AIBU to tell you to advise you to get insurance when you travel?

[Frannyhy]

Airbnb guest arriving yesterday had her flight cancelled. She asked me to change her reservation to today. I called Airbnb for advice. Of course they will alter a reservation which I am quite happy with.

But and it’s a big but, they say any refund is at my discretion. I’m not giving her one - this is the third time this has happened this year and I’m not taking the hit for this. I have refused everyone.

Of course if they wish to cancel the reservation and get a partial refund that’s up to them.

A few pounds spent on travel insurance would avoid this. It’s money well spent.

I'm presuming the latter!

We were also paid out for a holiday cancellation due to illness without quibble and was quite surprised because DP was diagnosed with an illness after going to the doctors several times feeling generally unwell and I'm sure if you looked close enough there was probably something he hadn't told the insurers about 'tests and investigations' that they could have used to not pay out if they'd wanted to.

He didn't even have to cancel - you could have argued it was 'disinclination to travel' as it was an activity holiday and the illness meant he couldn't do the activity. He could easily have gone and spent a week relaxing in the sun instead.

We had to claim on our travel insurance after I was ill in Thailand. Thankfully after IV anti-biotics and fluids I was right as rain but the bill was quite costly. Contacted our travel insurance when we returned and they authorised the claim there and then and said they didn't need proof even though we offered it. Money was in our account the same day.

I've never been abroad without insurance and never would. The DC are silly and accident prone at the best of times but (touching wood as I type this) haven't ever needed care abroad yet.

A friend had a hen weekend abroad last summer and was very unwell while we were there; the bill for her treatment was astronomical and she had no insurance. It's crazy to even think of going anywhere uninsured.

We also got paid out a week before a £7k holiday of a lifetime. DH went for a routine test and was hauled into hospital for emergency surgery.
We got every penny back less £100 excess each. I'd never travel without it and buy it as soon as we've booked.

You should never, ever travel abroad without insurance. Even within the EU.

You may get emergency medical care but unless you have insurance, you will not get a medical transfer home (so you would be stuck there until you are discharged from hospital and are able to travel home on a normal flight). A medical flight can cost tens of thousands of pounds.

I used to work in professional sport and one of our players got severely injured in another EU country. Not only did the insurance cover everything but they liaised with the hospital about the medical requirements and specifications for the plane and the medical staff who would travel with him. It is not just about getting reimbursed for a doctor's visit.

Plus if you die, your family will also have to pay to fly your body home which can cost thousands.

I’ve annual travel insurance for me and DD - it covers winter sports but if I’m parapenting or I’m going on a wacky trip like hiking at altitude I top it up appropriately after ck texting the insurer - main reason is to cover medical bills , repatriation if injured ( or in a box ) .

Another important point is to make sure that your nearest and dearest back home know about your travel insurance policy. So that if you're incapacitated abroad, someone else can organise your insurance. There was a case last year about someone who was in a coma abroad after an accident, and whilst the family knew he had insurance, they didn't have any details, not even the name of the insurance company. That's the problem now so much is paperless and done online.

I have annual cover, for our family we pay 21 euro a month, we travel a lot and it does not just cover holiday type travel, it also has cancellation insurance that covers things like concerts too. We were supposed to go on a rather expensive family holiday earlier this year that we had to cancel four days ahead as I needed emergency medical treatment - every cent of that holiday was covered and was back in my account in the same week, effectively meaning several years worth of insurance has paid for itself . I cannot imagine travelling without it, especially with a child. It's deeply irresponsible not to have it, it's a cost that needs to be factored into a holiday budget.

The older people thing - I could not find any company that would cover my parents after 75 despite no scary illnesses existing. Even over 70 it was limited and unless you had private health insurance was extremely expensive.

Kazzy That’s an excellent point and not one I had thought of before. I will do that in future.

I could not find any company that would cover my parents after 75 despite no scary illnesses existing.

That's odd. We've just been on a cruise with my 79 year old mother in law, an OH with terminal cancer and myself with high blood pressure and diabetes. No trouble at all using a comparison website to find a decent insurance policy covering all pre-existing conditions. I had expected real problems, especially since cruise insurance is said to be expensive/difficult for pre existing conditions. I took notes of the prices quoted before/after I entered each pre-existing condition. MIL cost about £100 more, OH and myself cost about £50 more each, so total policy cost was only about £200 more than if we were all middle aged with no health conditions - not bad at all for a £10k cruise!

Downside with travel insurance is that small print usually excludes illness of over 80 year olds.

Utter rubbish.

Not utter rubbish. Should have made it clearer, I'm talking about cancellation insurance. It's not my age that's the problem, it's the age of the person whose serious illness might prevent my travel. And yes, it's perfectly logical that it's not covered, but it does mean that for people in my situation, there's no point in cancellation insurance if the main risk you're worrying about is elderly relative illness.

I booked my USA holiday on Saturday. Within an hour I'd sorted the travel insurance. It's just not worth it.

As an aside, I had cause to visit the emergency room in LA once. I'd woken up and my face had swollen to twice the size due to a tooth abscess. I was seen in minutes, handed a script painkillers and antibiotics and sent on my way. They never billed me for any treatment. Fortunately by the following day I wasas normal as it gets again .

but pretty sure a lot of the unpaid claims are because people haven't been entirely honest on their proposal forms or can't back up their claims for losses.

100% right. The idea that an insurance co refuses to pay for no reason is just rubbish. They refuse to pay because you never told them the full truth in the first place, the thing you want to claim for isn't covered by the policy you bought, or you're exaggerating/making up the claim and you can't provide evidence when they ask.

And when people say small print, they usually mean normal sized print that they were too lazy to read.

The idea that an insurance co refuses to pay for no reason is just rubbish.

Yep, have to agree with that. Because of all the people who claim that insurance firms wriggle out, I am paranoid about reading the policy details and ensuring full disclosure before I buy any insurance. I've never had a single claim refused - that includes travel insurance for cancellation, a couple of car accidents, house damage and a theft.

I've had a couple of clients wanting to claim loss of income on their insurance and both wanted me to fabricate accounts/income confirmation statements so they could claim more. They're both exactly the kind of people who'd loud mouth it saying insurance firms wriggle out of claims. One spent hours whinging that they didn't pay out on a previous claim when he tried to claim for loss of a Rolex watch (which was in fact a replica one bought in Turkey!).

Really Kazzy? Can you pm me the company? Assuming I can use a UK company of course...

And yes, it's perfectly logical that it's not covered, but it does mean that for people in my situation, there's no point in cancellation insurance if the main risk you're worrying about is elderly relative illness.

But that doesnr make sense. Just because you have an elderly sick relative, doesnt mean all the other reasons you may have to cancel are less likely to happen.

It doesnt make sense to not have cancellation insurance, just because of that.

As a side point. I do agree that most people who say insurance companies have wriggled out of paying or found a loop hole, mean that actually they forgot to tell the insurance company the really sound have told them. Or more not told them on purpose

And make sure your cover actually insured for what you’re doing.

I do lots of activity holidays and most standard insurance doesn’t cover for hiking over 3000m altitude, hot air ballooning, white water rafting etc.

And then read the conditions attached - licensed guides and companies for some activities.

A girl who was staying at our hotel was having issues after a raft capsized - she had standard MasterCard insurance that didn’t cover for high risk activities and her insurance wouldn’t cover for her dislocated shoulder, and wasn’t allowed to fly by the doctors.

Another important point is to make sure that your nearest and dearest back home know about your travel insurance policy

I always print off the front page and stick it with my passport/travel documents.

A girl who was staying at our hotel was having issues after a raft capsized - she had standard MasterCard insurance that didn’t cover for high risk activities and her insurance wouldn’t cover for her dislocated shoulder

This is the kind of idiot that then goes on social media to moan that her insurance was a swizz because they refused to pay.

Any moron knows that if you have a bog standard insurance travel insurance, they ain't going to cover you for going over Niagara falls in a barrel.

I always print off the front page and stick it with my passport/travel documents.

Not much help if you've had an accident and your documents have been lost/destroyed.

I leave a copy at home in full view, and I also leave copies in my suitcase and hand luggage, so whether at home or in the hotel room, someone will be able to find the paperwork.

Just wondering ... if you go to a water park say somewhere like Spain and go on those fucking terrifying crazy "highest water slide in the world" type things and had an accident would that count as a high risk activity?

I mean I am way too scared to do them and to me you have to be a bit bonkers to even consider them but literally every other family we meet go to these place and make a day of mad activities like that.

I have travel insurance via my bank current acccount and it's been invaluable. Having never had to claim for over a decade, I've had to make four claims in less than a year, all of which were paid out. First due to additional costs when French air traffic controllers went on strike. Ryanair, whilst technically liable, were useless and paid far less than we'd been forced to spend out. Insurer paid out the difference with no quibbling.

Second, I got scratched by a kitten in Bali and had to have immunoglobulin injections, plus the vaccines. Total cost, £2700. Paid out in full.

Then I got appendicitis whilst on a UK weekend break, and a week before a planned trip to Spain. Both the curtailment, extra costs and the entire cancellation of the forthcoming holiday were paid out.

If I hadn't had insurance I'd be close to £5000 out of pocket.

Kazzy I do the same thing. Other Handy Hint taken from MN ... take a plain strip of washi tape and put on the back of each passport and write the holders name on with a sharpie. Such a small thing but a game changer when you have a handful of the buggers to get through the various checks.

But OP.....no I definitely think you're not being at all U.

My youngest had a febrel convulsion as we were in the tarmac going from one to country abroad to another in order to meet a cruise ship. 8.5k insurance claim.