When a medical evacuation membership saves your life and your life's savings

Transportation, route-planning, plane tickets, gear and equipment, as well as organizing riding teams, are often the first things that come to mind when planning a motorcycle tour abroad. In most cases, travel safety is the last consideration on a rider's mind, but even the most cautious and well-traveled rider is susceptible to unforeseen hazards.

According to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), there were 96,000 motorcycle-related accidents in the U.S. in 2008 -and 103,000 the previous year. Given that the best locations for riding are often quite remote, if and when accidents happen, the nearest available hospital might not always be equipped to care for the patient. That's why motorcyclists should take the extra steps and purchase a medical evacuation membership to ensure for a safe and stress-free evacuation back home in the event of a medical emergency.

This past April, Dr. Larry Stern, a 58-year-old orthopedic surgeon from St. Paul, MN, organized a 10-day bike trip through the winding highways around the foothills of the Himalayas in Thimphu, Bhutan. Dr. Stern was no stranger to adventure riding, having already biked across Italy, Japan, Morocco and the Dalmatian Coast in his many years as a rider.

After four days in Bhutan for orientation and pre-runs, Dr. Stern was comfortably cruising through the mountains when the unexpected happened. Riding at a rapid pace on a narrow winding mountain road, Dr. Stern encountered a truck coming straight at him. As he tried to avoid hitting it, Dr. Stern lost control of his motorcycle, hit the ground and sustained multiple fractures. Luckily, Dr. Stern had a MedjetAssist membership.

MedjetAssist is a medical evacuation service for travelers, which will arrange bedside-to-bedside medical transport for members who are hospitalized more than 150 miles from their home, to the hospital of their choice, virtually anywhere in the world.

Watch a video of Dr. Stern's story here.

Upon being hospitalized in Bhutan, Dr. Stern notified MedjetAssist of his medical emergency. From that point on, MedjetAssist's medical team was in constant contact with the attending medical staff in Bhutan and with his personal physician in St. Paul to monitor his situation and determine if Dr. Stern was stable enough to be transferred back to the United States. After all involved medical staff cleared Dr. Stern to fly, MedjetAssist's team coordinated a transport in a medically-staffed private jet to Delhi, India, and finally, to his home hospital in St. Paul for surgical intervention and rehabilitation.

The out-of-pocket costs of Dr. Stern's medical evacuation would have totaled over $150,000; but, since he was a MedjetAssist member, Dr. Stern's only expense was the price of a membership. MedjetAssist offers special membership rates for BMW MOA members, which start at $215 for an individual annual membership. MedjetAssist also offers a domestic Motorcycle Transfer Protection Program that allows members to have their motorcycle transferred to their shop or dealership, in the case of an accident anywhere in North America. The Motorcycle Transfer Protection can be added to any membership plan for an additional $35 a year.

Now, Dr. Stern is healthy and riding again, with a trip through Utah and Arizona planned for later this year. And while he hopes he doesn't have to use MedjetAssist again, he's very happy to know that if he does, they will be there to help him.

Interested in learning more about how simple it is to protect you and your family with MedjetAssist? Call MedjetAssist at 1-800-5-ASSIST and mention BMW MOA or log onto www.medjetassist.com/bmwmoa. Make sure you and your family can travel with confidence. Make sure you travel with MedjetAssist!

Valuable MedjetAssist Benefits for BMW MOA Members:

Transport Service to Specialty Hospital; Medical Referrals ; Medical Monitoring/Consultation; Telephone Interpretation; Emergency Message Relay; Legal Referrals; Visa, Passport and Immunization Requirements; Travel, Health and Safety Precautions; Transport of Mortal Remains.

For more information on MedjetAssist benefits, visit www.medjetassist.com/bmwmoa

The MedjetAssist Motorcycle Transfer Protection Program:

When an accident happens, you should be able to focus only on your well-being and not on the stress of getting your motorcycle into the shop. That's why MedjetAssist created the Motorcycle Transfer Protection program; if you get into an accident while riding in North America, Medjet will make sure that your bike gets back to the shop or dealership of your choice. The plan includes:

Return of the motorcycle to the member's shop or dealership of choice, should the member be hospitalized anywhere in North America.

Return of motorcycle if the member is treated on an outpatient basis, but diagnosed as "physically unable" to ride by a medical physician.

Return of the motorcycle to the member's shop or dealership of choice if the member is treated on an outpatient basis, but has sustained physical injuries that prohibit continued operation of the motorcycle.

Return of the motorcycle to the member's shop or dealership of choice in the event of an accident in which the member is not injured, but the motorcycle is damaged and not drivable.

The MedjetAssist Motorcycle Transfer Protection Program provides for up to $3,500 for the return of the enrolled motorcycle per membership period. Costs in excess of this amount will be the responsibility of the member.

Watch a video of Dr. Stern's story here.