24/7 Assistance: How It Works and Why It's Key When Traveling
🌍 It's 3 AM in Bangkok and you need urgent medical help. Do you know there's a specialized team waiting for your call 24 hours a day? We explain how 24/7 assistance really works and why it can be the difference between a ruined trip and a saved vacation.
🔍 What does "24/7 assistance" really mean?
24/7 assistance is not just a phone number that always answers. It's a complete ecosystem of medical, logistical and emergency services that operates without interruption, 365 days a year, in any time zone in the world.
🏢 Behind the scenes: The real operation
- 👥Specialized teams: Doctors, nurses, emergency coordinators and translators working in rotating shifts
- 🌐Global network: Operations centers on different continents for complete coverage
- 💻Advanced technology: Geolocation systems, medical databases and satellite communication
📞 What happens when you call? Step-by-step process
Reception and initial assessment (0-2 minutes)
Your call is answered by a specialized operator who records your location, assesses the urgency of the case and immediately transfers you to the appropriate specialist.
Professional medical triage (2-5 minutes)
A doctor or nurse will evaluate your symptoms, review your medical history (if available) and determine the level of urgency and type of care needed.
Service location (5-15 minutes)
The team locates the nearest and most suitable medical center, verifies availability, coordinates transfer if necessary and manages authorizations.
Continuous follow-up
An assigned coordinator follows up on your case until resolution, maintains contact with family if necessary and manages any complications.
🚁 Services you can activate 24/7
🏥 Medical services
- • Immediate telephone medical consultation
- • Location of hospitals and clinics
- • Coordination of urgent medical appointments
- • Treatment authorization
- • Sending unavailable medications
- • Specialized second medical opinion
🚨 Emergencies and evacuation
- • Ground medical evacuation
- • Air evacuation (helicopter/airplane)
- • Medical repatriation
- • Family accompaniment
- • Repatriation of mortal remains
- • Embassy coordination
💼 Travel assistance
- • Lost luggage location
- • Emergency flight changes
- • Emergency expense advances
- • Assistance with lost documents
- • Family contact
- • Specialized interpreters
⚖️ Legal assistance
- • Location of specialized lawyers
- • Bail advances
- • Traffic accident assistance
- • Communication with authorities
- • Liability insurance management
- • Consular coordination
⏱️ Real response times
📊 Industry standards
💡 Critical factor: Your location
Times may vary depending on your location. In major cities, the response is almost immediate. In remote areas, it may take longer to locate resources, but follow-up is continuous.
🔍 Not all 24/7 assistance is equal
⚠️ Key questions before hiring
✅ Essential questions:
- • Do they have their own centers or subcontract?
- • What is their average response time?
- • Do they have Spanish-speaking doctors?
- • Do they cover air evacuations?
- • Are there limits on evacuation expenses?
🚩 Warning signs:
- • Only offer local numbers
- • Don't specify response times
- • Exclude "risky activities" without defining
- • Require many prior authorizations
- • No presence at your destination
📖 Real cases: When 24/7 assistance makes the difference
🇹🇭 Case 1: Accident in Thailand
Situation: Spanish tourist suffers motorcycle accident on a remote island in Thailand at 2 AM.
Solution: In 8 minutes, evacuation by speedboat to the main hospital, air transfer to Bangkok and medical flight back to Spain were coordinated. Total cost: $85,000 USD. Completely covered by insurance.
🇺🇸 Case 2: Cardiac emergency in New York
Situation: Mexican executive suffers heart attack during business trip.
Solution: Immediate care at Mount Sinai Hospital, emergency surgery, coordination with cardiologist in Mexico for follow-up. Insurance managed everything directly. No money advances by the patient.
🛡️ Your peace of mind has no schedule
The real difference is not just the price, but knowing you have a specialized medical team available 24/7, no matter where you are in the world.
Discover our plans ✈️SegurosFly Team
Team specialized in international assistance services with over 10 years coordinating medical emergencies in more than 190 countries.