Do you think holiday insurance is a necessity or a luxury?

It's madness. If you can't afford the insurance you can't afford the holiday.

You don't even need to be drunk. Can you honestly say you've never had 2 glasses of wine with dinner on holiday? But insurance could refuse to pay if you then get run over and they test alcohol in your blood

I would potentially insure against cancellation if it was an expensive UK holiday. Maybe a large house, and some trips/activities booked, something like that. It would be worth having insurance in case someone got ill and we couldn’t go at all. Or if it was a flight and there was risk of luggage being lost. But obviously I wouldn’t bother with any kind of medical insurance in the UK.

We always buy an annual policy for all of us, we tend to stay within the uk one year then do 2 holidays the following year so we get it every other year. I have never taken out travel insurance for the uk?!? What would it cover? A cancellation?

It’s getting expensive now for me & DH as we have pre existing conditions which is making it almost as expensive as a trip to Europe, still we do it.

Last big holiday was to America no way would I travel without it there, popping on the ferry to France for a booze run I might risk it.

Which reminds me I need to renew our health cards

I'm shocked how many people travel without it. It's not a particular age group that doesn't buy. It seems to be lack of understanding or thinking 'it won't happen to me'.

It frustrates me how many don't understand their insurance & do uninsured things like riding motorbikes in Asia without a licence or getting drunk & having accidents or not extending it if staying longer. Constant go fund me requests.

It's a total necessity. There should even be a ban on travelling abroad without it.

I have an annual policy. I have all of my medical conditions declared on it (diabetes and Graves Disease, which causes thyroid issues).

DH used to be on the cover too. It did become very much more expensive when he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease but we still wouldn't have not had it. On his last holiday (to Tenerife) we had our annual policy plus our GHIC cards. So we were as covered as it was possible to be.

People who travel abroad without it are irresponsible loons.

I know it's madness. I've nothing else wrong with me either ( and still don't have the cancer)

Thankfully after year 3 it came back down to sensible levels.

And that was worldwide EXCLUDING America

Can I ask how long your trips were though as think might make a difference

I've always got cheap ones. As long as it covers you for major stuff, I'm willing to take a hit on things like theft or loss of luggage. I never take anything particularly valuable abroad with me, and if I lost it, I'm sure I'd cope. It's the medical treatment/repatriation you shouldn't skimp on.

Just googled the figures.
19.3 percent of travelers from UK to Indonesia get some kind of gastro intestine illness during trips. For most adults it's just a couple of days of the Sickness and D, but for children it can lead to dehydration and serious complications from e-coli and parasitic infections that are prevalent in south east Asia.
The parents are crazy to do a month without insurance.

I have adult children who are 42. They have never travelled out of the UK without insurance. It is irresponsible to do so.

When I was younger I never used to bother, as I only travelled within Europe, and assumed the EHIC would cover anything I needed. (And I did use it about 3 or 4 times, and was present with friends when they used theirs too). Being young, of course I assumed that nothing that bad would happen to me where I'd need to be repatriated or anything like that.

Now in my 30s and with kids, we have started getting travel insurance.

It does indeed - at public/state health facilities only. Not, as a lot of people believe, at the numerous private clinics you typically see in popular resorts.

Also as a PP mentioned - cost of repatriation or air ambulance is definitely not covered by the GHIC and can run into multi-thousands of pounds.

Also worth mentioning - Turkey is NOT part of the scheme, as many seem to believe.

I buy an annual policy every year , but does tend to be the cheapest one , touch wood never had to claim on it , but wonder what, if anything would be covered !
No way I would travel without it though

I always used to get travel insurance for holidays abroad. Never claimed, luckily, because it's only in recent years that I realised they probably wouldn't have paid out anyway due to things I never declared which were minor in my mind (hence not declaring them) but would have given them an excuse not to pay out. So really I wasted my money.

I have given different advice to my adult DC and told them it's not optional but they absolutely must declare every single little thing! Like when my DS saw the GP as he had piles! Seems ridiculous, but it's worthless without declaring.

I now have an ongoing medical issue with no diagnosis. It's not life threatening, nor would it lead to me needing a hospital stay so, at some point, I'll probably take the chance. I'd still get insurance just for the sake of having cover for luggage, cancellation etc but the chances of it paying out in a medical emergency are low. But then I had a huge amount of health checks re my issue and I am otherwise very healthy. I don't want to go the the US again anyway, that's one place I would not risk! But anywhere else then yes I'll probably risk it. I don't undertake any "risky" activities so I'd have to be quite unlucky for it to be an issue. Also I don't own a house, nor does anyone close to me, so no one would be needing to sell a home if I was caught out.

If you have a Platinum American Express card, travel insurance is included.
It's not cheap, but it probably would be cheaper for people with preexisting conditions.
It also gives the highest level of insurance for care rentals, which can also be a lot more on top of the hire charge.

Blimey! I’ve had cancer, got high blood pressure and cholesterol plus knee problems and pay £15 a month for worldwide cover.

She sounds thick as shit. My DC are in their mid/late twenties and have annual travel insurance policies.

It's insane, because if you're not planning on doing anything particularly risky, and don't have any pre-existing conditions, it costs peanuts. I don't think I've ever paid more than about £25 for covering a single trip.

Like 3k is peanuts?

If a younger colleague had said that to me I’d be putting her straight on her ageism! What an awful woman.

Depends on if you have pre existing conditions though. I was quoted nearly 3k on an annual policy a few years ago because id HAD a stage 1 cervical cancer

Never mind the fact they'd removed it all and I had regular check ups showing clear. And if it did return it wasn't going to cause sudden immediate problems.

I see it as a necessity but we have several conditions we have to declare and we are already over £600 for an annual policy which will be higher next year as we had to add on a few more mid policy. We are going on holiday a lot at the moment knowing in a couple of years it will probably be too expensive to travel long haul as our policy is currently worldwide including USA.

I've always considered insurance an absolute necessity and I've never traveled without it.

In terms of age being a factor, possibly younger people might not think to get insurance and tend to be more reckless, but I'd expect a 32 year old with small children to be past that.

Some of the people I know who do travel (only within Europe) without insurance are actually older and have medical conditions that either make them uninsurable or make it much less valuable vs the costs of just paying for any medical needed whilst they are out there. But they are making a deliberate choice with their eyes open.

I feel it depends a lot on the location.

Europe - I don’t normally take one
USA - first thing I’d do before even looking at flights 🤣🤣

Also depends on how healthy you are etc…

But I have to say, seing how good insurances are at not paying if they can find any loophole, it’s making me think twice before taking one. Basically, if you have a chronic health condition, even if it’s minor, they will find something you haven’t told them about iyswim. That’s why I dint bother with europe.

YANBU. I hope you told her how bloody rude she was with the boomer mentality comment!