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?

In this instance it's a classic case of victim blaming. I don't quite see why they are having to pay as its clearly a 3rd party claim

Which ones? I have been trying to google this but cannot find a country where the locals would have to pay for this in the EU.

You are not. You contact GHIC in the UK and it get sorted with the hospital. There is a number to call.

But I very much doubt you will be staying that long. As soon as you can, you will go back to the UK.

This was specialist travel insurance - they were the ONLY company who would insure us. Genuinely, repatriation would have been cheaper than travel insurance for us.

Travel insurance is 100% necessary for anyone who does not have a bottomless bank account in case of disaster.

But surely for this family, someone needs to help them with a claim against the paraglider.

Which, of course, an insurance company would do.

The family need to be looking at medical costs and potential compensation.

Its not even health stuff. Its far more likely the airline looses your bag or your villa gets burgled. Just think how much it would cost to replace ALL your belongings, get emergency travel documents issued etc.

we claimed on a scouts trip to switzerland. Having insrance meant we could claim back all the taxi trips to
and from the hospital, the injured scout very nearly aasnt allowed on the flight home so we could have been covered for having to stay longer etc. insurance was £18 per person.

Its not even health stuff. Its far more likely the airline looses your bag or your villa gets burgled. Just think how much it would cost to replace ALL your belongings, get emergency travel documents issued etc.

we claimed on a scouts trip to switzerland. Having insrance meant we could claim back all the taxi trips to
and from the hospital, the injured scout very nearly aasnt allowed on the flight home so we could have been covered for having to stay longer etc. insurance was £18 per person. The cost of the ambulance alone was €1200!

I didn’t go abroad this summer because I had outstanding referral for undiagnosed symptoms and couldn’t get insurance.

No insurance, no travel as far as I’m concerned.

Because I forgot about it. I managed to get the GHIC in time, and the passports. I did think about insurance and intended to get it but it's only now I read this thread that I realise I didn't, instead I forgot about it entirely.

I'm not stupid (thanks, PP). But I do have ADHD, was pretty overwhelmed with stuff at the time so dropping balls all over the place, and it was only the second time I'd been out the country with the DC so I'm not in the habit of doing it.

Not making excuses, before you all start. Just explaining how it can happen, for the incredulous.

You will be travelling back by yourself in that instance and that can be bloody expensive. GHIC does NOT cover repatriation costs (which can run into £10,000s). GHIC does not cover anyone staying to assist you either. Travel insurance on the other hand does. As an aside, I know from experience that in Greece (Rhodes specifically), you have to pay for x-rays.

faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/article/KA-26795/en-us#:~:text=Views%3A,work%20in%20another%20member%20state.

GHIC gives access to healthcare but not necessarily foc. There are many clinics in French resorts , for example, which are private and you will be taken to nearest one.

No. Because my husband surprised me for a holiday to Italy.

the day before we were due to fly his father had a heart attack and they paid in full

But you'd buy appropriate insurance for the activities you intend to do on holiday (or don't do them).

And what about the costs that are racking up whilst you are away? One of my DC got chickenpox whilst we were on holiday and the medical costs were the smallest part of the claim. The extra accommodation and new flights home came to nearly £2k.

And if it’s something more serious you could be stuck there for a very long time. What happens if you end up in a coma?

Homestly, you are playing with fire if you don’t get travel insurance.

Just found it on Tripadvisor. You don't pay for the X-ray, right? There is a contribution that was, in 2017, 3 euros. Is that right?

The 15 year old is certainly the victim in this. I wouldn't dream if blaming her. But the outcome would have been the same if she had an accident caused by a bad fall/burst appendix/other medical emergency. The accompanying parent did not get travel insurance

Yes, you have to take this into the account. That can happen.

Anyway, they were in Turkey that is not in EU so there they should absolutely have insurance.

I don't mean treatment wise, I mean what if you have a child who needs to stay, for example? Who's going to cover your accommodation, all your missed work etc?

Because they are idiots all the experts like Martin Lewis says when you book your holiday on the same day etc book travel insurance so you r covered from day one if you have to cancel in case of illness or other reasons and of course if anything happens abroad I don’t get it why folks don’t!,

I get why people make risky choices for themselves; I don't understand how its possible for them to do that on behalf of their dependant children.

Eating a pizza at a restaurant is hardly an extreme sport.

France, Netherlands, and Germany from personal experience. Everyone has cheap insurance to cover those bits.

It isn't just for medical emergencies either. Your insurance company will arrange for you to be extracted if there's a natural disaster, civil unrest etc. and you're in danger.

I work as a travel insurance underwriter. If you are traveling to a developed Western European country (Germany, France Austria etc), then there is a case for just relying on an EHIC. The (big) downside is if you are involved in a serious issue then you will not be repatriated to the UK. Also it is important to remember that reciprocal care is designed to provide the same level of cover as would apply in the jurisdiction that you have travelled to. So there may still be charges. For example if you break an arm in Germany you may walk away with a reasonable cost ton pay upfront for the treatment. So you might reasonably decide you could take this risk relative to the cost of the insurance.

Never ever travel to the US without travel insurance. The cost of even a stay in a US hospital can easily get to six figures and that is just for tests without any procedures.

Even within many Mediterranean countries I would take significant care. In Greece for example some islands have very limited emergency cover and would expect that tourists will be repatriated very quickly. Rhodes as an example has less than six emergency beds. Also in some European countries nursing is limited. There is an expectation that a family member would come on site and help feed/bathe the patient.

Consider carefully how you buy travel insurance. One large provider of travel insurance on aggregator sites has had a terrible record of dealing with holiday claims. Google travel insurance doctor disciplined to see more. Consider purchasing from one of the direct travel providers.

Oh wow. Thank you for this info. I've been on HRT for years now and never even thought to mention it on travel insurance, despite me declaring my arthritis painkiller medication. I'll make sure I add it now.