OREANDA-NEWS. July 29, 2011. The most significant amount of payments made by the company pertains to the countries with beach and ski resorts especially popular among Russians, such as Turkey, Austria, Greece, and Thailand. According to ROSNO’s statistics, these countries are also notable for the largest quantity of insured accidents, reported the press-centre of ROSNO.

According to the company, the largest amount of insured accidents (2,422 accidents with 12.2 mln roubles of insurance compensations) pertained to January 2011. This is attributed to the fact that the Russian tourists prefer to spend their New Year holidays at seaside resorts in faraway countries with a warm climate, or conquering ski slopes. Such a massive departure of our citizens abroad inevitably leads to the increase in the number of client insured accident applications and, consequently, to the growth of the amount of insurance compensations paid by the company.

It needs to be noted that, last year, the similar rating for the 1st year half was headed by Egypt (5,052 accidents; 14 mln roubles), followed by Turkey (3,378 accidents; 14.6 mln roubles), Thailand (455 accidents; 0.6 mln roubles), and Austria (155 accidents; 3.7 mln. roubles). Egypt’s absence in the present rating is attributed to the country’s unstable political situation in the first months of 2011, which forced Russians to seek an alternative to the inexpensive Egyptian beaches. This is the very reason behind the increasing popularity of the Greek resorts and this country’s third position in the latest ranking. The fact that Bulgaria holds the 2nd place in terms of the quantity of insured accidents, while being just tenth in the list of countries with the largest volume of insurance compensations stems from the low cost of medical treatment in the country and the unsophisticated nature of insured accidents happening there.

The most dramatic month was June, notable for a number of insured accidents widely covered by mass media. The situation with the Russians’ poisoning by low-quality alcohol in Bodrum has clearly demonstrated that the standard travelers insurance policy with a minimum coverage of 15,000 US dollars, which is offered by tour operators as part of a tour package, is suitable only for treatment of sudden acute diseases (food poisoning, otitis, or quinsy), while graver cases (surgery or evacuation back to Russia) require more extensive coverage. "According to our estimate based on the current developments, the insurer’s minimum liability limit shall be at least 30 thousand US dollars or even higher. We have been explaining this to our partners — tour operators for the last 5 years. Our tourists have still not got accustomed to think that during their holidays they may face a situation where their sudden injury or illness would require a sophisticated and expensive treatment and repatriation, the costs whereof would exceed the available minimum coverage. It is important that both the tour operators and the Russians themselves change their attitude to the size of insurance coverage. Today, this issue is coming to the spotlight more and more often. As a rule, attention to this issue grows after extensive media coverage of accidents and incidents occurring to the Russian tourists abroad. We very much hope that the involvement of Rostourism and the State Duma’s Public Chamber will result in making responsible decisions in this sphere", comments on the situation Ms. Svetlana Schwab, Director of the Travelers Insurance Department of OJSC IC ROSNO.