Page 3 | Do you think holiday insurance is a necessity or a luxury?

faithfultoGeorgeMichael · 2026-06-14T11:22:48+00:00

Where I live there are an increasing number of crowd funders every year for people who have an accident on holiday and have no insurance. I have always thought this was a minority of people willing to accept this risk but yesterday I spoke to a younger colleague (I am 51, she is 32) who said that no one she knows ever buys insurance and it is seen as a foolish waste of money to her and her friends. She is off to Indonesia for a month in August with her children - with no insurance! YABU: I would go abroad without insurance YANBU I would only go abroad if I had insurance

zingally · 15/06/2026 14:59

An absolute necessity.

My mum ended up hospitalised, and requiring surgery last month, in a freak health issue.
She'd only been back from an abroad holiday about 3 weeks when it happened. She said at the time, "imagine if this had happened while I was away?!" Obviously, it doesn't bear thinking about, even though she did (and always does) have insurance.

I always have travel insurance. I've known enough people who've got ill or had accidents abroad, who would be up shit creek if they hadn't had insurance.

BerryTwister · 15/06/2026 14:24

TransportNerd · 14/06/2026 14:24

I have a pretty basic phone that would cost me less than £200 to replace. I've never lost a phone in my life, so I consider the risk to be very low. I don't use it to pay for stuff, and everything important on it is backed up in the cloud. If the worst happened and it was nicked, I'd just buy a cheap replacement and a local SIM, and I'd be fine until I got home. I've never had phone insurance, and over the course of the nearly 30 years I've owned a phone, that's probably saved me thousands, so I'm willing to take the hit on that now.

I'm also a dual national with 2 passports, so the risk of losing them both is virtually non-existent.

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BerryTwister · 15/06/2026 14:24

TransportNerd · 14/06/2026 14:24

I have a pretty basic phone that would cost me less than £200 to replace. I've never lost a phone in my life, so I consider the risk to be very low. I don't use it to pay for stuff, and everything important on it is backed up in the cloud. If the worst happened and it was nicked, I'd just buy a cheap replacement and a local SIM, and I'd be fine until I got home. I've never had phone insurance, and over the course of the nearly 30 years I've owned a phone, that's probably saved me thousands, so I'm willing to take the hit on that now.

I'm also a dual national with 2 passports, so the risk of losing them both is virtually non-existent.

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🤷‍♀️totally missing the point, but whatever, I can’t be bothered to explain it to you again

Allseeingallknowing · 15/06/2026 13:57

XenoBitch · 15/06/2026 11:43

Even in the UK?

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Yes! What if you are ill and cannot go, you would lose your deposit if not the whole amount? Plus luggage could be damaged or go missing. Personal possessions could be stolen.

WeddingInvitation · 15/06/2026 13:50

Friend's daughter tripped over a pavement in Thailand, competely sober - 2 months into a 6 month trip round the world. It was a bad broken leg. Insurers paid for her hospital treatment and for her mum to fly out and come back with her as well as a doctor.

UltimateSloth · 15/06/2026 13:43

tinytemper66 · 15/06/2026 13:38

I think you should be made to take it out. No insurance - no travel.

Why? If you don't take it and end up in a bad situation because of that, that's your look out. Noone is forced to contribute to GoFundMe appeals.

CorporaINobbyNobbs · 15/06/2026 13:42

Thechaseison71 · 15/06/2026 11:47

Wow if my handbag was stolen I'd likely lose the bag it's ( £9 to replace) and maybe mobile phone ( paid £120 3 years ago) so worth max £30nniw. Doubt that's even more than the excess. Of and a pack of tissues lol

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Well the bag itself wasn’t more than £20 but the phone kindle and passport were all pricey to replace!

tinytemper66 · 15/06/2026 13:40

My husband had a heart attack in.Bruges. We didn’t pay for anything from
treatment to getting back home.

tinytemper66 · 15/06/2026 13:38

I think you should be made to take it out. No insurance - no travel.

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 15/06/2026 13:09

You can’t afford not to.

Sparkplugsfix · 15/06/2026 12:37

I pay for annual travel insurance which includes some sports

I have never claimed so far

However I have travelled to some off the beaten track places & I believe that it is worth it

I have zero sympathy for people who do not buy insurance & create Go Fund Me pages

TallulahBetty · 15/06/2026 12:36

XenoBitch · 15/06/2026 11:51

It should be a choice. I dont see the sense in making insurance a legal requirement for what is pretty much leaving your house.

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OK? It's my opinion. I didn't challenge yours.

AmazingGreatAunt · 15/06/2026 12:26

Whilst I do have travel insurance for long-haul I worked out recently that I was probably over-insured.
There was insurance included in the credit card I used to book my travel, my health insurance covers me world-wide and I had an annual travel insurance.
However, I suspect my personal belongings were extremely under-insured and it would have been a nightmare to claim on anything as the insurers would probably start fighting with one another as to who was liable.
It is really stupid to travel without insurance, because the whole point of insurance is to be covered for something that you hope will not happen.

Dandelionsalad · 15/06/2026 12:26

Thechaseison71 · 15/06/2026 11:57

Depends where you are Some places you don't need to pay privately either.Most of Europe Australia and NZ for a start

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But if you need an air ambulance home from NZ you are looking at over £250,000

Thechaseison71 · 15/06/2026 11:57

LiuBei · 15/06/2026 11:54

Probably not that many, although it depends on the destination.

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Depends where you are Some places you don't need to pay privately either.Most of Europe Australia and NZ for a start

LiuBei · 15/06/2026 11:54

PhaedraTwo · 14/06/2026 16:37

How many people can afford the costs of anything beyond minor health issues treated privately abroad?

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Probably not that many, although it depends on the destination.

LiuBei · 15/06/2026 11:53

Allseeingallknowing · 14/06/2026 19:13

But costs will mount up. Even if you think you can afford to pay if something happens, you probably can’t .
In America it could add up to many thousands of pounds.So, even if you are rich you would be stupid not to have insurance!

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When you say "Even if you think you can afford to pay if something happens, you probably can’t ." I would just advocate for having accurate beliefs. These aren't unknowable numbers (but they are large numbers, at least for some destinations)

XenoBitch · 15/06/2026 11:51

TallulahBetty · 15/06/2026 11:48

Good question, but yes possibly. I very rarely go abroad, but I always have travel insurance for anywhere I go that involves public transport or paying for accommodation. It's very cheap. If you can't afford £5 for a weekend break's cover, can you afford to go?

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It should be a choice. I dont see the sense in making insurance a legal requirement for what is pretty much leaving your house.

TallulahBetty · 15/06/2026 11:48

XenoBitch · 15/06/2026 11:43

Even in the UK?

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Good question, but yes possibly. I very rarely go abroad, but I always have travel insurance for anywhere I go that involves public transport or paying for accommodation. It's very cheap. If you can't afford £5 for a weekend break's cover, can you afford to go?

Thechaseison71 · 15/06/2026 11:47

CorporaINobbyNobbs · 15/06/2026 11:42

It’s not just illness though. I’ve had my handbag stolen twice while away (once in the UK) and was able to claim back costs on travel insurance for the bag, my make up, phone, kindle, passport, sunglasses, medication, etc. both times about £400/500. The insurance was free with my credit card in both cases but even now I only pay about £50 a year for it (and I have a number of medical conditions).

Wow if my handbag was stolen I'd likely lose the bag it's ( £9 to replace) and maybe mobile phone ( paid £120 3 years ago) so worth max £30nniw. Doubt that's even more than the excess. Of and a pack of tissues lol

CorporaINobbyNobbs · 15/06/2026 11:43

I’ve also claimed for medical costs and travel delays. I’ve definitely claimed back more than I’ve paid for insurance over the years!

XenoBitch · 15/06/2026 11:43

TallulahBetty · 15/06/2026 11:42

Necessity. It is one of the things you include in the costs of going away. It should be like car insurance - illegal to not have it.

Even in the UK?

CorporaINobbyNobbs · 15/06/2026 11:42

It’s not just illness though. I’ve had my handbag stolen twice while away (once in the UK) and was able to claim back costs on travel insurance for the bag, my make up, phone, kindle, passport, sunglasses, medication, etc. both times about £400/500. The insurance was free with my credit card in both cases but even now I only pay about £50 a year for it (and I have a number of medical conditions).

TallulahBetty · 15/06/2026 11:42

Necessity. It is one of the things you include in the costs of going away. It should be like car insurance - illegal to not have it.

SaffyWall · 15/06/2026 11:34

Travel insurance has other benefits apart from covering potential healthcare costs and lost luggage etc.

In some territories - if you're the reason a flight has to be diverted to another destination (through illness or drunken violence!?) you can be held responsible for the costs incurred by all the other passengers because of the diversion. A colleages father had a heart attack on a flight and his insurance covered the costs of all the other passengers impacted by the diversion.