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

People assume that other countries - even European countries - have healthcare like the UK. They do not. The E(G)HIC only covers "medically necessary treatment" (which is not necessarily the same thing as full treatment) that cannot wait until you return to the UK, and that that treatment must be free to citizens of the relevant country (which is often is not). For example, in Greece many tests and scans are only available privately and must be paid for. A friend who lives there (and is Greek) had a short hospital stay in Athens (so not in the sticks) a few months ago and had to pay for a nurse because there aren't nurses available. In many places there are so few staff and ambulances now that you must go private - or there is no treatment available for you.

Bearing in mind that you cannot depend on free, accessible and timely medical care in the UK, why would you assume that this is automatically available elsewhere?

That said I don't see how you can force people to have travel insurance, but I certainly wouldn't be stumping up anything for someone elses lack of it.

So all of you on the mandatory TI bandwagon know what would happen, right? People would buy the cheapest coverage regardless of their circumstances and tic the box. They wouldn’t be covered for more than a lost pair of flip flops.

So absolutely nothing would change except for insurance companies making money off of these worthless but highly demanded products.

Why is everyone in here looking for a government solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. If someone is stuck in a hospital begging for money that’s on them if they didn’t plan ahead.

Plenty of people drive around without car insurance , making it legal requirement doesn't solve the problem, I doubt very much if anyone is ever prosected for it- even when involved in an accident I know they often aren't.

The cost of threatment and potential medical evacuation can run from tens of £thousands to hundreds of £thousands. If he can afford that, then fine. If he can't, then who does he think will pay the bills? If there is disability and complex health conditions then potentially even a minor admission could prove very costly.

That depends, would they expect others to pay for any issues they encounter if they decide to still travel considering the higher risk factors in their circumstances?

If he has an ehic all that would be covered anyway! Assuming he didn't go to a private hospital

You cant get insurance if you are undergoing any treatment, testing or awaiting diagnosis. With the state of our NHS at the moment that covers a lot of people.

It was impossible to get travel insurance for our toddler last year who had been in hospital a few times with chest infections and was awaiting her follow up appointment with consultant. We made a decision to go without it. We had cash sitting there if needed and multiple family members encouraging us to go.

How did you manage that? Were you not in a state hospital?

I think travel insurance should be compulsory and proven at point of purchase of a holiday however I also think travel insurance companies need to be regulated better and their terms regulated better
A friend of mine tripped and broke her ankle on holiday she tripped over someone's bag by a pool and as she had had a drink (a rum and coke) and this was noted in hospital records the travel insurance company refused to pay up as she was "intoxicated"

She wasn't I was there when it happened she she stepped out the way of some running kids who were not paying attention and dsrting in and out of everyone and then tripped over their mother's beach bag that was on the floor

I disagree with this, as when I was taken ill in Spain, I racked up a bill in excess of £12,000, there's no way that I've paid out this sort of money over the years in insurance. I'm lucky enough to have the money to pay a bill like this, if I had to, but I'd rather pay a few hundred pounds over my life time of travels, than £12k, all in one go!

Yes, but you would still be paying the £400 whether you took insurance out at the time of booking or at the time the balance had to be paid, so you weren't saving any money which either way you did it.

Before I had travel insurance through my bank I was sorting out an insurance policy for DH and I and it came to over £400. The deposit on the holiday was £350 so there didn't seem to be much point in taking out the insurance until nearer the time the balance was due as it would have cost more than cancelling and losing the deposit.

No I don't think it should be illegal even if it is risky. The reason we have to have some types of insurance is because of the potential damage to third parties. For car insurance, the insurance covers you for costs to other people if you are involved in a collision. You have to have buildings insurance to take out a mortgage because the lender wants to safeguard their investment. If someone on holiday has an accident/illness and needs expensive medical treatment, it is them who bears the cost, not anyone else, so no need for insurance to be a legal requirement. In general, it is better financially in the long term to avoid taking out insurance if you can afford the cost in the event of a loss, since the cumulative cost of insurance premiums will be higher than paying out yourself once in a blue moon, that is how insurance companies make money.

Exactly. It's not the ones who are getting £1000+ holiday insurance quotes who are swanning off overseas with no insurance. They generally have the common sense to not go, especially if they have quite serious medical issues that are causing the high insurance quotes.

It's the ones who are only having to pay £30-£40 per person (and probaby a tenner for each child) who aren't buying the insurance. And it's always the same kind of people too. EVERY TIME. (The ones who always go the the press with the compo faces in the Daily Mail!)

In UK yes. Not everywhere

But your experience isn't reflective of everyone's experience. We found you can't get travel insurance (quite literally impossible - went to every specialist insurer and BIBA) less than 6 months post radiation for a brain tumour, despite Drs confirmation the individual was well enough to fly and go on holiday. So no, I don't think travelling without travel insurance should be illegal.

So you think insurance hasn't started getting unaffordable?
What about the shrinkage of this tourist industry it would cause?
It depends on what you mean by "need".

Its a requirement for some people already, it hasn’t caused a need for nationalised insurance.

I also think you should be able to download a health file from the nhs app which insurers should have to accept as the health declaration so to avoid all the rejected claims risk as well

Precisely. If it's not an emergency it can wait till you are back

Only for emergencies. I’ve done it.

I know many people with metastatic breast cancer who are uninsurable, but want to enjoy their shortened lives by sharing holidays with family. The insurance is absolutely stratospheric.

if people are outraged by the lack of insurance (and yes, there are some idiots, I would agree), hopefully they are also outraged by this. https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1908660/cancer-holiday-travel-insurance-macmillan

For all the people suggesting insurance isn't always necessary because the GHIC covers medical expenses overseas (in EU), it does not cover the cost of repatriation in the event of death, or needing air ambulance type transport home, as mentioned by the OP. It also will not cover other expenses such as accommodation for partner/spouse to stay in that country with them whilst they are in hospital and not fit to fly home. It also will not pay for the cost of cancelling the holiday last minute due to illness.

Finding suitable cover to take our 6 yr old son to Disneyworld when he'd just recovered from cancer was extremely difficult, but we absolutely would not have been irresponsible enough to travel without it. Foreign holidays are not a basic human right. We'd have simply not gone if he couldn't get cover.

If someone with complex medical needs cannot get cover, it means they are high risk of falling ill on holiday. If that were me, I'd not want to be away from the team providing my specialist care at home, and risk complications from receiving treatment overseas from a team not familiar with my needs - whether I could afford to pay for it or not.