J. Ross Quigley CEO Medipac International Inc. Insurance North and South; there is trouble and suffering everywhere. Let us all take a few minutes to remember those people ravaged and displaced by the enormous and out-of-control wildfires in British Columbia. Kelowna is the most threatened area as we go to press and the surrounding areas, in which many, many snowbirds live, are being hit the hardest. Pray for rain and a lot of it. A few hundred miles south, where many snowbirds winter, is a disaster occurring of the opposite kind. The entire southern coast of Texas has been rocked by high winds and unrelenting rain and it is flooded. This is Hurricane Harvey, one of the worst tropical storms in years. It built up to a Category 4 storm as it made landfall and hung around far too long for comfort, dropping more than three feet of rain in some hard-hit areas. Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States, is flooded and it is about 40 miles inland. We can only imagine the coastal damage at this point, but some forecasters are predicting that it will be more than 10 years before things can return to normal. Many of these displaced people are our friends, so let us help them out as much as we can. And, for those of us who own property along the Texas coast, we will just have to wait and see. There may be an opportunity for Medipac to get “on the ground” in Texas later next week and, if so, we will try to get our photographers there to get pictures of the properties which we can identify. We are all so lucky just to be here! But back to travel medical insurance for just a minute. I would like to confirm the amazing success of our Early Bird Program this year. We have written more insurance for more snowbirds than ever and that is after accounting for our Canadian Snowbird Association Special 25th Anniversary discount. Medipac contributed $25 in premium to every snowbird who purchased our Early Bird Program this year. That’s $50 per family and I am sure that you will use it wisely. Medipac will also waive our cancellation fees for any snowbirds who have to cancel their insurance due to the Texas storms. I do urge you to find a new spot to land in Texas, though, as they will need our support more than ever this year. We will be donating $10,000 to help out in British Columbia and a second $10,000 to assist in Texas. Although not much, every little bit helps. I had some interesting stories to tell you about travel medical insurance, but they will have to wait until our winter issue. My staff is hovering ‒ waiting for me to submit my stories and Bird Talk ‒ so I have to go now but I will see you in the south, somewhere. Be safe and travel safely, but remember to travel with Medipac and, to quote our 2017 Travel Insurance Guide… “Medipac is more than an insurance policy…much, much more!” Thank you for your incredible support. 14 | www.snowbirds.org
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