Travel Assist

 Forty-eight hours later, family members, officials and others await the return of the hostages on the tarmac of the Hong Kong International Airport.

The site of the hostage crisis in Manila on the day after the tragic event



1. Manila - Bus Hijack CaseManila Hostage Crisis: Travel Guard Asia-Pacific Goes Above and Beyond to Assist Victims 09.13.10

When tragedy struck a group of Hong Kong tourists visiting Manila, Travel Guard Asia-Pacific staff was on the scene within hours to assist Chartis policyholders with medical treatment and repatriation arrangements.

On August 23, a tour bus of visitors from Hong Kong to Manila, in a random act of violence, was hijacked by a disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an M-16 assault rifle. The harrowing ordeal, broadcast live on national television, began with a 12-hour standoff and ended in the death of the gunman. Police commandos stormed the bus in an effort to rescue the hostages and when the smoke cleared, eight people were dead and several others injured.

Many of the survivors and several of the deceased were customers of Hong Thai, the largest travel agency in Hong Kong and a longstanding Chartis client. Fifteen of the passengers on the bus were Chartis insureds. Of the 15, six were released unharmed, five were injured and four were killed. Within hours of the hijacking, Travel Guard personnel were on the ground and ready to assist Chartis policyholders.

Round-the-Clock Support

Travel Guard Asia-Pacific dispatched a team to Manila to coordinate Assistance — including Dr. Sunil Shanmuganathan and Dr. Sharizan Shaharuddin, and Catherine Mak, Greater China Regional Manager. The entire operation involved round-the-clock support from Travel Guard’s Kuala Lumpur-based assistance center. Travel Guard doctors aided the injured, including some of those insured by other carriers who did not have representation at the scene. One of the injured suffered a fractured jaw as the result of a gunshot, and Travel Guard evacuated the victim by air ambulance to Hong Kong.

On August 25, approximately 48 hours later, Travel Guard team members escorted the Chartis insureds back to Hong Kong. The return of the survivors to Hong Kong marked the final episode of what was an intense, complex and emotionally-charged event.

For the better part of three days, Travel Guard staff worked closely with Hong Thai representatives, government officials from Hong Kong and the Philippines, multiple hospitals, several funeral homes, and an air ambulance provider to arrange medical treatment, return transportation and repatriation to Hong Kong. Travel Guard also responded favorably to the Hong Kong government’s request to manage the repatriation of non-Chartis insureds.

Keeping Stakeholders Informed

“An event of this magnitude requires our assistance centers to keep all our stakeholders informed,” said John McPhee, divisional head of Chartis Consumer Lines in Asia Pacific. “Travel Guard’s assistance center in Kuala Lumpur, in the midst of what was a rapidly developing situation, apprised everyone in real time, either by telephone or by e-mail. Travel Guard’s crisis- response capability is a tribute to Chartis professionalism and its reputation for best-in-class service.”

Paul Wong, Chartis Hong Kong Vice President, Accident & Health, commented further, “In addition to the superior assistance service, our Hong Kong Claims staff once again demonstrated an ongoing commitment to high quality claims services. As the crisis unfolded, they initiated a special claims-handling process and engaged directly with relatives of the victims to fast track payments.”

“We cannot ease the pain of families who lost loved ones, but we hope our service and support provided our customers and their relatives with some degree of comfort,” added Jeff Rutledge, Chairman & CEO of Travel Guard Worldwide. “In addition to its excellent service performance, the tragic nature of this event uniquely highlights the compassion of the Travel Guard team.”
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