Posted July 6, 2007   Email   Print

New AMA member benefit could save your life in a medical emergency

Are you prepared for the worst-case scenario on the road?

We’re not talking about a flat tire or even an engine meltdown. We’re talking about a crash a thousand miles from home that ends with you hospitalized and your motorcycle totaled. Or worse, a medical emergency in a remote area with you injured and in need of life-saving medical care that isn’t available locally.

Like most of us, you probably don’t have tens of thousands of dollars waiting to finance an air ambulance flight to a hospital or, just as important, someone ready and able to make the arrangements if you’re incapacitated.

The solution to these worst-case scenarios can be the Medical Air Services Association. MASA is not insurance. Like the AMA, it’s a membership organization.

MASA provides a variety of emergency services to its members. An annual membership fee of $240 for an individual or $360 for an entire family earns you all the benefits of MASA membership. Normally, there is a one-time $60 initiation fee. But now, AMA members who join MASA will have the initiation fee waived.

What do you get for your MASA membership? A list of potentially life-saving benefits that apply all the time, whether you’re at home or on the road:

Emergency Air Transportation: If you’re hospitalized and need specialized treatment, MASA will fly you to the nearest medical facility that can care for you. Ground ambulance service to and from the air ambulance is also included.

Commercial Air Transportation: If you need treatment more than 100 miles from your home, MASA pays your airfare. If you’re hospitalized away from home, MASA will fly you home to recuperate. MASA also provides air transportation for the patient and an organ used in an organ transplant.

Family Benefits: If you need emergency air ambulance transportation, MASA will fly a family member or friend to travel with you. If you’re hospitalized away from home for more than seven days, MASA will fly a family member to visit you. If minor children or grandchildren are left unattended because you need air ambulance transport, the children will be flown home with a qualified attendant.

Vehicle Return: If you use the air ambulance service, your motorcycle, car, truck or RV will be returned to your home. MASA has more than 30 years of experience handling these types of emergencies and has 750,000 current members.

“The AMA decided to partner with MASA because they have the most experience providing these important emergency services, and they provide the most comprehensive package,” says Greg Harrison, AMA senior vice president for marketing, communications and road riding. “Plus, MASA was the first to recognize the specific needs of motorcyclists.”

That includes the need for peace of mind, says Keith Knapp, MASA motorcycle division director and a motorcyclist himself for more than 40 years.

“A MASA membership allows a motorcyclist to enjoy every ride, confident that both the rider and the motorcycle will arrive back home,” Knapp says. “At the cost of a good riding jacket or helmet, it’s nice to know that help is as near as the membership card in your hip pocket.”

Because MASA is not insurance, there are no deductibles to pay, no claim forms, no age limits, and no overall maximum dollar limits per flight. MASA covers its members anywhere in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos islands.

Learn more Benefits section of the Members Only area of the AMA website, where you'll find a full description of MASA programs and benefits (pdf format).

To sign up without paying the initiation fee, you must use the special MASA-signup form for AMA members. A link to that form is available on the Members Only benefits page. Or, call MASA toll-free at (866) 781-8162 and tell them you're an AMA member.

 © 2007, American Motorcyclist Association