Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why people don't buy travel insurance?

622 replies

EveningHare · 09/04/2018 07:05

If you can afford a holiday then you should not look at travel insurance as an optional extra

It's vital that you have it, anything could happen and if you don't have lots of money in the bank, how would you pay for it? Go fund me?

OP posts:
LifeofClimb · 09/04/2018 13:09

I also got several thousand back (the full cost of the holiday) when my holiday was cancelled due to a volcano eruption - I thanked the stars Thomas Cook came up trumps because a lot of other companies don't include "acts of god"! I was so thankful.

LoniceraJaponica · 09/04/2018 13:13

Have you checked with every specialist insurance company Shameless?

In the US they are extremely ruthless about not treating you if you fall ill and have no medical insurance.

“Because insurance is a racket, and people are perfectly free not to engage with it when no harm will accrue to third parties. Good for them.”

No. Not good for them Hmm
IMO there are some types of insurance that should be compulsory, and travel insurance is one of them, especially if travelling to the US. It doesn’t add much to the cost of a holiday after all. OH had to claim after being bitten by an insect in Switzerland and developing cellulitis. The insurance company paid out. They aren’t all crooks.

“The idea that if you don’t get it you can’t afford a holiday is bizarre-“

No it isn’t. It really isn’t. Basic travel insurance is not expensive – under £10.

I don’t understand why people wait until they go away to get travel insurance. If you take it out when booking the holiday it covers cancellations as well.

TheAvengers33 · 09/04/2018 13:13

Some people don't even remember!! On a big family trip away one year my sis in law completely forgot and I made her get it for her and her ds the night before, I filled in the forms etc online and just put her card details in... It was lucky as her ds had an accident and broke his arm, the insurance covered £5000 of bills and she had £100 excess, she was the only one who needed it... She didn't think it was initially important to get it and was wondering why I was making a big deal of it.. The insurance cost her less than £20! Honestly, don't know why some take the risk... Now I better go get some travel insurance for myself after saying all that... Thanks for reminding me! Its been on my list of things to do!

RepealMay25th · 09/04/2018 13:17

No it isn’t. It really isn’t. Basic travel insurance is not expensive – under £10

Did you ignore the many many posts saying that its not anything like that cheap for a lot of people? Not to mention that 10 pound insurance is not going to cover very much.

BarbaraofSevillle · 09/04/2018 13:17

snewsname

Yes, our Monarch flights cost about £300 and the Jet2 flights we bought to replace them cost just over £500 and the Tesco credit card I paid for the Monarch flights on, but not the Jet2 ones as it happens, paid the full cost of the Jet2 flights, but I did have to push a bit as they first refunded the £300 as a chargeback and I had to ask for the difference between the cheaper Monarch flights and the Jet2 ones, which they refunded under Section 75.

We were very lucky. There had been some rumblings over the weekend that Monarch were in trouble and I had a bad feeling about it and when I got up on the Monday and put the news on to see they had gone bust overnight, I was straight on the internet looking for replacement flights as we were flying only a couple of days later and I knew there would be hundreds of people in the same position as us on that flight alone and I managed to get replacement flights from the same airport on the same days for a fairly reasonable price. I looked later in the day and prices (for 2 return flights to Mallorca) were over £1k pp Shock or just not available at all.

snewsname · 09/04/2018 13:19

I agree that it is vital to be taken out, yet it's annoying that people are still insisting its always cheap. As loads of people have said, for some it really isn't cheap. But it's still a risk that shouldn't be taken.

snewsname · 09/04/2018 13:20

Barbara I wonder if it's worth trying to claim the difference now?

UndomesticHousewife · 09/04/2018 13:22

I’ve paid nearly £200 for our insurance for a week in Europe. One of dc has a previous medical condition and I declared everything I could think of. It wouldn’t be worth it if she broke her leg and they wouldn’t pay out because I hadn’t told them of her condition.
I declared ds’s asthma too which stupidly I’d never even thought before to declare but I remembered as we went through the whole family’s medication.

penguinsandpanda · 09/04/2018 13:25

I have taken it out but its actually difficult if you are going through tests. First company refused to insure DH or I. Second company would but we have to phone back with every result and could then have insurance invalidated if it turns out I have cancer. Obviously will have to look into the options then but I am having tests at 4 hospitals and DH at 1 but we don't want kids to not have a summer holiday and when I booked it didn't now I would suddenly be getting 3 cancer tests.

penguinsandpanda · 09/04/2018 13:28

Ours is several hundred and taking it with the flights wasn't an option due to pre existing conditions - cancellation is still covered if you take it out later but obviously only from the date you take it out. If I got a cancer diagnosis I don't think insurance will pay out.

specialsubject · 09/04/2018 13:29

There's a gofundme running at the moment for someone with life changing injuries, thousands of miles from home and no insurance despite being a regular holidaymaker.

The family can either leave the person where they are or fork out tens of thousands for treatment and medevac. Also no cover for the loss of abilities and the changes that will be needed. The campaign is not producing much because the person is not a famous sports star - there's one such who is only alive because of £300k paid by others.

That's what not having travel insurance can do.

specialsubject · 09/04/2018 13:30

...and buy it the day you book the trip.

sofato5miles · 09/04/2018 13:33

My DS fell ill on holiday to Australia. Until we sorted out the insurance we had to pay a £20k deposit as he was admitted to intensive care and then once insurance was squared it came to £60k.

kaytee87 · 09/04/2018 13:34

I agree op and then there's people that book it the night before they go away. That's not going to help when you break a bone the month before you fly and can't go.

NowToWork · 09/04/2018 13:34

And remind your teens / twentysomethings that they aren't covered for motorbikes.

Sprinklesinmyelbow · 09/04/2018 13:38

What if you didn’t have £20k sofa? Most people don’t have it easily available

YouCantGetHereFromThere · 09/04/2018 13:44

I'm in the US and looking for annual travel insurance for the family to travel outside the US. My quotes so far are $350 but very limited cover other than medical (eg $200 if bags are stolen, no car cover) or $400 for slightly better cover but they won't cover my daughter's nut allergy.

I'm going to buy it, but it's a lot of money.

Our Anthem health insurance actually covers us pretty well in other countries, but we have a $12k excess before they actually start paying for anything.

RoadToRivendell · 09/04/2018 13:48

Because insurance is a racket

In what sense?

I'm American and insurance practically runs in my blood (daughter of an accountant, natch). I've always been mystified by British people's ambivalence towards insurance - I guess it's part of the socialist experience.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 09/04/2018 13:49

It's perfectly true that insurance isn't cheap for everyone, as I know only too well when declaring some medical issues means I'm charged more

But "them's the breaks" unfortunately; if at some point I can't afford it then I simply won't go. In life we can't always have exactly what we want exactly as we want it, and expecting someone else to cough up if it all goes wrong hardly seems fair

RepealMay25th · 09/04/2018 13:50

But "them's the breaks" unfortunately

yes and most of us just pay it. But if people could shut up with the "its only a tenner just pay it" that would be nice.

Sprinklesinmyelbow · 09/04/2018 13:59

Well it’s not the breaks is it? You’re free to travel without insurance and take the risk if you please
(accepting holidays you aren’t allowed to book/ countries you aren’t allowed to visit without insurance)

squishee · 09/04/2018 14:11

Roussette, thanks for your comments. My DM is over 75.
We have got quotes from several insurance companies, and so far they are all around the 550 quid mark. This is cover for a single 2-week holiday in the US. I've seen some even more ridiculous prices quoted by PP on this thread. It really can get ridiculous.
DM is not sure what to do. Especially as she has no computer/ Internet access so she has to rely on other people doing the online research.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 09/04/2018 14:15

RoadToRivendell I spend a great deal of time in the US and often notice Americans' willingness to shout out if they feel they're being cheated, as opposed to the more "British" habit of grumbling but not making much of a fuss ... I wonder if this has anything to do with insurance industry transparency and how they're perceived?

With my cynical British hat on, I remember being a bit narrow-eyed with an insurance agent who said how pleased he was about their payout to a family in need. Granted there are sharks everywhere, but maybe it says something about expectations and how companies have to respond if they want the business?

Sprinklesinmyelbow · 09/04/2018 14:16

I think a lot of people, despite buying insurance, don’t really expect it to pay out because they expect the insurance company to find any reason not to. I think that’s changing but they certainly had a bad rep in the 80s/ 90s and that remains for some people

DairyisClosed · 09/04/2018 14:17

We have it all year round as an add on to our bank accounts. It can make you a bit lax about it though. I will admit that we have taken off to Paris for the weekend assuming we were covered without actually checking our cover.

Swipe left for the next trending thread