Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa MedJet or Global Rescue - which is better ?

Your opinions?

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I haven't had to use an evacuation service, but I went with MedJet a while back. Haven't looked at GR closely, yet.

Which one did Don Causey use? I don't remember, but he wrote glowingly of them.

he switched over from Medjet to Global after MedJet left him holding the bag after his fall off the machan (sp?) the details are a little fuzzy right now but he was somehow not satisfied with MJ, IIRC resorting to his personal contact with the co prez to get it done

Global assist is his endorsed product now.....

Causey used MedJet.

http://www.huntingreport.com/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=219

FWIW. But, as they were evacuating a publisher, I'm not sure I'd use this story as a reason to go with them. Not suggesting anything, but I'd certainly love to hear from others that have had occasion to use either service.

Sorry UL, Your post can in as I was typing mine. Do you have a link?

do you get the HR ??

here is their homepage

note the Global rescue icon top row in the endorsed product section


I will try to hunt down Don's writeup of his accident and evac

No. I used too, but these forums seem to provide more data in a more timely manner, so I let the subscription lapse.

Here's another link to his story:

http://www.huntingreport.com/temp_traveling_sportsmans_nightmare.cfm

In it it seems that Causey didn't have any sort of evac service. From the previous link I posted (from 2005) he was suggesting MJ. I wonder if he used them after his accident, but had to pay cash as he didn't have a policy.

(P.S. Sorry Allen if we're coming close to hijacking your thread)

that appears to be one of the articles my fuzzy recall was trying to dredge up. the $$ amount out of pocket looks about right.
I could swear somewhere he wrote about not being able to arrange much through his MJ contacts and that factored into his decision to switch endorsement to Global rescue....

Here's what Don had to say in the latest Feb. 2008 Hunting Report about Global Rescue.

"Global Rescue
Welcome, New Corporate Sponsor
I am pleased to welcome a new Corporate Sponsor this month, Global Rescue. The company provides medical evacuation and, if appropriate and necessary, field rescue services for members who travel 160 or more miles from their homes. I�ve written extensively about Global Rescue in the past, telling you why I think they provide the right emergency back-up service for hunters who travel. In my view, they have re-invented the business of medical evacuation coverage by taking seriously their obligation to provide the service they promise. While most of the firms offering this service are marketing organizations with a rolodex of air ambulances, Global Rescue has created a state-of-the-art operations center that can move rescue and evacuation assets around on a global scale. The operations director is a former Force Recon Marine Corps Major. The staff who works with him is comprised of former Navy SEALS and Army Special Forces personnel. The contact hospital is Johns Hopkins. The medical coordinator there is the same person who picks up the phone if a Secret Service agent or BATF agent is injured in the line of duty and needs evacuation. This kind of organizational infrastructure explains why a member of a competing organization had to call Global Rescue recently after an accident in Peru left him gravely injured deep inside a canyon. The traveler�s medical evacuation provider told him he would have to get to Lima for help. Global Rescue had a helicopter in the canyon the next morning and saved his life.
I�m proud to have Global Rescue aboard, and I hope you will give their services a good look."

Personally, I used TravelGuard insurance when I went to Zim last year. Fortunately, I never had to use their services. However, I was a little leery that they could actually help me get out of the bush if I were injured, even though they assured my on the phone that they would. However, if you read their policy, this type of service becomes rather vague, with a lot depending on how they happen to interpret your situation. Through my research, it seemed that MedJet would only help you fly back from an established airport to a hospital and then to the US from a city hospital or airport and not much else, so I didn't think their services were quite what I wanted. At the time there was still some uncertainty about Global Rescue being an established company with the proper infrastructure and organization, so I didn't go with them either. In any case, I think now with Don Causey's endorsement, I would have to seriously look at them since, on the surface, they seem to be the best set-up to deal with any situation requiring evacuation. I haven't looked at what they would charge for this type of insurance, but it would be interesting to see how they compare to others and how their service features compare to the others.

Test

I have started research on this as well. The way I understand it is one will pick you up from a hospital after you have been stabilized and the other will come and get you on the side of a cliff if needed. I am leaning toward the latter service.

Try ISOS...we use it at work, and are very happy with it.

Allen: We have Med-jet through our American Express Card. What gave me confidence in them was the experience of one of the gents over on AR had with them in Africa a few years ago. I think it was his son that was trampled by a buffalo and they needed a MEDEVAC so he called AMEX on the sat phone and they came through with MEDJET out in the bush. If you hold an AMEX Platinum card, it is included in the membership price. jorge

Allen, a friend of mine was on a leopard hunt that went all wrong in Zim last summer, and wound up being mauled and shot - yes, shot.

When he was stabilized in Bulawayo, MedJet made all the right moves, including escorting him back to Seattle.

PM me for his address and glowing recommendation of MedJet.

I spoke with their head man at Reno and passed along my thoughts.

I think the reason Causey switched from endorsing MedJet to GR was because you have to get to an airport that MedJet can get into for pickup and transport. GR will come to you, and if necessary, provide field evac. MedJet can't or won't.

I purchased the MedJet insurance when I went to Zim, but on my next international trip, if both companies remain the same, I'll give GR a try.

I have a Platinum card & as I read the details on Am. Exp. only free information on medical assistance & air evac is included. However, Med-jet rates for card holders starts at $39.95 for their standard service for one trip. This appears to be a great price & I'm going to use on May trip to RSA. Thanks for the info. Never would have thought coverage could be so cheap. Just hope I never have to use.

I am wrestling with this decision now. There have been a couple of stories on AR of people having to fight with MJ to get picked up. They ended up using sat phones to get attorneys and US physicians to force the issue. I delicately asked the MJ people to explain this in Reno. They claim there was no problem. They also really went out of their way to rip GR.

On the other hand Causey and GR like to talk about their great capabilities and the rescues they have made. However, I suspect these have been cash deals. I have not heard of a single insured pick up GR has made.

Still another note, the MJ people point to the fine print on GR's website about the limitations of the insurance coverage.

I'm more confused than ever! My PH probably has it right when he says they both s--k.

Interesting comment about MJ. I haven't heard about problems that may or may not exist. My comments about buying through AM. EXP. would seem to be an added bonus. IF MJ didn't perform I believe AM. EXP. would intervene. Not so much that they would be concerned about the individual but being culpable for legal repercussions. Am. EXP's. legal consul would be all over MJ in my opinion.

tbear..I'm leaning towards MJ because I KNOW they have made insured evacs, even if there have been squabbles. I had not thought of it, but your point on AmEx is very good. Good idea!

Thanks,
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