To think that it should be illegal to go abroad without travel insurance

I cannot see it being able to be practical to introduce without a significant number of people being unable to travel abroad again. No politician would want to implement such a change and deny some people their fortnight being unpleasant to Spanish or other people.

Yeah right. It's a con until you need it.

Those never covered you needing to be repatriated if you were knocked down by a car and had a broken leg so needed more than one seat on the plane home or needed an air ambulance to return you to the UK because you had a serious head injury. The EHIC only covered you for the equivalent of the NHS in the country you were visiting.

I would have this issue as my travelling companion would not want to declare things she thought were irrelevant, such as anxiety. I would not travel with her if she refused.

I've just had our insurance company ring me today after filling in the medical questionnaire and answering yes to investigations and yes to a hospital stay.

They will cover me, but not for anything to do with my chest which is what I am undergoing investigation for. Drs are querying COPD, which they would cover me for if diagnosed. They have sent me a link for insurers who might possibly insure for investigations I'm going to have a look and see what's what.

I may just bite the bullet though and not be insured for anything chesty as it covers other existing medical conditions for both DH and I and also breakdown for our motorhome.

I think the point is that they can afford to pay for it if things go wrong. So for someone in a financial position to pay for atuff, should things go wrong then why shouldn't they go abroad?

The OPs question was whether insurance should be compulsory. If someone can't get insurance for whatever reason then why should that stop them from doing what they want to do?

It's not like car insurance where there is a third party to consider. You don't need to take out fully comp car insurance.

That's the point this poster was making.

You can't mandate insurance for this sort of thing. How could that possibly work? You can only legislatite against covering third parties.

Without reading any replies, yes I agree. It would save a lot of trouble.

In the exact same ways that other travel documents are. Passports, visas, for some countries you even have to be able to show your bank balance upon entry in order for them to confirm that you are able to support yourself for the entirety of your stay. It’s really not a tricky question, nor would it be that hard.
As for punishment - no insurance = unable to board your flight/get turned away at the border. Simple

Oh, so you want every country to make it illegal. The UK could only make it illegal for people coming here.

I still think YABU.

Yes, and also how many people would actually think they should declare using them!

When you take out travel insurance, do you all read the (usually over 10) pages of detailed terms and conditions? Exclusions? The ones that expect you to declare pre-existing conditions of close RELATIVES, etc etc?

Last time I went abroad I was meticulous in reading this stuff and the amount of time it took was ridiculous, as I was reviewing different providers. They were all different in different ways. I had to get dates of doctor appointments for last 2 or so years. I don’t trust these companies not to find something random they can use from the small print, so I tried to be completely accurate. Or it might have been worthless. This was also just after Covid and the Covid clauses variety was something to behold and not in a consistent way!

I think for some conditions they impact so much of the body it would be almost impossible to split it out. Or maybe its the risk of one thing impacting another. Eg. You have cancer, so anything to do with that isnt insured. But you go abroad and break a leg. Seems unrelated but maybe the cancer treatment has caused loss of bone density. I have no idea if this is how it works am making stuff up. For my mum i think its the fact she has half a dozen conditions and is being investigated for several more so its almost impossible to know what to exclude

There and lots of insurers who specialise in this, for future reference (DH has a motor neurone disease). We use this:

https://www.fishinsurance.co.uk/

It is very foolish not to have insurance if you have a disability or long term condition, IMHO.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people have an insurance with their bank account and just think it's ok, I have my holiday insurance with my bank and really don't give it another thought and just think they are covered because they are under 70 or whatever age you need to be eligible for it.

My mom had an accident abroad and luckily she had great thorough insurance. It really highlighted how important it is. Each X-ray was £250 - they took 5 in a minute so that was over £1000 there. Blood tests, hundreds, it soon mounts up. I would never ever risk it.

Unfortunately stupidity is not illegal!

Equally if people stop contributing to go fund mes people would be less prepared to take the risk

"Close to half (44%) have risked travelling without any cover in place when they go on holiday, conceding it’s not something they always purchase."

As I thought.

It’s certainly incredibly reckless to travel without insurance unless you have the means to fund any medical bills which might be run up whilst you’re away (a friend is currently in this position due to multiple conditions, she prefers to go without the ridiculous price of the insurance and pay her own way if a bill arises, fair enough as she has the means).

But for those who would not be able to afford this…you must be insured. I live in Wales and every year on Walesonline, you will find multiple stories about people who have had accidents or illnesses whilst on holiday and are asking for donations to their Go Fund Me. People who can’t physically leave hospitals because they don’t have the means to pay. People who need to get home for UK treatment but can’t, because the cost of repatriation is eye watering.

The first of that sort of story for 2025 must be due about now…it’s very often people who have fallen off quad bikes, etc.

Final thought is that I used to work with someone who had previously worked for a travel insurer. Another colleague, who was off to Florida, was gloating about how he had never paid for travel insurance and she asked him if he had any idea whatsoever how much it would cost to treat him in a US hospital for even the most minor thing and, if the worst came to the worst, how much his family would have to pay to repatriate his body. He literally had no clue, and was horrified when she threw some figures at him.

Considering how many people have illnesses/on medication as they get older I reckon a large % travel without insurance.

I know lots of people who either don't go abroad or pay through the nose for insurance due to medical conditions.

It seems extra wild not to have insurance if there's a real possibility you could need medical care!

I keep thinking what will happen with the weight loss jabs as so as many seem to be on them but will insurance companies try & blame them for any issues when travelling?

Is he being prevented from travelling abroad, no, because he is able to pay himself which would be a consideration and the alternative if you can't get jnsurance,you'd just need proof of funds and a promise to pay declaration.