How many people travel without insurance?

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I have an annual policy so I'm insured without really thinking about it.

I have lots of weekends away with a group of friends, almost always in Europe.

I have realised only about half take insurance for these trips, with the others believing it's not needed for these short trips, they'll take the hit on any cancellation/ lost luggage and rely on GHIC for anything medical that can't wait until they get home.

I don't love this as I fear it will be me trying to get their bodies repatriated!

I was talking to a colleague who is very well travelled and she agreed it's not necessary for European travel...

There is no insurance cover for acts of war or terrorist attacks. That shows how possible the insurers think these things are!

Wow, I had no idea about that!

I live in Europe & currently have annual travel insurance. What strikes me is the significant difference in criteria between the UK insurance and mine.
To give a few examples:

1. I was not asked any health questions at all
2. The cost of insurance is based on the total cost of your trip

Although I am covered for accute health issues & repatriation I would also anticipate any health claims being challenged or weighed up against my private health insurance - a wiggle clause if ever there was one. Cover for lost or stolen lugguage is miniscule, total of €2000, which would not even cover the replacement of my laptop, let alone anything else or jewellery, for example. It is also interesting that cancellation and early returns are covered, but the conditions are not stipulated anywhere - regardless of which company you use to insure. You are definitely not covered if someone else changes arrangements, such as dates. To be honest, I think it is foolhardy, for those without private health insurance, not to take out travel insurance for accident/health emergencies. The other thing that struck me was the massive difference in premiums, depending on age and specific destinations. A young friend of mine paid thousands to be insured for a stint in the US. When she queried this, as a young, healthy woman, she was told that it was because she could get pregnant and have a baby over there!

I dont think it's mandatory. You can be cremated in another country I think as long as all the local legal admin is dealt with.

I’m also really careful. We go away next week, and I made the mistake of seeing my GP on Tuesday, only to be referred for a scan. This completely invalidated my annual policy (thank you Post Office) but I managed to find single-trip cover with AllClear, which will cover everything except the issue under investigation

We never travel without insurance. DH has health issues and we declare everything. We claimed once in 25 years for a nasty bout of food poisoning, where he ended up on a drip. Insurance is expensive for us, but I wouldn't dream of skimping on it. Friend's husband took a stroke in Tenerife and they were stuck there for a month.

Hoping you have enough money to pay for accommodation while stuck in a foreign country.

We have an annual policy. My dad (85) always had insurance in the past, but I recently found out he’d not had insurance for a weeks trip as it was “expensive.” I was absolutely furious. Yes it’s pricey - he has all sorts of pre-existing conditions as you’d expect. And filling in the forms isn’t fun. But as I said to him, he’s got a much greater chance of making use of the insurance than most. The last time he went abroad, it was to visit us in our house in France. He didn’t think it was necessary, but I insisted. He’s actually had to visit the hospital there before (pre Brexit) when he fell over and banged his head and was unconscious…. The charges were very reasonable but it could so easily have been more serious and costly.

I’d never got without having seen firsthand how important it is. Had to update it (pay extra) 3 times this year with new meds but still worth it.

Even within UK it’s worth thinking about if you’re going to some of the more remote areas.

DH was taken ill in an EU country. Spent a few nights in hospital and having tests. Insurance (through our bank) was fab, not just paying up, but rang the hospital every day for updates on tests etc and then called me to update me. I was in the same country and visiting daily, but found it so reassuring to have someone "looking after" me from afar. Fortunately he was fine after a few days and we could travel home, but had it been more serious I think their ongoing practical support would have been invaluable.
A friend's son was drunk, had a very bad accident, many months in hospital in an EU country, insurance was invalid. Cost his family many thousands for accommodation and eventual medical evacuation.

You get a big bill?
You get free emergency care in The EU but thats it

@Poppies26 hope you are both doing better and things have calmed down

The biggest problem with insurance in the UK is that you can't decouple health and everything else.

Someone might have had cancer 4 years ago but that doesn't make their flights any more likely to be cancelled or for their baggage to go missing. I can't understand why you can't get separate insurance for the travel bits.

And? If people donate, that's their lookout.

People worry far too much about things that can't and don't affect them.

The investigation thing is stupid. Why would you refuse to cover someone being investigated for something when it has nothing to do with eg a tram hitting them and them needing treatment for a broken leg. Insurers are such shysters. All they need to do is refuse cover for that thing (and if it's that much of an issue you won't go away anyway).

I also think it's outrageous that you have to declare if you're on HRT and they put the premiums up as a result! How is that remotely relevant to a short holiday?

Also my mum gets really annoyed that her premiums go up because she's on medication to control her blood pressure. They control her blood pressure, so her risk of problems is less than someone who doesn't know they have high blood pressure. I know they have actuaries etc who calculate all this stuff but a lot of it seems to fly in the face of common sense.

If you can afford a holiday, you can afford the insurance.

Eh? You can get some holiday deals for a few hundred pounds; yet for many people with serious and/or multiple health conditions, insurance can cost thousands.

Or did you mean to suggest that holidays should only be the privilege of healthy people and not 'the other kind of people' who don't matter?

We only ever have holidays in the UK - nothing whatsoever against other countries, but we don't have nearly enough spare time to explore the beautiful parts of our own country as it is; but if we did ever go abroad, my premium would cost us a fortune - far more than the cost of the holiday - and I have a chronic health condition that could arguably be ascribed to pretty much anything healthwise - so I'd very likely be hit with the double whammy of extortionate insurance and also denied any payout for health issues that would almost certainly be blamed on my existing (and thus excluded from the cover) condition.

Afaik they don’t put the premiums up for HRT BUT if you don’t declare it they can refuse to pay up for something completely unrelated eg getting hit by a bus

As an EU citizen you get reciprocal treatment.

Yes, I think this is a big problem with people's trust of insurance companies in general.

All of their advertising is about reassuring you, selling you peace of mind and trying to pretend that they are your cuddly friend; but when you need to claim, any semblance of kindness is straight out of the window, you're their arch enemy and they will often do/find absolutely any reason whatsoever to leave you high and dry - or at least reduce what they pay out as much as possible.

There are some exceptions, but as an industry, they do frequently seem to want to have their cake and eat it: both eager to take the premiums from the 999 people who don't need to claim and also determined not to pay out to the one who does.

Just my 2p on the cremation abroad aspect.

Brother in law dropped dead on holiday solo in Europe, age 35 and unexpected. No insurance. It was cheaper to have him cremated there which is what we did but it still cost over £1,000 to have his ashes flown back due to the paperwork, local funeral director costs etc and they don’t use the cheapest airline but more likely to use the flag carrier.

We could have flown over to have someone bring the ashes back in hand luggage but we were all too traumatised/in shock to do that.

I never thought I would have to face that situation.

Does net cover medical repatriation or other costs. Eg you’re in a car accident and bed bound for six months. You end up permanently disabled and need repatriation. And someone beingjng all
thise books to you to read has to pay for accommodation and flights etc to be there.

or you cause someone to be permanently disabled through your own actions and you are liable to them.

Some will cover you with ‘exclusions’.

Interesting point about HRT - my insurance questions were about health conditions, not medication I was taking, I answered them all truthfully but HRT wasn’t covered by any of the questions or answers, I will give the company a call to disclose this

It’s appalling they don’t flag up HRT

Word is A LOT of ppl will be caught out who are taking GLP-1s like Mounjaro. It’s a total con

Makes me wonder if they also expect you to declare the contraceptive pill - not a medical condition, just something you’re taking?

It always worries me that I’ll be penalised for failing to disclose something they didn’t ask about