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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
TheWinterofOurDiscountTentsMk2 · 12/09/2018 13:37

Yes, you are right. But they didn't buy it and now they are fucked and you telling them how stupid they were does not help them, does it? So why wouldn't people try anything to do whatever was necessary? What do you expect them to do, say "Oh I was so stupid not to get travel insurance, I'll just die quietly abroad so as not to look like a cheeky fucker"?

specialsubject · 12/09/2018 13:37

gappies are among the worst for this - off on their year of drinking and sex with randoms and wont spend the beer fund on insurance. standard policies dont work for long trips or if you are working.

in the relief of getting rid of them, do check they wont cost you your house.

DollyWilde · 12/09/2018 13:39

Whilst we're on the subject, can I remind people to book their insurance when they book the holiday and not the day before they go? Sick of seeing posts on here from people considering taking their infectious child on a plane because they were planning on getting insurance the day before the holiday and little Timmy came down with chickenpox three days before...

DelurkingAJ · 12/09/2018 13:43

If you medical condition is complex or you want to do a particular activity use a broker. Years ago I went to dance in a competition in the US. Read t&cs on standard insurance and realised that any competition injury was excluded. Walked into a broker and the policy was £5 more than the quote I’d had elsewhere.

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 12/09/2018 13:44

We have an annual policy that covers all our trips, so yes - including in the uk. I broke my phone and claimed on the travel insurance even though we weren't on holiday, it was just a day trip

buttermilkwaffles · 12/09/2018 13:56

If it was for a friend or family and you wanted to donate you are better off doing a bank transfer to their account as these fundraising websites take a hefty % (up to £1 in every £10 you 'donate' can be deducted for fees and charges), so people are basically donating money to a for profit corporation.

Toomuchgoingon · 12/09/2018 13:58

I have a complex medical condition and the quote just for me for 2 weeks in the US is nearly £1K. Will still purchase it though.

OliviaStabler · 12/09/2018 18:10

I wonder if people think the embassy will pay for them to go home etc

specialsubject · 12/09/2018 18:18

I think quite a few DO think that the embassy will pay for their flight home and treatment, even though there is lots of advice in big letters that they will not.

other misconceptions: an annual policy covers long trips, an EHIC is enough and yes, that buying the insurance can wait until the day before. No, no, no!

RomanyRoots · 12/09/2018 18:20

Going without travel insurance is silly in some cases, but look at what you are covered for, it isn't a lot.
Some people find their cover doesn't actually cover them.

MrTrebus · 12/09/2018 18:21

Dont forget those people that wont pay £50 per month for life/income protection/critical illness cover yet pay £150 per month for sky tv then wonder why they eventually get repossessed when the mortgage doesn't get paid. Irrelevant in a way but same old sob story! Rant over.

exLtEveDallas · 12/09/2018 18:32

My parents got the right hump with me when I told them off for considering a holiday without insurance - they were both in their 80s and said that the insurance costs were "too high" for a 2 week jaunt to Spain.

I pointed out that if they died I wouldn't be paying out a fortune to bring their body back for a funeral - they'd have to be cremated in situ.Shock

This was apparently wrong of me and bought on the mother of all sulks from my mum - but oh how relieved were they when Dad needed an extra week (and his own row on the plane back) following a fall and the insurance paid for it.

DoraJar · 12/09/2018 19:52

DS1 wasn’t going to bother with insurance for a month in Thailand! I insisted and paid for full medical cover costing a few hundred pounds. He was in an accident and was badly injured but fortunately nearly all costs were covered (although not without a fight with the insurance company - bastards!). He has never travelled without good medical insurance since!

DoraJar · 12/09/2018 19:55

Once the insurance company agreed to cover the costs this also covered a business flight which definitely helped son see the benefits (despite nearly losing a few toes!! Bloody kids)

safariboot · 12/09/2018 20:01

I've travelled with only an ehic in the past when I was young and foolish. Last holiday I was on I had proper travel insurance, and I needed it after a skiing accident. Very good insurer, I'm glad I didn't just go with whoever was cheapest.

I suspect horror stories or even past experience of insurers wriggling out of paying has put some people off.

glintandglide · 12/09/2018 20:04

You don’t have to donate do you? I don’t get the upset. Most of those fundraisers are questionable

brizzledrizzle · 12/09/2018 20:06

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

We have done before now, mainly because it covers you for cancellation. I wouldn't bother but if you are going with somebody who has a medical condition that makes cancellation quite likely it is financial common sense.

xyzandabc · 12/09/2018 20:10

Oh, this is my MIL. Tbf she doesn't go abroad often and it's just to Spain or similar but when I found out I told her how shocked I was.

It's just a waste of money as it was going to cost her £80 for a week in Spain. Mainly due to the fact she's had cancer and a few other conditions.
She claims if anything happened, she has enough savings to cover it.

I'm not sure she knows how much it costs to repatriate a body. And probably even more expensive to repatriate a seriously ill person. We're talking tens of thousands easily.

But apart from the money, the insurance companies have the contacts and experience of dealing with such situations. I could see me having to Google private medical ambulances abroad, airlines, what paperwork is required, permits for airside ambulance access, liaise with foreign hospitals, UK doctors etc etc whilst not having a clue what I was doing. And it would fall to me as both her sons are not great organisers.

Just get the damn insurance so someone else can help sort it all out.

Lostandfound81 · 12/09/2018 20:11

Isn’t this a bit like....

Someone losing a leg in a motorcycle accident
Someone breaking their back in a climbing accident
Someone sustaining serious head injuries whilst horse riding

All high risk activities. But no one would have a problem raising money for them.

This is similar. They took a risk. It backfired and now they need help.

I have only ever worked in insurance and I insure up to the hilt. Going abroad without travel insurance is utterly alien to me. However I don’t see this scenario as different from anyone else taking a risk and sustaining an injury and then needing help

agedknees · 12/09/2018 20:12

I was a nurse working in a travel clinic (nhs hospital). The number of people who used to kick off at me because they had to pay for their vaccinations when going on costly exotic holidays used to astound me.

Yanbu.

toolazytothinkofausername · 12/09/2018 20:15

YANBU!

Whenever I book flights, I straight away book the travel insurance at the same time. Costs less than £10, and gives you peace of mind.

jollyjester · 12/09/2018 20:16

It just shows how entitled some people can be.

We have an annual policy as DH travels a lot for work.

One exclusion I didn't realise in my younger years (over 10 years ago now) was some companies will only insure you as long as your holiday departs from your country of residence. For us that meant we weren't covered when we flew out of Dublin airport (we live in NI).
We had to pay in Australia for a doctor to dip test my daughters unrine at the end of an infection. First question asked at the desk was "how will you be paying today?"

Lockheart · 12/09/2018 20:18

*Isn’t this a bit like....

Someone losing a leg in a motorcycle accident
Someone breaking their back in a climbing accident
Someone sustaining serious head injuries whilst horse riding

All high risk activities. But no one would have a problem raising money for them.*

Well I would because if they’d done the above here then their care would be free - so why would you raise money to pay for their care?

If you go abroad, where healthcare is NOT free, then you’re extremely silly not to have insurance.

Petalflowers · 12/09/2018 20:20

My dh and I both have pre-existing conditions, and the insurance cost approx £100 (I think). Our holiday accomadation abroad only cost £600. However, would I travel abroad with out it. No.

I agree with the sentiment that if you can afford to,go on holiday abroad, then you can afford travel insurance. Maybe you will be only able to afford a slightly cheaper holiday, but you should still buy travel insurance,

Someone up the thread mentioned Brexit and how the EHIC cards won’t be valid. New travel insurance policies will incorporate the EC countries, so that won’t be a problem"

Also, why do people leave until a few days before travel before booking insurance. You should always buy it at time of booking.