World Nomads has launched a new Air Doctor service offering relief in case of receiving medical assistance while abroad
Photo © Getty Images / Andrea Comi
- More than a quarter of Brits don’t know what to do if they get sick aboard
- 60% are worried about falling sick overseas
- Over a third of Brits have experienced a medical situation whilst travelling
- Nearly half (48%) of Brits are worried about the cost of treatment abroad
- World Nomads has launched a new Air Doctor service offering relief in case of receiving medical assistance while abroad
London: October, 2024 – As the first case of Mpox has been detected in the UK, World Nomads’ Travel Anxiety Report 2024* has revealed more than a quarter (26%) of British holidaymakers don’t know what they would do if they needed medical attention abroad, despite three in five (60%) believing they could fall sick whilst travelling.
Over a third (38%) of Brits have experienced a medical situation whilst abroad, including more than two-thirds of 18-24-year-olds (67%), though more than half of them (54%) do not take out travel insurance policies when travelling abroad.
For those who do take out travel insurance, medical emergencies are the main reason for taking out insurance. Nearly half (48%) of travelling Brits, who filled out the World Nomads’ survey, are most concerned about the cost of treatment abroad, underscoring the financial risks of medical emergencies, while nearly three in five (58%) Brits prioritise coverage for medical emergencies or evacuations.
In the past three months, average World Nomads claims in the UK and EU for injuries were £1304.77, whilst treatment for illness were £752.92.
One in three (32%) holidaymakers worry about access to quality healthcare, reflecting concerns about the adequacy of medical facilities abroad. Nearly a third (31%) are concerned about being able to return home after a medical emergency, highlighting the importance of repatriation coverage.
As a response to these findings, World Nomads has introduced World Nomads Powered by Air Doctor. The service, which is available to all travel insurance policy holders, connects travellers to private doctors and medical advice in destinations where public health services may be overstretched and/or unable to treat international travellers. The feature is available for World Nomads on all Standard and Explorer plans on both Single Trip and Annual Multi-Trip policies and is suitable for non-emergency medical assistance.
Jonathan Frankham, General Manager UK and Europe at World Nomads, says:
“We know Brits treasure their holidays, and our Travel Anxiety Report highlights that getting ill on holiday is a significant stress – especially as we head towards winter and the Christmas holidays. Air Doctor is a welcome addition as it’s cashless and claimless and breaks down language barriers.
“The feature is designed to reduce the stress and burden of navigating a foreign health care system where it isn’t necessary, and it provides another seamless experience for our customers.
“Moreover, it also reduces out-of-pocket costs for customers because it removes need to attend A&E services for non-urgent medical issues, along with automated payouts, meaning that there’s no need to pay out and claim later. For those customers who require assistance with more urgent medical issues, we advise you to contact our 24/7 Emergency Medical Assistance team.”
World Nomads customers can access Air Doctor via the app or website, where they will be able to:
- Search for a doctor in their destination city.
- Choose between in-person or telemedicine consultations.
- Book an appointment directly through the platform in a language of your choosing.
- With Air Doctor, all your visits are cashless. Simply attend your appointment, get help, and get on with your travels.
To find out more or purchase a policy, visit www.worldnomads.com/uk
*The study of 2,000 UK adults was carried out between 16 and 19 August by Opinium Research on behalf of travel insurance provider World Nomads to look at the immediate motivators and barriers to international travel and insurance considerations for 2024.
ABOUT WORLD NOMADS
Since 2002, World Nomads has been protecting, connecting and inspiring adventurous and independent travelers by offering specialized travel insurance and safety advice.
Our travel insurance products cover travelers from more than 100 countries. World Nomads focuses on what we believe is important to travelers: emergency medical and evacuation costs, baggage cover, trip cancellation, trip delay and trip interruption costs. We offer cover for more than 150 adventure sports and activities, plus tech and gear. We believe travelers have the responsibility to give back, and through our Footprints program, customers can add a small donation to the price of their policy to help fund a community development project with one of World Nomads’ global nonprofit and charity partners.
We are part of a suite of global specialist travel insurers owned by nib Group, Australia’s third-largest provider of travel insurance and a leading global distributor of travel insurance through nib Travel. nib Group also provides health and medical insurance to more than 1.6 million Australian and New Zealand residents and more than 200,000 international students and workers in Australia.
Media Contacts:
Graham Lynch, World Nomads, UK & Europe
+353 876 831 784
LOTUS
worldnomads@wearelotus.co.uk
+44 20 7953 7470