Do you think holiday insurance is a necessity or a luxury?

[faithfultoGeorgeMichael]

Where I live there are an increasing number of crowd funders every year for people who have an accident on holiday and have no insurance. I have always thought this was a minority of people willing to accept this risk but yesterday I spoke to a younger colleague (I am 51, she is 32) who said that no one she knows ever buys insurance and it is seen as a foolish waste of money to her and her friends.

She is off to Indonesia for a month in August with her children - with no insurance!

YABU: I would go abroad without insurance
YANBU I would only go abroad if I had insurance

Those saying insurance is pittance. Yes if you are in your 20s and haven’t seen a doctor in years and have no pre conditions which have to be declared even if they aren’t affecting you at the moment. But if you have it can be very expensive. Also we were burnt once when we had declared all the health problems but then one of us mid policy underwent tests for undiagnosed symptoms and they said none of the declared conditions would be covered either until a diagnosis for the unknown symptoms was found. We changed companies after that.

Travel insurance is one of the only insurances I dread having to claim against if I ever need it even though we try and disclose everything we can.

Essential. If something goes badly wrong then at least the cost isn’t life ruining.

I’ve only ever made small claims (like a replacement Eurostar when weather disruption meant we missed the first) but even that takes the pressure off a bit.

I have in the past gone to an ehic country without insurance (and had no problem using it for my broken arm) but I have never travelled with kids without insurance. More recently I lost my nerve and booked as I was worried about the rematriation expenses

I don’t think you should be allowed to leave the UK without insurance. Am lucky we get it as a benefit through work so don’t even need to think about it but before that I just bought a multi trip annual plan with the best Defacto score. The thing is with insurance a lot of people go for the cheapest cover which won’t include sports or repatriation costs it just covers cancellation and loss of luggage. We’ve had to claim a few times abroad for ear infections I wouldn’t be without it.

Yes, especially ageist Millenials who think common sense is "boomer mentality" as mentioned in an earlier post! Grrrr....(not all millenials, just the one mentioned of course!)

As a callow youth I was silly enough to go to the US without it, which makes my blood run cold in retrospect. But these days, no chance! I was anal about it anyway, and then a friend of the family fell very ill in the ME a couple of years back. Sadly died, which from what I can tell was pretty much inevitable, but the lack of insurance meant the family went through even more stress. They too had a crowdfunder, but it didn't stop the estate going on medical expenses. The illness was pure and simple bad luck, one of those that came from nowhere and could've happened to anyone.

I don't get it when travelling in Europe (I've only been able to afford going further afield twice), but I have a UK Global Health Insurance Card.

No, being a moron is a factor. I’m mid 30’s and categorically would not leave the country without it and neither would any of my friends.

I would also never pay towards a crowdfunding for someone not having bothered with insurance.

I don’t think it’s an age thing. I’m 39 and have bought insurance for every trip, checking that what I need is included. It’s utterly bonkers to travel without insurance, especially with how reasonable the cost can be.

Travelling to some countries without is foolish. The USA being one of them.

I never travel without insurance. I have year-round insurance - travel a lot, family abroad, which is about 7 euros a month.

Just today I read a Belgian guy fell off a cliff on a Greek island while taking a selfie.
He's been airlifted to a hospital in Athens.

You never know what life's going to bring.

Try insurancewith.com.

Was set up by a lady with cancer. Covers many conditions others won't. Definitely worth a try.

I haven’t heard of that option but thank you as I will look into that.

Even in the UK you need travel insurance- freak accident and you end up in ITU 200 miles from home and you will be repatriated much quicker- and family can use it to help with hotel bills and travel... Seriously it's an absolute non-negotiable part of any trip here or abroad. We have an annual policy to cover me, husband and little one here and in Europe.....

I think it’s essential, but I do wish people would stop saying the cost is reasonable/cheap, as if that’s the case for everyone.

A worldwide annual policy for my husband is £5,000. An annual policy for Europe alone is £1,000. To visit the US (he is American) this year for 3 weeks is £2.500. We will cough up for the US single trip and Europe annual because it’s essential, but with my policy on top that will be £3,800 which is not cheap by anyone’s standards.

I imagine many on here will not have pre existing health problems.
If you do you are looking at a hefty three figure sum for insurance.
I will get it for trips abroad. But it is a bit of a scandal.

Absolute necessity.
I have always bought travel insurance annually as i travel often and it works out cheaper. In the last 20 yrs i've needed to claim on it 3 times for accident/illness and it was worth it in spades. I think it should be a requirement of booking a holiday to have basic insurance.
I dont know how people can be so stupid as to think it doesnt matter,if you can a ford a holiday you can afford insurance.Surely?

There was a story in the press recently about a young British woman who had a nasty scooter accident in Goa which left her with head injuries. The £20k medical bills weren’t covered by the insurance company as she wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Absolutely, those latter things are usually quite trivial expenses and I'll happily skimp on insuring them.

I would have put the cheeky cow in her place, boomer my arse, at 51 that isn't your generation.

People don’t see it as a necessity because mugs kindhearted people donate to go fund me to cover the bills when it does go wrong after all.

i always get insurance.

I know a man in his late 50s - no known health conditions, fit and healthy, non-smoker, not a big drinker, not overweight - who had a serious stroke while on holiday in Jersey. His travel insurance paid for a lengthy hospital stay - of about 6 weeks, about 3 weeks of rehabilitation, and a repatriation flight back to Scotland. The insurance was well worth it!

Is there something missing from this. As he must have serious health conditions or be very elderly, or both. I think everyone knows if you’ve medical conditions it costs a lot,so it goes without saying it won’t be cheap.

Her choice or not available?
I rode round Paris suburbs years ago as an uninsured teen with no helmet.
People I was staying with did it and I didn’t give a second thought
Easy for older wiser me to tut

For most people travel insurance does not cost anything like £3k. Obviously for people with certain conditions it will increase but for the sort of people you generally see in gofundmes it was will have been peanuts.

My annual multi trip European cover with Saga insurance was £52 last year and same again last year with two declared conditions. I can even do dinghy sailing on that.