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

You have to consider the repercussions, really to have insurance as a legal requirement you have to have the govt offer it, or nationalise the insurance companies ,otherwise insurance would quadruple in price overnight.

How can other airline passengers claim for " inconvenience" This is a new one on me. Seeing as I spend a hell of a lot of time on travel forums it might be useful info. Could you please link me to this information

In our retirement we have taken to cruise holidays. Depending on where you go, if you are at sea when taken ill and maybe 3 days till you get to the next port, an air ambulance would be needed and can cost up to (or in excess of!) £100,000 - and that's before you get any treatment. Add on repatriation at ££££££ and without insurance you might as well jump overboard!

One travel insurance company quoted here will indeed cover almost any age and current health issues but the cost is extortionate. On one long cruise several years ago, the travel insurance for me and DH was nearly £6k - and we really didn't have any significant health issues then. Now we do, and it can be a minefield trying to get cover. But without cover we would not travel.

I think you will find you don't have to have life cover with a mortgage as the property is the collateral. If the mortgage can't be paid for any reason, then the property is repossessed.

I understand what you are saying, but giving an industry power like that is to be avoided-they already wield huge power.
l don't see me giving to a Go Fund Me because someone was too cheap to buy insurance.

That’s not true. They will be able to get insurance- either at a higher price or those conditions will be excluded.

Everyone of my family has some sort of or multiple conditions and medications . We have an annual policy with a specialist insurer Europe incl skiing £275 pa. That’s about £25 each per holiday with good cover.

DD went on a skiing holiday a few years ago and badly damaged her knee. She was seen by the private medical facility at the resort. Fortunately, she had taken out extra insurance for a dangerous sport, so all was well. The insurance company did mess her about a bit and delayed the payment, so she made a formal complaint and I believe they paid her a some extra money as compensation for the inconvenience.

My goodness, that's a long wait! I am in my sixties and about a year ago I was told I likely have ADHD, plus possibly ASD. The wait for a formal diagnosis was expected to be 18 months, so I am hoping to be seen within the next six months or so.

Plus travel insurance covers you if you have to cancel the holiday due to illness or bereavement of a close family member etc. That's why Martin Lewis always advises you take out travel insurance at the time of booking.

That's a very valid point. I bet a claim of that sort would run into thousands of pounds. Airline costs, plus claims from the other passengers for inconvenience and any extra associated costs.

I know someone who was on holiday with his DW and his DM. On the very first day, DM suffered a massive brain haemorrhage and died. The insurance company did everything they could to try and avoid paying for the body to be brought back to the UK. She was in perfect health and hadn't seen a doctor for eight years. The insurance company did eventually agree, but it was all unnecessarily stressful.

So what would happen if they were taken ill abroad or had an accident? Would you pay for any hospital treatment and medical evacuation etc?

I do say so

If you say so

Our son had a serious life limiting condition and when 11, we wanted to take him and his siblings to the USA for a final big holiday. We tried really hard to get insurance cover for him but is was absolutely impossible, even with the assistance of GOSH and charities that are often able to assist. This would have been his third holiday there and we had paid over £3,000 for him the previous two times when he had been a little more healthy. In the end we decided we would take the chance and flew out in May 2005 to attend the wedding of the lad my wife had been a nanny to years before. He had a dream holiday and better still, the California sunshine and healthy living improved his health noticeably. We were fully aware of the financial catastrophe that awaited us should an issue have arisen but are so glad in retrospect that we did go ahead. His younger siblings we of an age where they now have good memories of him and of that time, and recall his relative good health during those three weeks. He passed two years later but his siblings still talk of that holiday. In general I do agree that travelling without travel insurance is a daft thing to do but sometimes there it is simply not available at any price. I would vote for a gratis global travel insurance policy for life limited and terminally ill people of all ages, to be covered by the countries either they fall ill in or are from.
This is just my opinion and others may think me a fool. I'll take that, you would not be wrong to think it, but it remains a precious memory. With Brexit, even a nice long EU holiday would be off the cards for most people not in good health.

If any follow on treatment is needed. And I think very few people actually pay it

Staysure pretty much unsure anyone. They did when worked for them

My big worry is thinking I've taken out adequate insurance and then finding out we're not covered! DH has osteoarthritis in his hip which I obviously declared. It then turned out that as he was waiting for a hip replacement they wouldn't cover him, luckily I'd double checked as that part wasn't clear. I have a problem with my foot that no one seems to be able to diagnose despite X-rays, MRI's etc. Insurers won't cover it as it's undiagnosed so I have to exclude it which is ridiculous as I know what caused it, just not while it's still a problem.

Why angry? Not your problem

I did leave within the 30 days. By BUS but I hadn't decided what date I would leave when flying in. You can actually extend the visa exemption while in Thailand as well. It's not unusual .And it's not passport control in Thailand that ask you, it's SOME airlines. Malaysia Airlines being one of them. In fact the ONLY airline that's asked me

They won't be billed for A&E, but any follow-on treatment required (e.g. surgery to remove that appendix... etc.) - there's a "cost recovery" group in most trusts IIRC.

You booked a flight to pretend you would be leaving in the next 30 days and then cancelled it and you posted it on here as advice for others to try! Not once did you make it clear that you still left within the 30 days, why did you need to book a flight and cancel it if you weren't cheating the system! Not that you can cheat it because when you enter with your passport, the system is going to know you haven't left in the stipulated time frame and flag you up!

What else can you expect me to deduce from your comment as per the way you wrote it!

No they won't. The NHS doesn't have the facilities to bill for A&e visits

Yes “access” it as it is free at the point of delivery. But they will be billed.

Where was I an illegal overstayer? You obviously haven't a clue