J. Ross Quigley CEO Medipac International Inc. Insurance My advice in the summer issue to purchase our Early Bird insurance created an onslaught of applications and internet sales. We exceeded even our own optimistic projections. We experienced consistently high-volume internet traffic, and our quite-sophisticated systems worked very well, indeed. Being short-staffed due to both COVID and people’s total lack of interest in wanting jobs, we were challenged to provide the proper service which you deserve. Thank you for bearing with us through this tsunami. Every day, I walked through the entire office asking about issues and possible problems – and there were none. Well, none that I recall today, anyway. Our Special Underwriting Department has also been swamped this year. Many are new snowbirds with health issues such as recent heart attacks, cancer and late onset diabetes. We are able to accommodate most of these people but, unfortunately, the price is pretty high in most cases. High risk translates to high premiums, but our charges pale in comparison to multi-hundred-thousand-dollar medical bills. One thing that disturbs me is the proliferation of “snowbird” articles in the mainstream papers and on many internet sites. They quote sources that are totally unreliable and mostly wrong. Why do they not simply call the Canadian Snowbird Association and ask us for the correct answers? They can certainly call Medipac as well, if they want true travel insurance information. We are happy to share our expertise and opinions. One of our opinions is that proper travel insurance requires medical staff to provide help in crisis situations and serious medical knowledge to assess risk (or lack of risk) when setting premium rates. I have always found it funny, for instance, when banks say that they are travel insurance experts. Really? No, they are banking experts. How about the auto club saying that they are travel insurance experts. Well, no again, they are towing and car-breakdown experts. And what about the life insurance agent or the auto/home broker? They do love those high commissions. Did I mention Facebook yet? There are several well-followed snowbirds on Facebook. Several of them call me or one of our staff to find answers to their followers’ questions. Most do not. Many are shills for other travel insurance programs and their information is highly suspect. Several people whom I respect have told me, over the years, that I should not attack the competition; Medipac’s products and services speak for themselves. But if I can save just one person from that $300,000 or higher medical bill, with proper information, then it is worth it. Well, that is my excuse for being bad, anyway. Have a wonderful holiday season and a new year filled with joy and happiness and very good health. 12 | www.snowbirds.org
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