Family Ski Adventure – Austbrokers to the rescue!

The circumstances

In the January school holidays of 2018, a family of 4 embarked on a much anticipated ski holiday to Aspen, Colorado USA.

In the middle of their trip, the family’s 10 year old son unfortunately suffered a bone fracture to his leg whilst skiing. The incident swiftly changed the course of their holiday plans. He was rushed to the emergency department and required a range of medication afterwards. The family also incurred costly wheelchair and additional large hire vehicle costs.

As a result of his injury the family sadly had to cut their holiday short. Not only did they have to deal with the emotional and physical impact of their son’s injury, they were then faced with having to navigate the stressful task of re-arranging business flights home for the entire family.

However, their insurer disputed paying the full costs of their business flight changes. The insurer’s stated position was that only one parent was to accompany their injured child, whilst the other parent and child should continue on their holiday as planned.

How we helped turn an adverse circumstance into a happy outcome

Given the circumstances, both ourselves, and the client, believed that this was an unfair and unsympathetic decision. It was not practicable or logical for the family to be split up and travel separately back to Australia.

We held multiple discussions with the insurer outlining the details of the claim, and what was considered compassionate, fair and reasonable, and the necessary medical circumstances to justify the whole family returning home prematurely.

Our stance to push the decision further resulted in 100% of the flight costs being paid. This meant an approximate additional payment of $15,700 for the client. Needless to say, the client was thrilled with the result. They were able to travel back to Australia as a family unit and provide support to each other on the long haul trip home. Sure, it wasn’t the ideal end to their dream family holiday, but considering the adverse circumstances, it was a very satisfactory and happy outcome.