacuation would make one eligible, but find that they had to have the local doctor talk to the insurance company and establish
eligibility.
Let's get a copy of this one and find out the objective truth.
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Santiago
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UpdateUPDATE:
Just received the policy, will scan and send if you U2U your email.
In a nutshell (I have not read all 4 pages yet) you contact the carrier, Ausa, and they confer with your doctor. then Ausa will arrange for land/air
transfer to the hospital of their choice. If none in Mexico that can treat, according to your and their doctors, then they will fly you to San Diego,
Houston or Vancouver BC.
There are a lot of other percs such as finding a doctor, conting them and paying for them to come to where you are, paying for someone in your family
to come take care of you if you are traveling alone, having meds brought to your location (you must pay for the meds).
Here are the main headings of the policy:
I. Medical Assistance
1. Land/Air/International Air
2. Medical References
3. Medical Assistance Coordination
4. Drug Delivery
5. Incidental Expenses
II. Tourist Services
Many subcategories such as call center, luggage and document loss, urgent communication and the like.
III. Road Services
All sorts of things, towing, running out of gas, dead battery, flat tires, loss of keys, transport if vehicle breaks down, etc, etc.
This is included in the auto policy as a perc, as far as I can tell.
On inquiry, Lewis said that my spouse is covered.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2729
Registered: 5-10-2011
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Santiago, I'm lost, what was the question?
You have the contract before you - we don't 
If air ambulance is listed there, then - yes, it's included, subject to terms and conditions.
Are all L&L policies include it? I don't think so. They probably have many different products. Is this a standalone evac plan, emergency medical,
or auto insurance with emergency medical and evac?
Pescador is right - normally, evac policy, be it an air ambulance or regular flight (they can downgrade it to regular if your condition allows), do
not require up-front pay, but you have to contact the provider to get approval, and IF they approve, they would arrange it at their cost. Not sure how
Sky Med works within another - wider - plan, ex. emergency medical, but a standalone evac plan from this company is not very cheap, I would say,
medium-high cost. Even within a narrower group of standalone evac plans where you are allowed a choice of destination hospital, Sky Med is not cheap.
A usual caveat with evac plans is that you have to be minimum 99 miles (150 miles in some plans) from your main home at the time of incident. Air
ambulance - if it's included in medical part of car insurance - is a different thing though.
What Pescador said about "trigger event" for evac plan. Most evac plans are like that. Insurer has to approve the evacuation, and they won't approve
if they think that local hospital is capable (or if your condition is too unstable for evacuation).
[Edited on 7-20-2014 by Alm]
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Pescador
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Santiago is sending me a copy of the policy so I will review and evaluate it. I also put a call in to Jim Lewis to get some info. This could be a
good thing, but I will withold judgement until I get a chance to read it completly.
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Desertbull
Senior Nomad
Posts: 558
Registered: 8-27-2003
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EVAC policies are affordable. $215 annually to get Air Evac from anywhere in the world in a serious medical emergency....not just Baja. Med-Jet works
anywhere in the world. Our friends and clients have used it around the world.
DREAM IT! PLAN IT! LIVE IT!
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EnsenadaDr
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Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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Pescador, what about DAN? It's pretty cheap. And from what I read there was no upfront payment. Though they waited quite a while to transport the
patient they did come through the best they could. | Quote: | Originally posted by Pescador
Santiago is sending me a copy of the policy so I will review and evaluate it. I also put a call in to Jim Lewis to get some info. This could be a
good thing, but I will withold judgement until I get a chance to read it completly. |
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Pescador
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Okay, Santiago sent me a copy of the policy and I just finished reading the fine print. This is an add on to your automobile policy covered by AUSA.
In the event of an accident or illness, you contact the adjustor who then starts helping you with the medical parts of your treatment. It starts with
Land Transportation and then if the doctor and treatment team decide you can not be effectively treated there then they will make the determination to
either transport you to another Mexican hospital or to the North. Air transportation is to San Diego, Houston, or Vancouver, BC.
I am not yet clear if this is an additional add on that you purchase or is now included in policies that renew with Lewis and Lewis. If it is
included at no extra cost, it is a pretty good deal, but should not be seen as a complete Medical evacuation policy.
A couple of things of interest: One, if you have a pre-existing condition and your doctor reccemended you not travel with that condition in the last
6 months, then coverage is excluded. Two, if you are injured or become seriously ill, and are in convelscent care for a period of time, they will
pay reasonable tranportation for a family member to come and assist you while in care.
As with all Mexican Insurance policies, the biggest thing with this policy is to make an initial contact with an adjustor who will guide you through
the whole process once you either get sick or have an accident. Once I hear from Jim Lewis on a couple of other matters I will try to post the
information.
The four pages of information is pretty central to understanding the coverage and would be worthwhile if considering this policy.
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EnsenadaDr
Banned
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Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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Thanks once again for your plethora of useful information Pescador. | Quote: | Originally posted by Pescador
Okay, Santiago sent me a copy of the policy and I just finished reading the fine print. This is an add on to your automobile policy covered by AUSA.
In the event of an accident or illness, you contact the adjustor who then starts helping you with the medical parts of your treatment. It starts with
Land Transportation and then if the doctor and treatment team decide you can not be effectively treated there then they will make the determination to
either transport you to another Mexican hospital or to the North. Air transportation is to San Diego, Houston, or Vancouver, BC.
I am not yet clear if this is an additional add on that you purchase or is now included in policies that renew with Lewis and Lewis. If it is
included at no extra cost, it is a pretty good deal, but should not be seen as a complete Medical evacuation policy.
A couple of things of interest: One, if you have a pre-existing condition and your doctor reccemended you not travel with that condition in the last
6 months, then coverage is excluded. Two, if you are injured or become seriously ill, and are in convelscent care for a period of time, they will
pay reasonable tranportation for a family member to come and assist you while in care.
As with all Mexican Insurance policies, the biggest thing with this policy is to make an initial contact with an adjustor who will guide you through
the whole process once you either get sick or have an accident. Once I hear from Jim Lewis on a couple of other matters I will try to post the
information.
The four pages of information is pretty central to understanding the coverage and would be worthwhile if considering this policy.
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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| Quote: | Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
Pescador, what about DAN? It's pretty cheap. And from what I read there was no upfront payment. Though they waited quite a while to transport the
patient they did come through the best they could. | Quote: | Originally posted by Pescador
Santiago is sending me a copy of the policy so I will review and evaluate it. I also put a call in to Jim Lewis to get some info. This could be a
good thing, but I will withold judgement until I get a chance to read it completly. |
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I think this thread is about the Lewis and Lewis renewal policy started by Santiago. We need to move the DAN question to another thread as it will
just confuse the issue here .
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EnsenadaDr
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Mood: Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page
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Ok Pescador will do. It's confusing enough understanding one insurance!!
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Santiago
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Just to make this clear, I was not offered this coverage as an addition to my normal auto policy, just a note at renewal time that this coverage was
now included. I could not "opt out".
I'm a longtime customer so not sure if newbies get this or not.
My original question was if someone had the occasion to actually use the policy and what their experience was. Jury still out on that.
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Alm
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Santiago, very few people had a chance to use evac policy and live to tell the story. Which is a good news, it means that most of us are in a good
health.
DAN is one of those evac plans that would take you to a "nearest hospital capable". You can't request them to take you, say, to SD (where you would
have your Medicare) instead of La Paz or Loreto (where you would have to pay for treatment upon discharge). Evac is basically a "ride", it only takes
you to a hospital - usually "from" some hospital where you're already in. With few exceptions, it doesn't cover any treatment.
Up-front costs - I think we've been there already - evac plans don't (normally) require up-front payment. But they require approval from insurer.
Air ambulance included in auto insurance would (normally) take you from the place of accident or an airfield nearest to place of accident, to a
nearest hospital capable. Again, it's just an ambulance, not a treatment. Btw, "nearest airfield" can be a problem because, for example, it could be
closed due to night time - many small airports are closed in the night. Drive safe.
[Edited on 7-20-2014 by Alm]
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