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.

You have to be in the UK when your purchase your travel insurance.

If you're already overseas when you buy it, it will make it invalid.

Exactly this, the stress falls on the paremts. OP, if he doesn't reassure you he's changed his ways, buy him an annual policy before his next trip. Say it's either birthday or Christmas present - or both. Be firm, give no other gifts.

@PostalPanic he's just got annual. But it won't cover this. He'll be travelling more.

I don't think ds2 has it for his trip to canaries with his friends. He goes in June. So he's been told too. Granted he's younger but he's still an adult.

Not any more. There are now insurers who will cover you when already travelling. I linked to one earlier, but if you Google you'll find them.

Read the small print on your booking. You often find you're committed to the full cost before the balance is due

You still have to make sure you inform them of anything medical that requires an additional payment. The first thing they do if anything happens that needs treatment abroad is to scrutinise your GP records. If they find an extra medication or investigation that you haven't told them about your policy is invalid. So you do need to think about it. Also, check which countries and activities your standard bank account insurance covers. Most don't cover USA or certain activities such as climbing or diving.

Had you ever told him about the need for travel insurance? Not excusing him but I suppose it’s possible if he’s never heard from anyone that you need to get travel insurance before you go abroad, he might not be aware. The first time my children book their own holidays I will make sure I mention it.

Have no sympathy for anyone who doesn’t have travel insurance. Probably costs less than £50 for someone with no medical issues.

Yet you hear people hire a moped, break both legs, lose their spleen etc and expect strangers to fund their £50k cost of sending them home.

I don't bother with travel insurance. I don't think it's something people really think about until middle age.
I'm glad my 25 year old nephew didn't think like that. He has a horrendous accident in Chamonix. He would have been billed for the helicopter specialist treatment and support for his air flight home.
Good job my sister reminded him to get an annual cover all policy.
I renew mine 1st week in January every year.

we have a bank account that does this.. It's so much easier. we pay a monthly fee for the account, and we're covered as a family without even thinking about it
We had this year's ago.
However by the time I added up how much the annual insurance would be if I took a separate like for like policy and added in the car breakdown that you also got with the policy it was cheaper to have free banking over the 12 months and by policies separate, especially if you used Topcashback or Meerkat where you hot extra benefits.

DS and I are having this conversation. He has had it drummed into him especially about health insurance.

The implications of being ill abroad and how it's paid for have massive implications.

Only absolute eejits!

We have a yearly policy because it also covers trips away in the uk.

both dc do a sport that regularly needs hotel stays for a few days. Travel insurance would cover those trips as well.

i do like having a worldwide yearly policy as it means I never have to think about it. Kids can go off as well, all covered.

It can be cheaper to get an annual policy too. Booked to go to USA and it costs less to have an annual policy than it does to have a single trip policy for the time that we're there.

Someone I used to know was injured in a motorbike accident on one of the Greek islands in the early 1980s. The total claim for her treatment, hospital stay and repatriation as over £30k.

To put that into perspective, another friend paid £20k for a 2-bed house in south London that same year.

I'd never go abroad without it.

Of course you get your insurance the day you book and pay for your holiday. In case you have to cancel.

Maybe a packaged bank account which comes with travel insurance and other benefits, e.g. phone insurance, breakdown cover etc would help him? Provided he paid the monthly fee, he wouldn't need to remember again.

Maybe a packaged bank account which comes with travel insurance and other benefits, e.g. phone insurance, breakdown cover etc would help him? Provided he paid the monthly fee, he wouldn't need to remember again
It can work out more expensive espif you don't need all the extras. All I do is put an annual alarm on my phone and a note in my diary.

Have you read the real- life experiences of people who have had medical problems abroad on this thread? Or look at Just Giving/ Go fund me etc for stories about people who run into difficulties abroad due to medical problems.

Insurance paid for my surgery, cost of hotel for DH and DD whilst I was in hospital and for when I was discharged and the changed flights home. We probably would have struggled to cover it maxing out all our credit cards at that time. I had taken out a policy for the trip forgetting we had cover with the bank. The insurers we claimed with contacted us later about this as they reclaimed a share from the bank.

My brother was killed in an accident in Austria. We knew he had insurance but not who with - we had to wait until we got his belongings home weeks later before we were able to start a claim. The air ambulance to retrieve his body was €7500, the repatriation cost a huge amount too and we had to pay for everything upfront not knowing if we'd ever find insurance details - thankfully we did find them and the insurance paid out (almost 8months later).

So I guess the moral of this story is not only do you need good travel insurance but also that you should send the details to someone or leave a copy in your house somewhere it will be found - especially if you are travelling alone! We didn't ask anyone for money or to set up a go fund me.. I have very very mixed feelings on those.

@grievingandhurt that's so awful I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
Good point about telling family who you're insured with. Thank you for that.

If you have children or dependents who are likely to travel, buy annual cover now, and renew (you will get an email, you can shop around and get cheaper) It does not cost much. Also do not rely on your bank account without checking - often the cover is for 31 days only, and only for under 18s, and sometimes if you are there also, and also has to take account of pre-existing medical conditions. You might say "it is on them", but actually it is not when push comes to shove, it is on you to find the money to get them the treatment they need or fly a body home. I should take my own advice by the way, after nagging my 4 children I flew to East Asia for a 35 day trip and realised my bank insurance only covered trips of 31 days, spent the first few days trying to get post flight insurance - absolutely no chance, luckily I came home intact and uninsured, but I was not happy at my own stupidity. It is rare you need it, but it is worth every penny.

The country I live in, hospitals often won’t’ even take you in for emergency treatment without travel insurance or other proof you can pay. Not a good situation to be in.

One of mine refuses to get travel insurance so I get it for them. They don't know I do this. I only do it to cover medical issues. If they lost anything they'd just have to lose it! It's my stealth security and reassurance for me.
Stubborn teenagers (almost 20) are a bloody pain.