to take my child abroad without insurance?

[iambouddica]

Is it madness to take a 3 year old to France without comprehensive insurance?

DC2 is currently having investigations into a mysterious illness that keep reoccuring. The symptoms during flare ups have (so far) been mild enough to manage at home - although he has received antibiotics on a few occasions just in case... the rest of the time he is fine.

Unfortunately as the condition is undiagnosed we can’t get insurance that will cover him. In theory our insurance would still pay out if the problem was unrelated to the current issue - so if he broke a leg it should be ok... but I worry that the insurance company will refuse to cover much else as even our own consultant isn’t sure what is going on. We will have our EHIC cards of course and can be flexible with travel plans if needed to work around any flare up.

Should we cancel our holiday plans now?

Tough one, but on balance I probably wouldn’t go.

We ended up in hospital in France and didn’t pay anything, all covered under EHIC

That’s assuming you are going before the UK leave the EU of course

With the illness being undiagnosed i wouldn't go without full cover as you just don't know what could happen.

Personally, I think travelling abroad without health insurance is insane. I think doing that with a child is even more dangerous, and doing it with a child who has had a recurring mystery illness is even more ludicrous. You wouldn't drive around in an uninsured car, or have a lovely uninsured house, so why on earth do people risk it with health and foreign travel? I honestly don't get it.

Have you tried Staysure insurance? We used them when both of my kids were under medical investigation for various things. They basically covered everything but anything related to the issues being investigated. Having insurance in place for everything else is important, what if your child breaks a leg or you're in a car accident or something.

Surely if your child has no diagnosed illness, then there’s nothing to declare on the insurance? So you can just insure them and go on the holiday, and if any medical attention is required then they will pay out? Or am I missing something?

Imagine if he was unwell on holiday and needed to see a doctor and get a prescription, and those costs weren’t fully covered by the EHIC. If that in turn meant that you needed to book new flights and extend your accommodation because he couldn’t travel back as originally planned. Could you afford all that? If yes then crack on and have a great holiday although I’d still take out travel insurance for broken leg/lost luggage type scenarios. If not then I would cancel.

Do you have hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay should the shit hit the fan?

Well I have done that many many times BUT I didn’t have a child that was likely to be ill.

If you go to France, the EHIC will cover a lot of the cost BUT NOT ALL THE COST. Be aware that you might still have to pay for some stuff (as French people do - but they also usually have some extra insurance that covers the difference)

Thanks for the verdict mumsnetters. Just wondering if the following makes a difference...

We will be driving to a house owned by a family member. The ferry tickets are flexible so there is no issue with having to change our dates or stay more days. I think we are only considering it as it is an area we know very well - we even have a lot of experience with the local hospital etc after issues on previous trips. We could top ups to the French/EHIC system ( normally20% if I remember rightly) - but and of course here is the big BUT... only up to a certain point. We don’t have funds for medical repatriation for example.

We’ve been looking forward to this trip all year but we are now looking at alternatives closer to home.

I never used to think much of it but after seeing a family member go through an unexpected illness abroad and the fuck ton of stress it caused getting them back (and that’s with insurance), I vowed never to travel without it.

No no, no. Hugely bad idea.

I've dealt with the fallout of people travelling without insurance - it gets expensive very, very quickly.

Try Staysure, or google travel insurance brokers as lots of them do specialist cover. It won't be cheap, but I guarantee that it will cost less than covering her medical expenses yourself if something goes wrong.

@fairynick when taking out insurance you have to tell them if anyone is undergoing tests or investigations for undiagnosed symptoms. They won't cover an undiagnosed illness. If you don't tell them your insurance will be invalid if it comes to light.

One of my nephews fell down some steps whilst abroad. Bumped his head and had concussion. Last day of their holiday. Extended hotel stays, new flights and a hospital stay later came to £10k.

I would normally do don't do it, but we have similar issues that aren't covered. GP had always let us take a just in case script for antibiotics.

It sounds like something that is not rapid onset.

How are you traveling to France? Where's in France will you be?

If you are driving and will be Northern France I would say yes as you can get back to UK in several hours if they get ill. If you are flying/train and going far South I would ask GP.

It also sounds like any care your DC has needed related to illness has been GP, so shouldn't cost you too much of they would need to see one out there.

Unfortunately even Staysure and the like won’t cover an undiagnosed condition because it is an undisclosed risk. I used to sell travel insurance and as part of it had some training about how claims were paid.

My big worry is not the exisiting issue itself. We can manage that ourselves... but if he develops something else medical that needs urgent treatment. Unless we can prove that it isn’t related then the insurance won’t cover it. And at present no one is sure what is causing the pre-existing condition.

I think I’d probably risk it. French emergency cover is reasonable and the reciprocal arrangements work well.

Insane to even consist it unless you've got the money to easily pay for anything you may need should something happen.

But where and how you travel are key? We have traveled uncovered and kids got I'll but we only 2 hours to get to get back to UK

I think this is something you need to ask Drs. If up until now it hasn't turned into a medical emergency is there any reason to think it may?

Absolute madness. Emergency medical costs can run into tens of thousands.

And by that I mean it's madness even without the current health conditions. God forbid he is involved in a traffic accident and isn't covered for example

I think the idea is insurance other than for the mystery condition. Not no insurance which is a big difference

If family own the house - ask their opinion on costs. As I understand it in France it’s a mixed public and private system (you “top up” on the free bit) so it may not be extortionate. If you have a decent emergency fund you’re willing to pillage I would go.

Tricky one. Given his symptoms so far have been manageable I would probably go. But that might not be the best advice to adhere to.

No I wouldn’t go without insurance.