To be angry at ds1 re travel insurance

[alrightluv]

FFS I know I'm not just need to vent.

Ds1 in in his mid 20s. Good job very intelligent. He's been travelling abroad a few times and is there now.

Just been chatting to him and ds2 on WhatsApp. Talking about meerkat code for cinema. I said he should have got his travel insurance through them. He said he doesn't have it! I couldn't fucking believe it.

I've sent a load of scary shit to him. Told him to get it NOW. I'm so angry.

I laid it on the line if anything happens to him it's mad amounts to get back here.

Rant over.

Yes, you are right. People seem to think doing a Gofundme when things go wrong is a substitute for travel insurance.

I’d go ape, too. So irresponsible, but of course they think nothing will ever happen to them….

A friend of a dd was once stuck in IIRC Thailand, after a fairly nasty motorbike accident. I didn’t know her, so forget who had to cough up - almost certainly her parents. These things happen!

Is he going on holiday and yes I agree with you

He's been on 3 trips abroad already this year and is away now.

And he's actually listened his cover starts tomorrow. So I said stay in your room today.

I think travel insurance and international health cover are two different things though.

Travel insurance- I'm meh about as every time I tried to claim (broken car seat, lost suitcase, cancelled flights) it was always rejected. They've never paid and I've spent fair few grand over the years

Health cover/insurance is obviously essential international cover for this doesn't cost that much at all. Dumb not to have it

If he is already away, will his cover count for current trip? I can imagine small print ...

He should get an annual policy or a bank account that comes with travel insurance, saves doing it for each trip. But honestly he’s an adult and it’s his problem.

I know it's his problem. Becomes others though if the worst happens.

I hope his cover does work for this trip?

Travel insurance also includes health cover though, different amounts depending on policy but is all on the one in the UK.

It won't pay out for things the airline should pay for so it makes sense to claim from the airline for things like a lost suitcase or broken travel seat. It's brilliant for the things covered on the policy though. Even a hotel night when there was an unexpected rail strike on my arrival day.

His cover won't work for this trip I'm afraid - unless it's an unusual policy. There is normally a statement that you can't have already started your trip at time of purchase.

It depends. I think this is the kind of thing that young people are often unaware of when they haven't ever had to think about. Have you discussed the importance of insurance with him previously?

When my dd first went on holiday with friends as a teenager, I asked her about travel insurance and it simply hadn't occurred to her because she hadn't ever had to think about it before and we hadn't really discussed it. I explained why it was important, helped her look at policies and encouraged her to insist that her friends took out appropriate insurance as well. They did.

From then on, she has just factored it into her plans. She has an annual policy at the moment as she is on a gap year and doing a lot of travelling. I don't think she will forget again, but I can see why a young person just might not think of it. They typically assume that they're invincible at that age in any case!!!

His travel insurance will unlikely cover him if he's already abroad, it's usually from the next time you leave your country of residence after purchase... unless he's bought "post-departure"/"already travelling" insurance.

Some companies include this anyway but it involves reading the small print, which people rarely do when they are paying a tenner for a week's "cover", then wonder why it might have stringent rules.

You can buy policies that start while you are away. He must check this as if he has a claim and it isn’t one of those policies then any claim may get rejected. https://www.comparethemarket.com/travel-insurance/content/last-minute-travel-insurance/?amp

If he googles post departure insurance he should be able to find something but he needs to check the details very carefully that they cover his nationality and also where he is.

Well done you. I read my dad (80s) the riot act when he said he was coming on holiday with us without insurance. He got it.

Is he already away?

get him to check the t&c. Policies nearly always specify the trip must begin in the uk.

if he was not in the uk at the start of the policy the insurance will not be valid.

So if your adult child was stuck abroad in dire need of medical care but had no insurance youd just say 'tough luck sunshine' and leave them to rot?

He is an adult - why are you interfering in his life, OP? Let him do what he wants, and then he can deal with the consequences, whatever they are.
The infantilisation of adult children by some people on this site is just astonishing.

Regardless of what he buys, there's also often a 72 hour "excess" for medical claims from point of purchase to avoid claims for people buying it when they first feel rough after a meal and can foresee a couple of days of D&V.

You are doing absolutely the right thing telling him to get it sorted and it should be part of his travel planning for the rest of his life, but I would be surprised if he's "covered" for much from the exact date of inception of the policy, there'll be various tripwires.

Actually I think she's being a very dutiful and careful mother.

As people have said, it just doesn't occur to some people. In the UK, we have no concept of how much medical care actually costs. We break our leg at home, the NHS fix it and we grumble about waiting times or the state of the hospital. You break your leg abroad, it's thousands before you've even touched the sides and if you need a specialist plane to get home, you can double that. Do it in America and they won't even touch you until you prove insurance is in place.

"He can deal with the consequences" is fine for most things that a mid-20's adult will cock up, but having to raise several grand while suffering a broken leg in a foreign hospital is likely to fall back in the lap of his parents, so good on the OP for interfering I say.

Oh come on. If he has an accident are parents really going to say “stay there for the next few weeks, pay for the hospital/additional accommodation costs, new flight yourself and we’ll see you when you get back”.

yes he was stupid not to have it in place. But I think helping a relative (if you are in a position to do so) is not infantilising.

dd had an accident on a family holiday a few months ago. The travel insurance people were amazing in helping to get her home. Would even have paid out for a doctors to bring her back if she’d need specialist flights/assistance. It’s the first time ever that we had to make a claim and was worth every penny, even for the decades of never claiming.

Health cover insurance can cost a fortune if you have serious medical conditions, but it’s essential

All very well until something awful goes wrong and the problem becomes a HUGE problem for others ! I read the riot act to my 26 yr son last year and made him sort out insurance on the way to the airport!

He should check his cover is actually valid if bought when already abroad. It often doesn't.

My children are covered on my travel insurance until they are 23, if they are living at home. So it considered “independent” for a few years yet.

the “consequences” can be huge and lifelong. I’d be telling any adult intending to travel uninsured what I thought, whatever their relationship to me.