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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that people who don't use travel insurance are crazy?

121 replies

cwtch4967 · 09/04/2012 19:41

Why on earth would you book a holiday abroad and not take out insurance? So many people ignore the need to be properly insured, I just don't get it?

I've read posts where people say they don't bother in Europe - who is going to pay to get them home if something serious happens?

Is it just me???

OP posts:

chantico · 09/04/2012 21:12

The bog standard policies you get from the Post Office are cheap and cover the things you'd expect them to. The EHIC is probably sufficient for health in Europe, but there are other things you may want covered too (cancellation, curtailment, compassionate transfers etc).

Hulababy · 09/04/2012 21:12

People really should get the insurance. You can get travel insurance really cheap too, and cover that is good too, esp for Europe.

My sister had an accident when dancing in a club at 18yo. Nothing fancy, just a simple night out with friends on holiday. She slipped and tore her tendons in her ankle. Resulted in ambulance, operation, hospital stay, several calls to and from home and early flight home needed assistance either end and a full row to herself. Without insurance it would have cost my parents, and my sister, an absolute fortune.

Hulababy · 09/04/2012 21:15

ClaireAll - I don't think that is the case. The cheap cover can cover all necessary costs and more - my sister's did and I have known others with just cheap cover have all their costs covered, inc in the US and in Oz and in New Zealand. Good travel insurance def doesn't have to be expensive.

kerala · 09/04/2012 21:15

My BIL and mothers friend are medical staff working for insurance companies and fly out to deal with holiday makers who need to be transferred back to the UK. They are kept very very busy...

ClaireAll · 09/04/2012 21:18

You could say that about all insurance though.

We have been married 25 years and have made precisely one claim on household insurance (a cracked bathroom sink worth about £250 before deductible) and about £500 for vandalism to my car. We have used PMI, but DH's company just pays the bills rather than use an insurance company.

I have wanted to make a mobile phone claim but the fine print was so demanding that I did not qualify.

Our attitude to insurance is to cover us against catastrophe, and after that just pay for the costs of anything minor out of pocket.

There is no right or wrong answer to taking out insurance. It depends on your attitude to risk. We, personally, have a fairly low attitude. YMMV.

RuleBritannia · 09/04/2012 21:22

Is there anyone out there who has experience of travel insurance for the 'older' traveller? I have heard that if you are older than 70 the premium is extremely high. I won't be looking forward to insuring myself then.

LtEveDallas · 09/04/2012 21:23

People should also check the T&Cs of their bank accounts. We paid for travel insurance for a couple of years before I realised that DHs bank offered travel insurance as part of his account! He'd had it for years but not realised/remembered (dingbat).

oldraver · 09/04/2012 21:25

My son did this once when he went on a lads holiday. When he told me and I was incredulous he initially said "yea but its just fusspots like Nana that bother with that kind of stuff".

Its about the only time I have shouted lost it with him.

CMOTDibbler · 09/04/2012 21:26

RuloesBritannia - Which do an annual thing on travel insurance for the older traveller, and the premiums can be very reasonable still

startail · 09/04/2012 21:26

Having had to cancel on the day of travel due to DD breaking her arm while I was packing, insurance rocks.

gordyslovesheep · 09/04/2012 21:27

I would never be without it - mine is part of my bank account - absolutely brilliant it was when my appendix burst while in Spain - 14 weeks pregnant! never had to worry about a single bill and had brilliant medical care

Helenagrace · 09/04/2012 21:45

Years ago when I was a manager in the NHS I had to deal with a young woman who had gone off round Europe with no insurance. She had appendicitis and a botched operation. She ended up being flown home by the RAF minus her appendix, uterus, ovaries and a major part of her bowel. She was also septic and went straight into our ITU.

It cost her parents £60k and they had to remortgage to pay it.

I'd never go anywhere without travel insurance.

MousyMouse · 09/04/2012 21:57

please also take out travel insurance if you only go out to europe.
private liability is a biggie (usally covered by the insurance), for bigger incidents (causing injuries/death to other persons) in many european countries you are buggered. do you have a couple of millions spare to pay out to someone?

Wallace · 09/04/2012 22:00

Ds1 broke his leg in Spain last year. We had (very cheap) insurance.

Without the insurance he would have been treated in the extremely full cattle market local hospital.

He had a private room in a private hospital. Surgery as soon as he was ready and we got flown home, plus a private hire taxi home (130ish miles from airport)

Adversecamber · 09/04/2012 22:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Neverever · 09/04/2012 22:08

Yabu, you don't know everyone's circumstances therefore can't decide everyone should have to take it out, my dgf has heart problems and was going through treatment for cancer, he goes on alot of holidays but was having increasing difficulty getting insurance so decided to not bother as he could afford if anything happened to him so his choice.

MousyMouse · 09/04/2012 22:33

the health part is only one part of the insurance. what it usually also covers is liability, luggage...

TheSecondComing · 09/04/2012 22:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

trixymalixy · 09/04/2012 22:42

TSC we have the same problem as DS has allergies and asthma. We use Columbus. We pay quite a bit for it, but worth it in case we have to cancel a holiday if DS is in hospital or gets illl on holiday.

SoftKittyWarmKitty · 09/04/2012 22:43

YANBU. I recall a story on the local news last year about a bloke who'd gone away (to get married, I think) and something happened that left him very ill, in a coma iirc. He had no insurance so the family were trying to raise tens of thousands to pay for the treatment he'd already had and to bring him home. Anyone can be a victim of circumstance, accident, illness, theft, attack, volcano dust clouds etc. Why take the risk when insurance is so cheap?

I have a pre-existing medical condition which I fully declared on my insurance (it doesn't affect my day-to-day life but I'm on medication) and my insurance for a week in Lanzarote last year for me and DS was only £36, a fraction of the holiday cost. The previous year we were away in Ibiza and DS fell and cracked his head on a marble floor, resulting in a visit to a doctor. When I got home I claimed the money back (minus £60 excess) very quickly. Well worth the premium imo.

SoftKittyWarmKitty · 09/04/2012 22:44

I used Insure & Go for both holidays, in case anyone's looking for a good insurer.

maristella · 09/04/2012 22:47

My travel insurance comes with my bank account and covers me and DS.
I've thankfully not had to use it for anything, other than to claim for being delayed coming back.

However when DS was small I stupidly travelled without insurance, and DS got really unwell with a horrible bug. There is nothing scarier than travelling abroad with a poorly little one and no insurance.

ShellyBoobs · 09/04/2012 22:50

The £10, £25 policies don't really cover you for anything realistic.

You can, for £7.00, buy travel insurance for 2 weeks in Spain through Debenhams which provides £10m of medical cover, £3000 cancellation cover and £1500 baggage. It also covers legal expenses.

I'm not sure why someone wouldn't think that was reasonable cover?

A colleague of mine was in Spain recently and contracted food poisoning. She was hospitalised for 2 days and received fantastic treatment which was covered without any quibble by the insurer. Yes, she could have insisted on state medical treatment but it's not always so easily accessible as we expect in the UK; some medical centres only offer 'free' treatment at certain times and even ambulances are often privately run in some areas.

Would you really want to be trying to find the appropriate 'free' treatment while incapacitated as my colleague was? All her DH did was ask the hotel to call a doctor and, while he was on his way, phone the insurer. They took care of everything with no other contact from the colleague or her DH.

Bogeyface · 09/04/2012 22:54

This links to all the stories printed in our local paper about a young man who went to bali with no insurance. He was in an accident and his parents had to remortgage their home, take out loans and fundraise to pay for his care otherwise he would have died. They then had to do the same again to bring him home.

To people who dont buy insurance, please read the articles. YOU may not care if you have no insurance, but I am damn sure that your family wouldnt want to be lumbered with the costs of your "it'll be fine" attitude!

FashionEaster · 09/04/2012 22:54

Would you get insurance for going away in the UK?

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