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

I was glad we took out insurance for our planned holiday to Italy. DH fell and broke and his hip a week before we went. Everything cancelled..but we have got almost all of it back

Yes, he will pay. Not me, I don't have his wealth

Although I am insured up to the hilt, theoretically, I would not like to try and claim anything on any of it.
My health insurance allegedly covers me worldwide (I live in a country where you are required to have health insurance). This costs something over €600 per month.
If I pay for any travel on a credit card I also have insurance.
I have an annual travel insurance on top of all this, which was €160, but then doubled after a significant birthday, so I cancelled and found a cheaper deal. BUT it only covers personal belongings/luggage for up to €2k, so my jewellery, laptop, camera, phone and iPad are in no way covered.
So yes, i do think it important to have insurance, but it is a rip off and does not really cover everything.

If he's that wealthy he can have his own private doctors and nurses on his private plane so it's not an issue if he doesn't bother with insurance if he doesn't want to but that's his choice

Sadly, yes that may be one of the consequences of long term conditions.

Why do you care? How does it affect you? Such a petty, inconsequential thing to be annoyed about.

Exactly. And if someone can't afford the extra few quid for the insurance (after declaring their health issues,) how on earth can they afford the holiday?

So much utter contradiction, and double standards - It's batshit!

And yes I would just ignore any begging - you make your choices and you put up with the result

I paid a small fortune for insurance for DD's recent trip the the US - she has some complex but stable and well-managed health conditions, unlikely to need attention during her trip. Insurance is expensive but not impossible to obtain for the majority, and a fraction of the expense should you actually need to pay for specialist care or repatriation.

For anyone without pre-existing conditions it should be a condition of booking at the price of a couple of airport beers.

I always take out travel insurance, it's so cheap I don't know why you wouldn't (£52 for an annual family plan including preexisting conditions for DH and I).

BUT whenever I have had to claim it's either been a refusal to pay (volcanic ash cloud) or paid less than 1% of legitimate costs (chicken pox meaning we couldn't fly home). So I'm not sure why I even bother.

What happens then if they are ill abroad? Are you going to pay? Or will you do a GoFundMe?

there should be a rule however that insurance can not be made void by failure to declare an issue that had no bearing on the actual medical incident - failure for declare arthritis in the knee should not invalidate a claim for D&V for example

Yes.

I know a number of people who have declared several illnesses (chronic illness, diabetes, asthma etc,) and it only adds about 10 to 20 pounds on to the travel insurance. Saying 'oh but I have this and that so I won't take the travel insurance out' is ridiculous. If you have something so bad that you worry about the insurance being high (or refused) then you shouldn't be going abroad. Especially if you're going to put your begging cap out if you get a massive medical bill!

I remember a thread on here where OP was astonished that they had to declare they were on HRT for the menopause.

what is your ‘point’ - using words preferably, as I’ve no need of pictures thanks.

Yes, he does. A lot of business (runs own company) but also for pleasure because he chooses to continue living life. He has savings so he takes the chance and he will pay if it comes to it.
He periodically tries to get quotes but always gets refused. Often ends up just buying a basic insurance that would never meet a medical need but would cover for lost luggage, etc

People do GoFundMe's for much more stupid/ridiculous/unreasonable reasons than this, no one is forced to contribute.

We don't get insurance for Europe but have GHIC cards, we have the funds to pay if more was needed but we haven't needed it in 30 years despite going abroad several times a year - i guess at say £100 for a years cover that's saved us about £3000. DH is used to driving on the other side of the road though - roads are not completely different in other countries in Europe.

We do get it for outside Europe but I wouldn't be impressed if it was made mandatory. I'm allowed to decide how risky something is and whether I'm prepared to take that risk as I'm going to be the one affected.

You can get insurance for anything if you’re prepared to pay.
If he can’t afford the insurance then how would he afford the medical bills?

I have to pay a lot for travel insurance because I’m prone to infections due to being immunocompromised.
I’d be a fool to travel without insurance.

Either travel insurance should be mandatory for everybody or for nobody.
But then just another example of how life is unfair, and a rich British person can travel without travel insurance, but a rich person with a less privilged passport can't.

.

I’m off to Greece soon. My All Clear insurance even includes cover in case of an earthquake lol. But you have to declare every single health condition not just the serious ones you have.. or your cover becomes invalid.

41% of adults have a long term health condition that would need to be declared - asthma diabetes arthritis , IBS, mental health including an history of depression … it’s surprising how many people here therefore say they don’t have to worry about it’s cost

100% agree @AusBoundDD and I don't understand how anyone can disagree, and say YABU. I am SICK of people not being fucked to take out travel insurance, and then pleading for money to pay their health costs overseas, when something happens that lands them (or a family member) in hospital. They will spend £5,000 on a holiday but won't pay £100 (or less) for the travel insurance.

Batshit! 😬

And? Nobody is being forced to subsidise them, unlike your suggestion which would cost us all. If they want to appear in the Mail or start a go fund me, revealing their decisions to the world, why does it matter to you? Just ignore it - it’s really not that hard.