AIBU to worry about elderly relative travelling to Eire without insurance?

[PlayingGracesByMyself]

Elderly relative (mid 80s) with complex health problems - heart, blood pressure, very recent stroke. All being well managed through complex cocktail of medications and they are actually brighter than they have been for ages.

Determined to accompany their friends on a 5 day coach trip to Dublin and Cork. Insurance not looking possible though we will keep trying.

Family feel strongly that they should go and the benefits outweigh the risks. They will be covered for any hospital treatment while they are there.

So the risks are basically their friends having to fend any initial health problems , one of us having to fly out to support them if there is any serious issue, managing a long stay in a hospital outside the UK and at the worst repatriation.

I feel it's endearingly optimistic but a bit bonkers. Everyone eise thinks it's their life so their decision. Obviously we can't stop them but we could try to persuade them if we thought it was really unwise.

Any thoughts?

YABU - YOLO, encourage them to go for it
YANBU - could end in (expensive) tears

Thanks for this. Do you know of any specialist brokers for insurance of complex health conditions?

I do agree quality of life and having something to look forward to is really important. But there will come a time for many when travel is too much and life becomes more limited. I know several people for whom that happened in their 60s, not their mid 80s.

I think in this case, there is a real risk it will just be too much for them, they won't enjoy it like they think they will, and the people with them will have to do a lot of looking after them.

It's completely their decision but they do basically assume other people will sort it out if it all goes wrong. And they don't have the kind of savings that mean they wouldn't notice a £60K - £80K repatriation bill. But the rest of my family is very much assuming it will be fine so I think I just have to accept their decision and support them to get insurance if at all possible.

Nope. It’s Éire or Ireland.

It was for a 5 day trip.

Presumably you then have to arrange a funeral etc in another country for your relative? Is that ideal? How do you get buried or cremated if you're not a citizen of that country, I dont know what the rules are to be honest

And repatriation isnt just for dead people, you may be in a coma or cant take a usual normal flight so have to have medical transport.

I found Macmillan had some good advice on their website re trying to get insurance - good luck.

An elderly relative told me that ashes were cheaper to bring home than a body if they died abroad.

I think it's more the scenario of long term hospitalisation that is a worry. Bringing their body or ashes back would be horrible but straightforward. Having to manage long-term hospitalisation and rehab in another country would be really challenging, which is where medical repatriation might be wanted.

Have been advised by Mumsnet to start a new thread as this one will make no sense if I change the title. Link here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5515046-aibu-to-worry-about-elderly-relative-travelling-to-ireland-without-insurance?reply=151609784&utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

Why would it make no sense? Also, why do you need another one? Your question has repeatedly been answered. Your relative will receive any medically necessary or urgent care for free.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-for-uk-nationals-visiting-ireland

Why would that be any worse than a funeral for an expat? And of course you can be cremated in another country. People are not left to rot on the street

Don't people have life insurance?

If you read the updates, death is not the issue. The biggest challenge would be a long hospital stay. Which is not an impossible scenario at this point.

Life insurance is not really the issue for travel. And actually I don't think most 80 year olds have life insurance and if they did the premiums would be astronomical for obvious reasons. They may have death insurance but it probably wouldn't cover international repatriation.

However, as I've said multiple times on the thread, death is not the biggest concern. A protracted hospital stay in a different country would be highly challenging so medical repatriation is the real concern.

That wasn't my question. I stated in the OP that I understood that.

A lot of people don't have life insurance. Those who do won't get an instant payout - it can take months. It would be no help at all with medical evacuation for a living person.

Why on earth have you started another thread?

The point is that medical evacuation costs a lot more than most people realise [edit: from Ireland it would of course be less than £80k, but a lot of people assume it's hundreds and then get a nasty surprise when it is actually thousands] , and can require you to pay out a significant amount of cash even if you do have insurance. This is true for any country.

I think the worry is the cost of transporting someone who is very ill and hospitalised back to their home country.
That is hugely expensive.
(Much more so than if someone has died.)

But what is your question? We can’t know whether your relative is going to need repatriation or an extended hospital stay!

Mumsnet advised me to because this one was totally dominated by discussion of the thread title and they felt it was too late to change it, which was what I initially requested.

I guess I'm trying to respect the views of those who found the original title offensive.

In among the derailment there was some useful feedback and I am finding the discussion useful so did not want to end it.

Very sorry you’ve had to do that OP. Hope you and your mum are able to get things sorted for the trip.

Ah seriously!
Did you not read the OP’s posts, even the first one?

So the risks are basically their friends having to fend any initial health problems, one of us having to fly out to support them if there is any serious issue, managing a long stay in a hospital outside the UK and at the worst repatriation.

Is it too risky, especially if they can’t get insurance, is the question?

The useful feedback has been named insurance companies who may insure complex medical conditions. Someone suggested a specialist broker and I have asked if anyone CDM recommend one.

The lived experience of those whose relatives have gone abroad without insurance has been very helpful. The costs of those who've had to pay for medical repatriation also useful.

My mistake was probably to post on AIBU which is always combative and not the elderly parents board which understands the tension between respecting independent decision making and then having to pick up the pieces when it all goes wrong.

Thank you! 😢

The reply was to someone else