Tips on handling emergencies while on vacation from Long Island travel advisers

The call came when Kathleen and Dennis Casale, of Lindenhurst, were on a cruise ship in Bermuda.

Their daughter, Diana, was in intensive care in a Long Island hospital.

"We had to come home immediately," says Kathleen, 70, who owns a marketing company. She and Dennis, 73, missed several days of their late-October cruise, had to buy last-minute airline tickets and laid out money to pay for rides to and from airports in Bermuda and New York.

Fortunately, they had taken out travel insurance before their trip last fall. Even though it wasn’t one of them who was injured, their policy covered the need to return home if immediately family was. They paid $358 for their coverage and got back about $2,000, says the Casales' travel agent, Christine Earls, of Islip-based You and Me by the Sea.

"When I talk to my clients, I always tell them to get trip protection," Earls says. After the accidental drowning last month of "The Cosby Show" actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner while on holiday in Costa Rica, Long Islanders may be wondering how to best protect themselves from the repercussions of an injury or even a death while on a vacation. "I’m all for backup plans," Earls says. "I would rather have nothing go wrong and pay $400 for health insurance than have something go wrong and pay $25,000."

Harmony Skillman, a travel adviser with Paradise Travel in Bellmore, echoes Earls. "If something happens to you while traveling, that cost could be astronomical," she says.

Here is advice from Long Island travel experts, from simple suggestions to complex options:

BRING YOUR OWN FIRST AID KIT

In addition to your regular medications, bring travel-size headache relievers, Pepto Bismol, Band-Aids and whatever else you think you might use as a first line of defense, Earls says. While travelers can purchase many of these items in other countries, "What happens if you need it in the middle of the night?" Earls says. She recommends keeping the medications in their original packaging.

CHECK WITH YOUR HOME MEDICAL INSURANCE

"Everybody’s insurance at home is different," Earls says. "You have to get a knowledgeable person with your home insurance to tell you if you got hurt in Italy, would you be covered?" Some policies will cover emergencies but consider it an out-of-network expense that typically has a higher deductible and co-pay obligation.

DON’T ASSUME YOUR CREDIT CARD INSURANCE WILL COVER MEDICAL

"A lot of people will say their insurance from their credit card will cover them and that’s not always the case," says Gaylynn Innes, a travel adviser with Massapequa-based Magical Moments Vacations. Or the amount of coverage might be extremely limited, she says.

CONSIDER BUYING TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE

"There are many people who don’t even realize they need it," says Cheryl Hunstein, owner of Massapequa-based Cruise Planners. Says Earls: "When people say no, I cringe. Do you have that money to be laid out and be taken to a hospital?" Travel agents typically sell the insurance through a third-party supplier, and individuals can go online and purchase one independently. "You can't give a standard rate for somebody who's 20 compared to somebody who is 70," Earls says. Policy costs differ based on length and cost of trip and also by age and company. "It gets very expensive when people get older. The tipping point is between 55 and 60; prices jump significantly," Skillman says. But that may also be when people have health issues and need coverage the most. Insurance can also help when there’s a health emergency for you or a family member at home before your trip that causes you to have to cancel, Innes says. Research the company’s reputation. "Some will give you the runaround and take six months to get you your refund," Hunstein says.

WHAT IF YOU OR FAMILY MEMBER HAS A PREEXISTING CONDITION?

Be aware there is a window after booking a trip to add travel insurance if you want any flare-up or recurrence of a preexisting condition to be covered before departure or at your destination, says Lisa Enden, vice president of #1 Power Travel in Plainview. It’s typically between 14 and 21 days. After that, travelers can still purchase medical insurance, but it won’t cover preexisting conditions, she says.

READ YOUR TRAVEL POLICY'S FINE PRINT

Different companies have different packages, Innes says. Don’t assume blanket coverage — check the details, Innes says. If you travel often, consider an annual policy, but realize that if you use up your dollar amount benefits on one trip you may not have any coverage left for your next one that year, agents say.

KEEP A PAPER COPY OF YOUR PLAN WITH YOU, AS WELL AS EMERGENCY FAMILY MEMBER CONTACTS

You may need to show your policy to the hospital, and there may be a helpful phone number to call in an emergency to report an incident and/or get help over the phone. Earls recommends keeping a paper copy with you even if you have an electronic copy. "You can’t guarantee once you get to the hospital you’ll have Wi-Fi," she says. Having emergency family member contacts readily available is also a plus.

KEEP ALL RECEIPTS

"Everything needs to be documented," Innes says.

ENLIST HELP FROM YOUR RESORT

They may be able to call an ambulance for you and/or recommend a good hospital or health care facility for tourists, Earls says.

BRING A SEPARATE CREDIT CARD WITH NO BALANCE

"Having the credit card is super important," Hunstein says. You may need to pay a hospital in advance before they will care for you and get reimbursed through insurance later, Earls says. So having a card ready that has a large balance available to be tapped is a good precaution, she says. She suggests bringing a Visa or Mastercard.  Travelers should reach out to their credit card companies and let them know they will be out of the country, she says. They can also ask for a one-time credit increase if they don’t have at least $10,000 available on their card, she says.

CONSIDER COVERAGE FOR BEING AIRLIFTED 

Skillman says more travelers have asked about this coverage coming out of COVID. "More people consider it when traveling to really remote locations. Africa, Antarctica," she says. Cruisers should also think about it, Hunstein says. "When you have to get medevaced off a ship, a helicopter has to come and get you and that’s a big hullabaloo," she says. Check policy to see whether you would be transferred to the nearest appropriate facility or all the way back to the United States.

PLANNING FOR THE WORST

Decide if you need coverage to bring your remains home should you or a family member die, Earls says. That insurance may also offer other benefits — Earls says she was at a resort in Punta Cana when a man’s wife died and insurance covered the cost of bringing a family member to the Dominican Republic to be with him while he waited to go home with the body. The resort also helped with filling out forms for him that were required and were in Spanish, she says.

By Beth Whitehouse

beth.whitehouse@newsday.comBethWhitehouse1

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.