Experts stress importance of travel insurance after Ontario man dies while on vacation in the Caribbean

Reema Shrivastava remembers her father Subhash Parekh as an amazing person, who loved to swim, dance, and was the life of the party.

Sadly, the retired pharmacist from Sarnia, Ont. died tragically in December 2023 while on vacation in the Dominican Republic.

Subhash and his wife of 41 years, Bina, boarded an Air Transat flight from London, Ont. to the Dominic Republic for what was supposed to be a trip to celebrate their retirement.

On Boxing Day, the couple booked a sightseeing excursion that included a visit to nearby Macao Beach. While swimming in the clear blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, Subhash suffered a heart attack.

Shrivastava said her father’s body was dragged to shore, where a Canadian couple tried to perform CPR on him for nearly 30 minutes, but sadly he did not survive.

Shrivastava said her 70-year-old father’s body laid on the beach for nearly three hours before emergency personnel arrived. She said the excursion company did not have an AED on board, and the staff was not trained to perform CPR.

The experience has left Subhash’s wife Bina heartbroken and traumatized. Shrivastava said her mother was left feeling hopeless and isolated having to navigate the aftermath of her husband’s death in a foreign country.

“I was in shock, didn’t know what to say or do, all I said was I need to get to Punta Cana,” said Shrivastava.

After getting the news of her father’s passing, Shrivastava flew from Toronto to be by her mother’s side and help arrange the return of her father’s body back to Canada.

Shrivastava claimed little was done by the airline company to help her navigate the complexities of this situation.

After her father’s body was removed from the beach, her mother had no idea where he was taken. It wouldn’t be until Shrivastava arrived that they would learn Subhash’s body had been transported to a funeral home in the nation’s capital, Santa Domingo, which was a few hours from their hotel.

Shrivastava said she would like to see changes to the processes and policies of airline companies to help families navigate the aftermath of a crisis while on vacation.

“It was a very scary situation that we were in, because we didn’t know what to do, who to go to, where to go, how to get things done,” said Shrivastava.

Air Transat declined an interview with CTV News, but they did provide a statement.

It reads, “We cannot dive into specifics but can once again confirm that we’ve done everything we could to assist this family to the best of our abilities, considering all legal requirements from entities involved, including local authorities in the Dominican Republic. Our representatives at the destination were there to support the family after this tragic incident and to explain all procedures and arrangements. As a tour operator, we do not have the power to overrule legal procedures and must defer to authorities in place.”

Shrivastava said her parents had purchased insurance through Air Transat but was told it did not cover this incident.

Elliott Silverstein, director of Government Relations with CAA Insurance, stressed the importance of knowing what your insurance covers, and have it prepared before you depart on your trip.

“Not all policies are the same, so you want to understand what it covers but more importantly what it doesn’t and what you may need to add on if you already have some basic coverage available to you,” explained Silverstein.

Shrivastava said that fortunately for her parents, they had bought travel insurance that covered accidental death on vacation, as part of a funeral package years back.

After contacting the Canadian Embassy, her family arranged to have her father’s body returned to Canada within a few days of his passing to honour religious practices.

Shrivastava requested to take her father’s place on the Air Transat flight home with her mother, but said that request was denied. She resorted to booking two tickets with Air Canada so that she could be by her mother’s side as they flew back home on the same flight that her father’s casket was on board.

A request to have her parents’ seats refunded on the return flight home was denied.

In a statement to CTV News, Air Transat said, “The flights are purchased as part of a package. Cancelling them is not part of our procedures as we refer such cases to insurers.”

Shrivastava wants others to make sure they know their rights, what their insurance covers, and what is available to them if a situation should arise.

Silverstein encourages people to prioritize travel insurance as part of their preparations before going on vacation.

“What are the risks in the community that I am going to, what are the challenges out there, what do I need based on my own personal life situation, do I have existing health issues that I need to be mindful of?” said Silverstein.

Subhash’s body was cremated in a religious ceremony in Sarnia. He would have been 71 years old.