TRUE TRAVEL TALES
Our True Travel Tales come from clients who write in to share their experience of how Travel Guard’s travel
insurance plans and travel assistance services came to the rescue during an unexpected travel travail.
Baby Blues on a Cruise
There are many moments in life that create lasting memories. Having a baby and going
on a vacation are two of them, but Shawna and Alex of Alaska didn’t expect to
experience both at the same time. On their recent cruise, that’s nearly what happened.
“We wanted to go on a vacation before we started our family,” said Shawna. “We knew
that it would be hard to spend quality time relaxing together on vacation once we had
our first child.”
The couple left on their cruise from San Diego to visit Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas and
Puerto Vallarta. Their plans? Shawna was going to relax and enjoy the sunshine and go
hiking while her husband went scuba diving.
Three days into their cruise, the couple was having a fabulous time lounging by the
pool, enjoying perfect weather, meeting new people and reading on the balcony. They
had just finished eating a gourmet meal aboard the ship when Shawna felt pain go
through her body and experienced significant bleeding. Fearing the worst, they saw
the ship’s doctor who sent the couple to a hospital once the ship docked in Mazatlan.
The diagnosis? A life threatening pregnancy complication. The baby was on the way.
Shawna and Alex of Alaska took one last
vacation before they were to become
parents. They never expected that their
son would arrive early, but when he did,
they were glad they had an insurance
plan through Travel Guard.
“I was nearly 24 weeks along, making the baby’s chance of surviving slim, even in the best hospitals,” said Shawna. “The
doctors at the Mazatlan hospital gave me medications to stop labor and help the baby's lungs develop in case he arrived
prematurely. I stayed in the Mazatlan hospital for 17 days on strict bed rest, until it was safe for me to travel.”
Given the situation, the couple couldn’t return to their cruise. Instead, they needed to find a Level III Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit (NICU) for the remainder of the pregnancy. Unfortunately, the area in Alaska where they were from did not
offer such a high level of care. The couple chose to get a flight to Indiana where Shawna’s parents lived and where there
was a hospital with a Level III NICU. Once in Indiana, Shawna was placed under the care of a Perinatalogist for the
remainder of her pregnancy. Eventually, she delivered a healthy baby boy on his due date.
Upon their arrival back home in Alaska, Shawna e-mailed Travel Guard:
“Travel Guard not only made arrangements and booked our flights out of Mexico to my parents’ town in Indiana,” said
Shawna. “They also were very helpful during the claims process and began processing the appropriate paperwork while
we were in Mexico. The coverage through Travel Guard not only reimbursed us for our lost time on the cruise and the
cancellation fees on our original return flights, it also covered additional costs for an unexpected flight.”
“Our doctor recommended that we purchase travel insurance because I was pregnant,” said Shawna. “It was the first
time I purchased a travel insurance plan and I am very grateful for the assistance it provided. Knowing we had coverage
provided through Travel Guard helped give us assurance we needed when dealing with our finances during this stressful
medical emergency.”
This is only a brief description of the coverage(s) available. The Policy will contain reductions, limitations, exclusions and termination provisions. Insurance underwritten by National
Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., a Pennsylvania insurance company, with its principal place of business at 175 Water Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10038. It is
currently authorized to transact business in all states and the District of Columbia. NAIC No. 19445. Coverage may not be available in all states. Travel assistance services provided by
Travel Guard.
1186_006 03/14/2011