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

[cwtch4967]

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???

Bogeyface- You may find Parakeets choices but I'm afraid it's the way the NHS works. There is a price on each and every one of our heads and if a treatment isn't deemed to be cost effective then it's not going to be given.

If I had to choose between £3500 to keep a cat alive and keeping a roof over my children's head and food in their tummies then I would choose the latter. Call me disgusting if you wish but it's not going to put the money into my bank account is it?

Anyone else's thoughts turning to various relatives who probably don't take out travel insurance? I can think of one disorganised corner cutting Aunt who might be guilty of that!

What on earth would we do if Auntie asks us for our lifes savings so she can be treated abroad? "Yes, no problem , but I do need you to sign here so I now own your house"

That chap in the Burton Mail link cost his relatives £230 thousand pounds plus 20 thousand to fly home. OMG with Knobs on!!

Will check with school re insurance, thanks.

When we booked to go on holiday last year we had to either take out the company's insurance or provide cover of independent insurance (which we did, for a fraction of the price ) It seems reasonable to make insurance compulsory for package holidays, I guess it's more difficult when people book flights etc all separately.

Just had another look at that link about that man who had the bike smash in Bali - I seem to remember from years ago, holidaying in Kavos (YEARS ago) that the travel insurance we took out was invalid for any motorbike accidents, on the grounds that the motorbikes for hire there could be pretty ropey, they didn't usually have helmets and it was bloody dangerous. Not my idea of fun anyway but something else to be wary of when taking out insurance - make sure what you want to do is actually covered!

Having worked for years as a consular officer in UK embassies overseas, the saddest thing is to see a family have to make a decision on what will happen t a deceased relative based on finances. It costs a lot of money to repatriate a body from overseas, so that a funeral can be held with friends and relatives at home and be buried there. Travel insurance will usually cover all those costs. It's heart breaking that in the absence of insurance to cover the repatriation, people have to be cremated locally, without relatives present if the family can't afford to pay.
Travelling without insurance really is a false economy, fork out the extra cash for a policy for peace of mind for you and your family. One elderly lady I dealt with said she'd never had a better return on an investment after her insuarance company paid over £100,000 for a helicopter and hospital treatment after she broke her leg up a mountain. She paid £70 for the policy!

On our hols last year one family had to stay for an extra 2 weeks when their DD got chicken pox a couple of days before they were due to fly home. The cost of that stay would have doubled the cost of their holiday! Thankfully the insurance company was sensible and paid up without any fuss.

On the same holiday a chap broke his leg walking out of the sea - unbelievably unlucky and again he had to stay on until he could fly (notwithstanding the hosp treatment etc)

Travel insurance is a must for me, as is life, home, phone, car and pet. As an aside my boss has a lot of pets. Her dog insurance alone is £100 a month - but it's worth it. Her oldest dog has cost something in the region of 10k in the last 8 years. Her two youngest have arthritis type illnesses that need monthly injections that would cost £100 alone - her insurance will pay for these until the end of their lives, which hopefully won't be for at least 10 years. NOT being insured would have been a bloody nightmare.

Like Eve said, even simple things can happen that can put people massively out of pocket.

I agree travel insurance is vital. I have a long term condition which means insurance is difficult to get and expensive (about £100 for a ten day European holiday). We are staying in the UK this year.

Last year, we booked a v expensive holiday (cruise), and I paid for myself and my family to be covered on a high risk policy. We had to cancel on the day of the holiday because dd2 (healthy child) caught norovirus. The insurance company paid up because although dd2's illness was not serious it was not possible to cruise with.

A car trip to Normandy/Brittany/Vendee does not realistically foresee the need for a Medivac. You can put the casualty in your car and drive them home.

There are any number of medical conditions/potential situations whereby a long car journey would not be possible, or medically advisable. Which means extra accommodation costs whilst you are waiting for the patient to recover.

Travel insurance is a no-brainer for me.

I had a family member who died unexpectedly while abroad. For a few days we couldn't find his insurance details and they said they wouldn't release his body till they did. I'm sure we could've paid but it would've been tens of thousands.
The insurance company sorted everything- the costs out there, international funeral directors, repatriation of the body etc etc. It was an awful time- I cannot imagine how much worse if we had been trying to raise lots of money too.
Now if we go abroad I make sure someone in uk has the insurance details just in case.

nbyat or even a little further South, it's pretty good to get your money back when one of the children ends up having a smashed leg pinned and plated three days before you were due to go - still ruins the bloody summer though.

Sorry - stupid question from a yank here.

I rarely see people get travel insurance out here, except for the ones you can get when you purchase your ticket, you tick the box and its done. These are rather cheap, maybe $75, and I have never actually gotten travel insurance in all my years so have no idea what you get for that.

Does the travel insurance that you get with your ticket cover a serious incident, like heart attacks abroad and or just flight/luggage issues? Or do you have to go to dedicated travel insurance sites separately and sign up for those?

It may only cover what a typical US health care policy does not cover.

So if your HMO covers emergency treatment abroad, then all your travel insurance needs to have is accident/theft/cancellation cover.

From a British point of view, medical care is free at the point of use, so everything encountered abroad is extra.

When you purchase your ticket it will probably be insurance for health as well, but you do need to check as sometimes it is just the ticket. Generally cheap insurance has lots of exclusions though and will certainly exclude any pre existing conditions. Look on the net for decent travel insurance and use a screenscraper. If you are young and healthy it won't cost that much.

DOG Sorry to hear about your parents nightmare trip to Thailand. Thank goodness it was covered by insurance.

My father also broke his back in Thailand, but didn't have any insurance. He had previously saved quite a considerable sum for his retirement, but is now well and truly penniless. The fallout has been totally devastating.

I am 100% for insurance, having delt with people with insufficient insurance abroad and having to pay a fortune for treatment - people in tears as they diddn't have enough money to pay for treatment. People who couldn't afford to stay with relatives who were unfit to travel back on the departure date.. the list goes on .. As said read the small print .
Also if you are going longhaul and even if you are passing the USA but not staying e.g en route to say New Zealand via USa to take the worlwide cover inc USA. I know of someone who in transit in Los Angeles who slipped in the terminal and was taken to hospital £28,000 later she was permitted to travel onwards. Her insurance was worldwide but NOT USA ....

All these horror stories are truly frightening!

Now I know, get insurance while travelling

This kind of thing makes my blood boil and yes it's been said before. If you can't afford insurance, then you can't afford to travel. My niece spent £15 on insurance for snowboarding. She broke her back on day 2 and was hospitalised fro 4 weeks, transferred from Italy to Switzerland, because the ins co thought the care was better in Switzerland and then flown home. Not bad value for£15, she was fine but almost died when she saw that the insurance co paid out over £45k! Grow up you people who think you are too clever to need it!

Ignoring the accident side in the holiday country, what if you have to cancel the holiday before you have even left?

wow night of the living thread

Some advice when you're buying insurance - be 100% truthful when you fill in the form.
If you have an ongoing medical condition, or previous medical history, disclose it. If in doubt - just disclose it.

Insurance companies employ people to work on each claim to try and avoid paying out. Yes, that may sound harsh, but they are a business, with accountability to shareholders. If you play by the rules you'll be fine.

For example, if you suffer from mild asthma, only need an inhaler when you have a cough/cold. You decide not to disclose it. You break your leg on holiday, and the ins co will liaise with your GP for whatever reason (you agree to this, it's in the small print). The insurance company will ask your GP about any pre existing conditions. The doctor tells them about the asthma - he has a duty to be truthful. The ins company CAN and very often WILL refuse to pay out. It doesn't matter if it has no connection with your broken leg. If they can prove you were not truthful when you applied for ins, then they will not pay the 40 - 50 k, it costs you to get back .......