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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Fundraisers for people who have gone on holiday without travel insurance.

131 replies

Sharksbees · 12/09/2018 07:33

Prepared to get flamed but Aibu to think not paying for travel insurance and expecting people to pick up the bill if you are ill is cheeky?

I might be a total bitch but our local media and Facebook groups seems to always have at least one of these fundraisers to bring people home because they've taken ill and have no travel insurance.

I know I don't have to contribute but surely if you can afford a 2K holiday you can afford travel insurance? Ours costs a fortune because we all have medical issues but I wouldn't dream of going without it. If I can't afford it (and this has been the case) we have travelled in the UK instead and if you don't have issues it's as little as £13!

I'm not talking about those where they have taken insurance and it won't pay out BTW but more those who put their pictures up drinking pints of beer but have no insurance.

OP posts:

NataliaOsipova · 12/09/2018 10:00

People buy travel insurance for travel within the U.K.?

Yes. Say, for example, you've booked an expensive holiday house and you're in hospital and can't go. You are still liable for that cost and the insurance would pay it.

MarthasGinYard · 12/09/2018 10:01

'The thing is that on the whole they try to raise more than just the cost of treatment etc and they become more like money grabbing exercises rather than genuine pleas for the correct amount of money.'

I've noticed this

They don't seem to close the page and the donations keep topping up

Then there is a 'will donate to charity' message....hhhhmmmm never actually see the evidence of that very often though.

NicoAndTheNiners · 12/09/2018 10:11

The only time I’ve ever had sympathy for someone was a pregnant British woman with travel insurance, had declared the pregnancy. Had a pre term birth while abroad and while she was covered the baby wasn’t. No idea how that turned out but she was terrified the hospital were going to stop treating the baby.

DragonScales · 12/09/2018 10:14

I've only needed to use our travel insurance once (dd fell over and had a cut that needed 4 stitches so a pretty minor thing health wise although it seemed horrific at the time )

The travel insurance dealt directly with the hospital to pay for the ambulance and hospital treatment. But we also missed our flight home, had to stay in a hotel for an extra day, etc. The cost of new flight the next day for our family and hotel was over £2000! Which was all covered by our insurance thankfully.

It's one of those things you have to buy although you hope to never actually need it.

mostdays · 12/09/2018 10:17

So you'd feel better if no one helped them?

Like you say, you don't have to contribute. Others may wish to. We're all different, some people prefer to help and some prefer to judge.

HPLikecraft · 12/09/2018 10:24

I've always found travel insurance to be pretty cheap. So silly not to get it. I've only used it once: DD (then aged about 8) stepped backwards without looking behind her in an art exhibition in France. She knocked over and broke a statue!
Insurance paid up, thankfully!

Loonoon · 12/09/2018 10:35

It’s not just for illness. There was a local tragedy recently when a young woman died suddenly overseas without insurance. Her family are very well off and could comfortably have afforded the cost of repatriating her remains but someone set up a Go Fund Me group for it. I think it was more as a way of showing support than out of any real need for financial aid. That being said, much as I grieved for their terrible loss, I didn’t make a donation.

Another youngster I know was nagged by her (sensible) travel companions into buying a travel insurance policy at the airport as they left for their gap year. A few days into the trip she broke her leg and pelvis in Central America. The ensuing costs ran into millions of dollars making her £30 policy bought from a vending machine the best value ever.

Witchofgoss · 12/09/2018 10:37

Travel insurance isn't necessarily cheap if you have pre-existing medical conditions. The cost can prevent some people from travelling abroad.

However, op yanbu. Crowd funding for this situation seems to be very prevalent my fb feed - I think the fact this now exists is actually discouraging people from buying insurance.

I have very little sympathy for people who are in good health and could buy a policy for £15 who then travel without or take part in a prohibited activity and have an accident.

PolkerrisBeach · 12/09/2018 10:37

They're idiots and certainly don't deserve a fundraising drive for them. Wouldn't contribute. Totally irresponsible.

Mulberry72 · 12/09/2018 10:39

If they can afford the holiday, they can afford the extra few pounds for insurance. My DM became ill while on holiday in the US (came home and died four weeks later) and her medical bills were edging towards 1 million dollars had it not been for her insurance we’d have been bankrupt, we don’t have that sort of money as a family.

It’s just completely stupid to take the risk. I never contribute to these GoFundMe things ever, they were daft enough to take the risk, deal with the consequences!

ItWentInMyEye · 12/09/2018 10:50

It's crazy to not buy travel insurance. For my family of 5, DD with serious allergies etc only cost £25 for 2 weeks in France. It's just not worth the worry of not having it. It should be mandatory when paying for travel & holidays.

Original poster

Sharksbees · 12/09/2018 11:08

Mostdays no of course I don't want people not to help them and like I've said this is not aimed at people who took insurance but it didn't cover them for their incident.

But I know someone who had no pre existing conditions and so travel insurance would have been cheap. Something happened and they had to raise thousands.

When the holiday photo they use has them sat at a table with bottles of wine and numerous beers which cost less than the travel insurance yes I'm going to judge!

I have a child with special needs and medical conditions, I have disabilities myself, my Mum has a serious heart condition. Insurance can be hundreds. If we cannot afford we don't go.

OP posts:

PavlovaFaith · 12/09/2018 11:21

I do hope it becomes mandatory. It's about the most irresponsible thing you could do on a holiday!

borlottibeans · 12/09/2018 12:14

We went on honeymoon without it, because it was going to cost about the same as another flight (to be fair, they were bloody cheap flights) when DH's mental health condition was taken into account. We took our EHIC cards and crossed our fingers, basically. However I wouldn't take that risk if we were leaving the EU (or being dragged out of it kicking and screaming as we will be next year) or if we had kids with us. And if something had happened I wouldn't be asking strangers to chip in to get us home.

It's a gamble - as is all insurance - and you need to weigh up the risks and benefits. If you get it wrong it is a bit cheeky to expect everyone else to pick up the pieces.

butterflysugarbaby · 12/09/2018 12:17

I would agree with you OP. But on some occasions, the person HAS had travel insurance, but the insurance company has pulled every excuse they can out of their arse, to not pay up!

OliviaStabler · 12/09/2018 12:27

If they can afford the holiday, they can afford the extra few pounds for insurance.

Saw a post a while back where someone was going on holiday with no insurance as they 'couldn't afford it'.

PolkerrisBeach · 12/09/2018 12:32

I do hope it becomes mandatory. It's about the most irresponsible thing you could do on a holiday!

I do a lot of writing about travel insurance and EHIC as part of my job, and a high-up travel official in Egypt stated recently that they're thinking about it. There has been a few high profile cases in the country where people have racked up huge hospital bills and not been able to pay it. Egypt isn't able to absorb those costs so is considering making insurance compulsory for everyone entering the country on a business trip or holiday. Just at the planning stage though, no details about how they'd propose enforcing it.

I'm sure in the past that travel companies like Thomas Cook would insist you supplied them with details of your insurance before your departure date. That's going back to the late 1990s though.

Fairyliz · 12/09/2018 12:46

Umm I wonder?
I'm in my 50s been travelling abroad over 40 years always had insurance but never claimed on it. Now I have a medical problem, underactive thyroid controlled with tablets, no problems. However as I declare it the premiums have shot up.
Then there is the problem of which policy you choose, a week in Spain I can be quoted anything from £30 to £200, which is the best? Then have you ever tried to read the policy terms and exclusions? Often it appears that if my luggage went missing I would be covered. But any health problems tied to thyroid seem to be disallowed.

DH recently declared he was having tests so lots of insurers would not quote for him, or quoted £300. Turns out it was a simple chest infection cured by antibiotics. But if he had not declared it and then say broken his leg on holiday he would not be covered because he had not made a full declaration even though the two are not related!

So I do sometimes book a policy without really knowing if I would be covered ,and wonder what is the point?.

Original poster

Sharksbees · 12/09/2018 12:56

Yes in the case where they have taken out insurance and its not paid out for whatever reason that is an entirely different matter and I would contribute if I could.

In the case where Joe Bloggs hasn't been arsed to pay £13 for at least basic cover and spent more than that on beer at the airport on the way not do much...

OP posts:

CurcubitaPepo · 12/09/2018 13:05

Insurance companies do seem to be asking more questions when taking out policies. When Dh and I went to the USA 20 years ago, we bought policies over the internet with no health questions asked. We’ve only recently started taking the kids abroad. I’ve been asked for all our heights and weights, any medications we’re on and any pre existing conditions. THeyre certainly a lot more thorough than they used to be.

MidniteScribbler · 12/09/2018 13:18

I personally believe that a citizen or permanent resident should not be able to leave their country without proof of sufficient insurance, and I think a foreign national should not be able to enter the country without proof of sufficient insurance. People need to take responsibility for themselves, and that means having the right insurance in place in case something goes wrong.

FishCanFly · 12/09/2018 13:22

Problem is if you get shitty insurance which doesn't cover what you need, or when it doesn't pay at once and you have to pay yourself only to get it backdated some time in the future.

Babdoc · 12/09/2018 13:27

Fairyliz, you should shop around. I’m also hypothyroid, controlled on tablets, and I always find a quote from a company that ignores it, as long as you’re in the euthyroid range and haven’t needed to see a specialist. Single trip cover for me is usually under £30.

stressedbeyond123 · 12/09/2018 13:29

Recently bought travel insurance for a 2 week holiday in Italy.

DH has asthma, DSD has asthma and Epilepsy - insurance for us all (5 in total) cost £68.00 or something like that, and that is with declaring with the medical issues.

its just not worth taking the chance going on holiday and having something happen that you can't afford to pay for. touch wood in all the years we have been travelling we have never had to use our insurance, but you can guarantee if we didn't have it, then something would happen!

ForalltheSaints · 12/09/2018 13:35

Brexit presents an opportunity to campaign to make sure people do go on holiday with travel insurance.

Would it be unreasonable if airlines, ferry companies and Eurostar/Eurotunnel said they will not take you if you don't?

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