😳How a “little” travel insurance mistake cost this family $16K

 ⛑️Consumer Rescue presents🛟

Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land

Real stories. Real rescues. Real advice.

Hey friends! Happy Monday. ❤️

Are you ready to dive right into what’s new in Consumer Advocacy Land?

Today I want to tell you about a very expensive but common travel insurance mistake — and one that is so easily avoidable. In our first featured article, we have a couple who were excited about an extended vacation through Italy.

Unfortunately, several weeks into their trip, the wife fell ill — really ill. The couple ended up spending the night in the hospital’s emergency room. The next day, they packed their suitcases and flew home, abandoning the rest of their trip.

The good news was that they purchased an excellent comprehensive travel insurance policy to protect their vacation. The bad news was that the doctor in Italy didn’t specifically deem her patient unfit to travel. That caused big problems when the couple filed their travel insurance claim — to the tune of a $19,000 denied claim.

Find out today what happened when they reached out to Consumer Rescue for help.

And, as usual, I have some articles you may have missed.

And, of course, if you’re interested, I have the latest installment of Life, Lately — written from Consumer Rescue's original headquarters for the last time.

Enjoy!

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I’m writing from my desk at Consumer Rescue headquarters, which happens to be located in my soon-to-be former home. Today, I’m reminiscing about the thousands and thousands of hours I’ve spent right here, investigating, researching, writing, consoling consumers, talking to company executives, fellow journalists, and TV anchors. 

My evolution from psychotherapist to investigative consumer reporter, travel ombudsman and Chief Fiasco Fixer has been an amazing and unusual journey. If you’re new to Consumer Rescue, you may not know just how unusual that journey has been.

A little more than a decade ago, I had just passed my clinical exam to return to my career as a psychotherapist after a 15-year hiatus to raise my daughters. At the time, my girls had entered middle school and didn’t need me quite as much. So, my intention was to launch a private practice during the day. 

But the Universe had other plans for me, and fate intervened. My true calling was about to be revealed to me.

I had been occasionally participating in an online travel forum, commenting and adding my two cents to the discussions. One day, the journalist who hosted the website messaged me. He asked if I had any interest in helping him directly mediate consumer problems. I thought it sounded like fun, so before I knew it, I was a very busy consumer advocate. 

In a little more than a year, we became a nonprofit, and I became the executive director of that organization. 

Suddenly, I had an unexpected full-time, seven-day-a-week job — a volunteer position at the time. But it didn’t feel like work. I discovered that I loved consumer advocacy — and I seemed to be pretty good at it. The skills that had helped me problem-solve with my former patients were now helping me fix fiascos for consumers.

For the next six years, instead of returning to psychotherapy, I dove headfirst into the nitty-gritty of running a website — something I had previously known nothing about. I spent my time learning everything I could — from IT, web design, and SEO to writing and business management — just to make sure the nonprofit could reach and help as many people as possible.

All of that good stuff happened here in this office.  

It’s also the place where, after more than half a decade of working together, my former colleague and I realized that our professional paths were heading in different directions. It became clear that the best way forward was to pursue our respective missions independently.

And soon I conjured up Consumer Rescue right here at this desk.

But this is my last night here. In the morning, I will pack up everything and close the door to this office for the last time — the place where my unexpected consumer advocacy career began and where I’ve recovered millions of dollars for the people who have contacted me over the years. 

You know the saying: “When one door closes, another one opens.” The next time you hear from me, I’ll have opened the door to Consumer Rescue’s new office. 

Of course, this isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning of the next chapter, and I’m really looking forward to it. 

❤️ And that’s Life, Lately.

Until next time 😃

Don't forget! Consumer Rescue is just a click away. One of us is always here to answer your questions. 

Of course, you can always reach me at [email protected]