To be sick of people starting to fund me pages when they go on holiday without travel insurance and can’t afford medical bills when they end up in hospital?

[AngeloMysterioso]

A woman with chronic pulmonary disease and mobility issues couldn’t afford the travel insurance she needed for her four week holiday to Disney World in Florida with her sons and grandson. So she went anyway, without any travel insurance, and you can guess what happens next… she caught covid and flu, then developed pneumonia, and is now in a critical condition in hospital.

And of course, her family has set up a go fund me to go begging to the public to cover the considerable financial cost of this woman’s utter foolishness.

AIBU to think if you can’t afford the travel insurance, you don’t go on the fucking holiday?? Especially if you have pre-existing conditions which make you particularly susceptible to falling seriously ill?

I would argue that, given the cost of her care and repatriation is likely to run into six figures, 3 grand is actually a bargain. Even more so when you consider that she could have just cut her holiday from 4 weeks to 3 and that would probably have covered the cost.

I have a previous condition from well over a decade ago, long since dormant and not an issue in my life at all now- but if I were to go to America the cost of travel insurance would be very high, based on the vanishingly small chance that it might rear its ugly head again, because the cost of treatment would be astronomical. Our solution to that problem is to not go to America, much as I would fucking love a month in Disney World with my children. Anyone with current, ongoing health problems like this woman has, who just goes “ah it’ll be reet” and gets on the plane anyway to go on their £10k+ holiday without insurance, is just mind-blowingly idiotic, not to mention selfish.

To those saying that £3k is a ridiculous amount. The women had chronic conditions and was travelling to the most medically expensive country in the world for a month.

The chances of her needing medical treatment / hospitalisation were probably pretty high. Flying long haul is notorious for spreading viruses, so having COPD makes you massively vulnerable.

Now she could potentially rack up millions. I wouldn't disagree that 3k is a huge amount to pay, but you're paying to cover a very big risk.

It is just a form of begging and I do not like it.

As I said above, all it would result in is people taking out cheap policies that wouldn't actually cover them in case of an emergency. Unless you expect them to give each passenger a health screening at check in too.

I am tired of funding other people's bad decisions. When people decide not to get insurance either because it's too expensive or they can't be bothered then they come unstuck, I have no sympathy for them!

Insurance companies are notorious for finding any kind of loophole to not pay out on travel insurance however, so it's important to make sure you are vey carful when you get your policy set up. Always notify them of any change in your health including pending referrals, read the small print, and never hire a scooter or do any kind of "dangerous" activity.

When my late brother-in-law had to cancel his holiday due to a cancer diagnosis, the insurance company refused to pay out because he'd seen the doctor and was waiting for a hospital referral for indigestion when the holiday was booked. It went to appeal and they did finally pay out but it took so long my poor BIL had already passed away. I heard about a person who slipped and fell on a wet floor, really hurting themselves only for their insurance company to refuse to cover them because they had drunk a glass of wine with their dinner and there was a strict no alcohol rule in place! Another person didn't get paid out after an accident because they didn't mention their recent gout diagnosis.

If you can't afford the insurance you can't afford the holiday..... simple

Exactly this, we never book a holiday without insurance, we just consider it part and parcel. My husbands insurance is always expensive due to health issues but that's what we have to factor in 🤷

There would never be a catch-all method but if it encourages everyone to at least take out a policy it'll inevitably reduce the number of cases where people are stuck in hospitals abroad. Even the most basic policies cover repatriation or a certain limit in hospital fees being covered. Yes you'd have to stump up for the rest but at least you'd be doing so at home, and able to continue care on the NHS.

The other thing about insurance is it will usually cover the ancilliary expenses. My husband was taken (unexpectedly and seriously) ill when we were abroad in last year. He had the good fortune to fall ill in a city with one of the leading cardiology departments in Europe and received world class care. But he was hospitalised for 3 weeks, which was longer than the planned trip so obviously hotel bookings ran out, flights were cancelled etc.

The cost of his care was actually surprisingly low (we think the hospital systems hadn't caught up with Brexit so charged us as EU citizens) but the insurance covered a small apartment for me while I was staying with him, our re-arranged flights, a taxi home. All those little expenses which really add up if you have someone in hospital overseas for more than a day or so....

She should have joined her family for two weeks of the trip and bought the insurance. No sympathy at all.

Even without health conditions, travelling without insurance is stupid. A friend of mine was in a car crash in the USA (drunk driver hit their vehicle) and his medical bills were over a million dollars! He had insurance as he's not a moron.

The insurance would have probably cost less than the donations they're giving to others without it!

Someone I know didn't declare a back condition on their travel insurance and went to Florida. Ended up in severe pain and got taken to hospital by ambulance. Insurance rejected his claim, rightly so, as it was an unnotified pre-existing condition.

This was quite a few years ago, when the US healthcare system wasn't quite as extortionate as it is now, but he still had to pay $750 for the ambulance plus more for his treatment. Luckily it wasn't too high overall and he just put it on a credit card.

Another friend broke his leg in a skiing accident and had to be airlifted off a mountain. His insurance covered not only that, but also flew a family member out to Switzerland to accompany him home.

I would never travel without insurance, especially to the US.

If you can't afford the insurance, you shouldn't go on the trip. Is potentially losing your home to cover the costs worth the holiday?!

It was stupid of her to travel, but is her family meant to let her die in hospital so as not to annoy you by starting a GoFundMe page that you're under no obligation to donate to? Just don't give any money, and move on.

Annual insurance is often cheaper than individual trip insurance for America, but any insurance for the USA is going to be the most expensive. My family insurance with £10m repatriation cover was £500 for the four of us this year because i was waiting for an MRI result. I worked with someone who had a life altering accident in the States and their insurance only covered £2m medical and repatriation which was not enough for the hospital stay and the air ambulance home. Their family had to fork out an additional £100k. You should always buy insurance based on how much it would cost to repatriate you. I don't think it should be a legal requirement because no one is forced to pay into a Go Fund Me but everyone should check their insurance with a fine tooth comb because it's often not enough if catastrophe strikes.

I’ve seen this on two groups, one of which said could we all donate a pound to help, errrr no. Then on the same group I see lots of posts saying that people haven’t got travel insurance for the USA . Absolute madness.

I've not read all responses, so apologies if someone else has asked this - which company did you use?
I was diagnosed with cancer on Monday - being operated on 23 Dec. We have annual travel insurance for the family. We have several trips already booked for next year so I will need to get new insurance and would be interested in getting a quote from the company you used. Thanks

3k is not a lot at all on insurance for a holiday that's 4 weeks at Disney. She's spending thousands on that holiday, and 3k would be a bargain for the cost of the medical services she's incurred, and would easily anticipate as someone with those conditions. She's a CF of high order and YANBU at all OP.

What impact does it have to you personally though? I never see these 'go fund me' requests so it must be something that you're actively choosing to look at. You could block them if you actually wanted to.

Disneyland Paris wasn't good enough huh! She would have been covered by the reciprocal European GHIC. I know that doesn't cover repatriation, but it would cover emergency treatment.

I've no issue with those who are unwell wanting to travel. But honestly do people just not THINK of alternatives anymore or what?

If you book a cruise, you have to show proof of travel insurance - should be possible to do it with visa applications

@PiratePenguin I'm very sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I was diagnosed at a similar time of year and remember how surreal Christmas felt that year. The company I used was InsuranceWith.com. There are other specialists around but they were the cheapest for my particular circumstances, and also since then with a couple of medical conditions my husband has developed. our first trip after my surgery was a week in Malta - we were quoted around £300 by one of the major companies, but we paid just over £30 for both of us with InsuranceWith. The price difference was very similar with subsequent trips and I've used InsuranceWith every time we've been away for the last 12 years. I do hope your surgery goes smoothly and successfully.

Posters can then legitimately ask why it's such a bind when it affects absolutely nobody else.

But then, what would you have to froth about if you didn't have other people's misery to entertain?

Why would this "enrage" anyone? Do you have so little else going on?

Yes it's a really stupid thing to do, no I would never go away without insurance, but surely no one is holding a gun to my head and forcing me to donate so why would it wind me up as much as it seems to wind you up?!

She fucked around and found out. I have very little sympathy for people who are ill when they travel and think insurance is 'extra'. I say that as someone who has a chronic illness. Take some fucking responsibility for yourself, woman. It's infuriating.

If people stopped donating, it wouldn't work, though. So those people have more money than sense, IMO.

YANBU.

My dad's travel insurance is something crazy like £250 per trip (average) or £850 yearly to always be covered. He paid it, because that's what you do when you want to travel with health conditions

The don't pay out straight away in the hope you will die . In poor countries they won't operate until the funds are wired through . It's just a game of Lady Luck.

Many people can't afford the insurance because they assume you have to buy an annual policy and don't realise you can buy insurance by the day.