A British tourist from Devon has been left with a £50,000 bill after his travel insurer allegedly refused to pay out because he had consumed three pints of beer before an accident. Michael Arrowsmith, 32, was on his first holiday with partner Denise Norman, 30, in Alanya, Turkey, when he was hit by a car while walking home from dinner on September 21.
Mr Arrowsmith suffered two skull fractures, a bleed on the brain, a broken back, leg and arm, and narrowly avoided serious brain damage. The couple had taken out £8 travel insurance with ERV Travel Insurance, but the insurer allegedly declined the claim on the grounds that Mr Arrowsmith had been drinking alcohol at the time of the accident.
Ms Norman said the hospital withdrew treatment and refused medication after the insurer refused to pay, leaving the family to use their life savings to cover the £20,000 hospital bill and £30,000 medical flight to repatriate Mr Arrowsmith. He was eventually flown back to the UK on October 10 and is recovering in hospital in Exeter.
Ms Norman urged others to read the small print of travel insurance policies, stating: 'We had no idea that enjoying a drink on holiday would invalidate a claim.' She added that the insurer had 'absolutely no evidence to suggest the drinks had anything to do with the accident.'
