It Will Catch You When You Fall

Our first case, Augusto, was a man with a mission, who gave himself no chance to make the most of his holiday or his travel insurance. He boarded a Philippine Air flight to Manila, put on both a ski mask and swimming goggles and announced he was hijacking the plane. Apparently the airport security had failed to detect he was packing a gun and a hand grenade.

He went on to rob about $25,000 from passengers embarking on their holidays (travel insurance would cover their losses, of course) and then he ordered the pilots to lower the plane to 6,500 feet. Faced with a firearm, they obeyed, as Augusto strapped on a homemade parachute (yes, homemade) and forced the flight attendants to open the exit door. He intended to jump, but the wind was so strong that he had trouble getting out of the plane. Finally one of the flight attendants helpfully pushed him out the door, just as he pulled the pin from the grenade. He threw the pin into the cabin, and fell toward the earth clutching the business end of the grenade. All that was found of Augusto were his hands.

No Holiday Insurance Means No Safety Net

Next we turn to thrill-seeker Tamar, who journeyed from New York to Indiana for an event hosted by the American Coaster Enthusiasts society. Tamar planned what roller coaster enthusiasts call "catching airtime," which means standing up during the ride to show bravery.

At the highest point in the ride, as the train swooped over the precipice of a drop, Tamar got free of her seatbelt, stood up and threw her hands into the air. The train descended but Tamar didn't and she caught the ?good air? she was looking for. In the hands of such a careless thrill-seeker, life is cheap. Holiday insurance might have helped to cover the cost of her injuries had the drop not been as high as 69 feet.

Without a Paddle

And lastly we look at a man who paid no heed to the sage advice on his holiday travel insurance which listed yachting among certain ?Hazardous Activities? to enjoy on vacation. While afloat on one of Canada's northern lakes, our holidaymaker decided to take a cooling dip, so he turned off the motor and dove in.

There was a wind on the lake that day and the boat, with his wife abroad, quickly began to drift away from him. This should not usually induce panic except that the man was a non-swimmer. In such circumstances a logical mind would elect the use of a life jacket, but not this guy.

The man had neglected to provide his boat with the required boating safety kit such as a 15 metre buoyant line, and a Personal Flotation Device for each person on board. But his fatal error here was not teaching his wife to pilot the boat, so she was unable to start the engine, drive over and rescue him. And thus, by failing to properly prepare for his holiday, which should include getting some cheap travel insurance, our third unfortunate holidaymaker was sunk.