To think that it should be illegal to go abroad without travel insurance

[AusBoundDD]

A friend has just put a plea for GoFundMe donations on our WhatsApp group as one of her cousins was involved in a car crash whilst on holiday in Spain, ending up in hospital with multiple bad fractures. He was uninsured so the family have been left unable to pay for his hefty ambulance fees, surgery, hospital stay etc. To make matters worse he isn’t fit to fly commercially and instead needs to be medically evacuated home to the UK via private air ambulance.

It feels like a yearly occurrence - someone begging for help to get their relative home after they’ve been stupid/naive enough to leave the country without adequate travel insurance. Surely it should be like having your passport - you can’t board a plane or gain entry to a country abroad without it?!

I keep saying this, but he can pay himself, he is a very wealthy man. Not having insurance does not necessarily mean no means to pay for healthcare.

I'm disabled and can't get travel insurance. So I don't travel abroad. It's absolutely not worth the risk.

100%. You can’t afford not to have insurance.

I disagree with the concept of making it illegal because insurance companies are notoriously greedy and I believe the prices would do many many people out of being able to travel if it was forced on them.

But I agree anyone who travels without it is stupid and I would never. I don't tend to contribute to these types of go fund me posts either.

That's ok then, as long as he can cover any costs that's not a problem, which includes potential legal action from the airline and passengers.

It's not generally expensive providing no illness/existing problems so yes, ridiculous to travel without. I have rolling annual European insurance for 3 of us, costs less than £20 a year, plus we have our EHICs

Iinks I am recovering from ovarian cancer.will have checked every 3 months for 2 years. Then every 6 months for 3 years. My travel insurance will be very high.therefore I shall holiday in UK .just accept it.higher risk of falling ill and claiming. A woman collapse in florida, could not get insurance. Had been 20 times !
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I have 2 chronic neurological & serious mental health conditions- I use All Clear insurance who are travel insurers themselves for those with illnesses & disabilities as well as brokers.
it’s expensive for me but worth it as I can’t get cover from mainstream insurance. I would never travel without cover.

He doesn't fly commercial. I don't think people appreciate that there are some very wealthy people in the world (unfortunately not me)

And? Nobody is being forced to subsidise them, unlike your suggestion which would cost us all. If they want to appear in the Mail or start a go fund me, revealing their decisions to the world, why does it matter to you? Just ignore it - it’s really not that hard.

100% agree @AusBoundDD and I don't understand how anyone can disagree, and say YABU. I am SICK of people not being fucked to take out travel insurance, and then pleading for money to pay their health costs overseas, when something happens that lands them (or a family member) in hospital. They will spend £5,000 on a holiday but won't pay £100 (or less) for the travel insurance.

Batshit! 😬

41% of adults have a long term health condition that would need to be declared - asthma diabetes arthritis , IBS, mental health including an history of depression … it’s surprising how many people here therefore say they don’t have to worry about it’s cost

I’m off to Greece soon. My All Clear insurance even includes cover in case of an earthquake lol. But you have to declare every single health condition not just the serious ones you have.. or your cover becomes invalid.

.

Either travel insurance should be mandatory for everybody or for nobody.
But then just another example of how life is unfair, and a rich British person can travel without travel insurance, but a rich person with a less privilged passport can't.

You can get insurance for anything if you’re prepared to pay.
If he can’t afford the insurance then how would he afford the medical bills?

I have to pay a lot for travel insurance because I’m prone to infections due to being immunocompromised.
I’d be a fool to travel without insurance.

People do GoFundMe's for much more stupid/ridiculous/unreasonable reasons than this, no one is forced to contribute.

We don't get insurance for Europe but have GHIC cards, we have the funds to pay if more was needed but we haven't needed it in 30 years despite going abroad several times a year - i guess at say £100 for a years cover that's saved us about £3000. DH is used to driving on the other side of the road though - roads are not completely different in other countries in Europe.

We do get it for outside Europe but I wouldn't be impressed if it was made mandatory. I'm allowed to decide how risky something is and whether I'm prepared to take that risk as I'm going to be the one affected.

Yes, he does. A lot of business (runs own company) but also for pleasure because he chooses to continue living life. He has savings so he takes the chance and he will pay if it comes to it.
He periodically tries to get quotes but always gets refused. Often ends up just buying a basic insurance that would never meet a medical need but would cover for lost luggage, etc

what is your ‘point’ - using words preferably, as I’ve no need of pictures thanks.

I remember a thread on here where OP was astonished that they had to declare they were on HRT for the menopause.

I know a number of people who have declared several illnesses (chronic illness, diabetes, asthma etc,) and it only adds about 10 to 20 pounds on to the travel insurance. Saying 'oh but I have this and that so I won't take the travel insurance out' is ridiculous. If you have something so bad that you worry about the insurance being high (or refused) then you shouldn't be going abroad. Especially if you're going to put your begging cap out if you get a massive medical bill!

Yes.

there should be a rule however that insurance can not be made void by failure to declare an issue that had no bearing on the actual medical incident - failure for declare arthritis in the knee should not invalidate a claim for D&V for example

What happens then if they are ill abroad? Are you going to pay? Or will you do a GoFundMe?

I always take out travel insurance, it's so cheap I don't know why you wouldn't (£52 for an annual family plan including preexisting conditions for DH and I).

BUT whenever I have had to claim it's either been a refusal to pay (volcanic ash cloud) or paid less than 1% of legitimate costs (chicken pox meaning we couldn't fly home). So I'm not sure why I even bother.