The economic difficulties of late have produced some very strange behaviors. It appears that while many people have banded together to get through the dry times, others have tried to take advantage, in order to take a shortcut through the difficulties.
One example of attempting to take advantage of someone else involves an uninsured holiday villa visitor who sued the owner of the holiday rental property for the medical expenses he incurred while on vacation, claiming the property owner was liable for an unsafe condition in the property. It came to light that the vacationer came down with a rather routine illness, but one that required a bit of medical attention – illness that could just as likely have happened while the traveler was home instead of traveling on vacation enjoying our unfortunate friend’s holiday villas. Unfortunately, the traveler’s private medical insurance wouldn’t cover his expenses.
Why would a vacationer invent a connection between our friend’s holiday villas and his medical expenses? It appears that the unlucky traveler was looking for someone to pay his medical costs, as he didn’t quite read through the small print on his medical insurance policy, which would have informed him that his medical insurance company does not cover expenses incurred while overseas on holiday. The risks to the insurance company are just a bit too large, as vacationers famously indulge to excess and end up in expensive medical situations following bouts of chemically-induced stupidity.
How can you avoid a similar situation? If you own holiday villas, timeshare spots, a vacation home that you rent out to travelers while you’re not using it, or similar, insist that your guests provide proof of medical insurance coverage while they’re staying in your property. A little bit of caution here can save a great deal of headache, and quite a bit of money in legal expenses.