Why would you take you family on holiday without travel insurance?!

[IsitaHatOrACat]

AIBU to think that this is part of the cost of the holiday.

Yet again there's a family raising funds to pay for medical care abroad. This time for a 15 year old old. This must be a terribly distressing situation to be in however why take the risk?

@TattyAna

Which insurance company is this?

You can get insurance for 'risky' activities. My DD got additional insurance when she went on a skiing holiday in the French Alps. Good job really, as the medical facility on site where she was staying was private so she couldn't use her EHIC when she broke a bone in her knee.

Ex-DH's DM went on holiday with him and DW one Christmas. DM had a brain haemorrhage on the first day and sadly passed away. Despite having insurance, the company still tried everything they could to get out of paying for repatriation of the body. She was very healthy and hadn't seen a doctor for six years. Going abroad without travel insurance is just ridiculous.

Yes, because, for example, there is a death or serious illness in the family just prior to the holiday meaning you can't travel, the insurance will kick in.

@pod100 I agree. I’m sure in the past that you could get insurance that where you could exclude certain things. So if you’d just broken your finger, you could exclude this from your cover, but you wouldn’t get paid for anything relating to this. Now as you say, that want everything listed, and if you have any outstanding referrals, forget it!(I mean, forget going abroad, not forget the insurance).

Yes, Martin Lewis always say book at time of booking. It’s not unusual to see people loaning that they paid £thousands to go on holiday, but then have to cancel because someone is ill, but can’t get their money back.

I even get ticket protection when buying theatre tickets, and that’s a fraction of the price (and had to claim on it this year, so thankful I did).

I have done it once when I had to visit family abroad for an urgent issue. I couldn't get cover myself as I was 'under investigation' (thanks to the NHS and it's endless waiting lists). Virtually nobody would cover me as the condition was undiagnosed. had the Ehic card though.

Absolutely and to be honest, it’s not even that much for most families without the medical problems of older travellers. It’s totally irresponsible. It’s time you had to prove you’ve got insurance before you can board the plane!

No I don’t think they do learn! You are right, people will chip in because she’s a child bless her and is in no way responsible but then other people start to think that that’s the safety net they’ll have if things go wrong!

Don’t do them or take out specific insurance. At the end of the day, if you’re doing something risky, you’re aware the chances of getting hurt are greater.

For most holidays or flights, travel insurance is offered and you have to actually tick to say you don’t want it. So in most cases it’s them actually deciding not to pay for it, not forgetting!

In this case they weren’t taking part in activities. Just sat having lunch and she was hit by someone else paragliding! Freak accident but exactly what insurance is for!

That’s incorrect, I travel extensively and even booking flights, you are asked, and have to decline, travel insurance. Package holidays always ask and you need to decline.

We had this with DH last spring. He was on a waiting list for a scan but kept getting cancelled. Nobody will insure you if you are waiting investigations and don't yet have a diagnosis. Luckily he got his scan and results within a few days of us flying.

@AlwaysRoomForGin
The company is called Globelink : here's a copy of the medical declaration I made and the caveat about these conditions not being covered.
https://imgur.com/KGhAnMG

Whilst awaiting minor investigations, we’ve had some luck with Benenden. Not cheap, but at least we could go on holiday, and relax. They will often insure you, but exclude pre-existing/under-investigation conditions. Def worth a call.

www.benenden.co.uk/insurance/travel-insurance/

And the insurance included with bank accounts may not cover specific activities or types of holiday. A cruise holiday is usually extra for example, as are skiing or any other potentially hazardous activities.

if you have specific medical conditions it’s worth shopping around as there are companies that specialise in medical conditions eg those living with a cancer diagnosis or other chronic conditions.

If there are conditions like that in the policy just as needing to phone them to.update them about pre-existing conditions then it needs to be clearly stated in the documentation and drawn to the customer's attention. I specifically checked ours which comes with Direct Line home insurance before we went on holiday this year and there is nothing about informing them about pre-existing conditions.

If you do a more 'niche' winter sport, it's always worth double checking that it is included in the winter sports bundle fully. E.g. Ice skating, cross country skiing you might assume are covered, but in reality are not, because Winter Sports Cover can cover as little as just 'alpine skiing on graded pistes' and a bit of winter walking 'on cleared and prepared trails'

No it should not be illegal, that would be a grossly inappropriate use of the law.

Countries can set it as a condition of entry via the visa system (or set a minimum proof of funds), but it should not be legal requirement.

Would you want people imprisoned for no insurance? What if you have insurance but the insurer refuses the claim? Or won’t cover the full bill?

I still don't understand why people care about this. Why does it affect anyone else? Their risk, their problem if it goes wrong.

And maybe have a go at the insurance companies for excluding things that shouldn't be excluded. OK I might have had cancer. But why exclude cover if I eg get run over by a tram or have a completely unrelated condition like serious food poisoning? And people should be able to get separate cover for flight cancellations, luggage losses etc.

It would massively affect the family if the hone had to ge remortgaged or done to pay for their treatment.