Is travel insurance compulsory?

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  • shown73
    shown73 Posts: 1,268
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    When I booked a flight with E-Bookers, just before Xmas, I couldn't progress with the booking without ticking the insurance box, tried everything, no go. Needless to say, they have lost one more customer for a short term profit, I won't get caught like that again.
  • trisontana
    trisontana Posts: 9,472
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    shown73 wrote:
    When I booked a flight with E-Bookers, just before Xmas, I couldn't progress with the booking without ticking the insurance box, tried everything, no go. Needless to say, they have lost one more customer for a short term profit, I won't get caught like that again.

    That's illegal. No travel company can force you to take out their travel insurance. As long as you can prove that you have your own travel insurance in place they should take your booking.
    What part of "A whop bop-a-lu a whop bam boo" don't you understand?
  • Sam_Bee
    Sam_Bee Posts: 1,393 Forumite
    We make it compulsory to have travel insurance. It's insanity not to have it, especially for the USA & long haul destinations. We don't hard sell ours as it's not worth our while, but will take details of clients travel insurance.

    Been doing this since the Tsunami when a lot of clients lost their travel insurance along with most of their belongings. In another case in India International Medical Rescue called us as they had to provide a helicopter to get someone to hospital immediately, but as the client didn't have our insurance we couldn't advise if they were covered. Client was unconscious and they couldn't provide insurance details. IMR wouldn't fly them without assurances they would be refunded their £20k costs. Not sure what happened :confused:
  • Nobjocki
    Nobjocki Posts: 947 Forumite
    Travel insurance is one of the biggest cons of modern life.
    When you think of all the millions of flights/holidays that Brits take every year and how so few of them go wrong you wonder why people bother.
    Yet they're " encouraged " to buy insurance by scare stories and why - because it's making somebody a fat profit.
    Ryanair aggressively market their travel insurance on their website but would you honestly want to buy an insurance policy from a company with their appalling customer relations record.
    I've probably taken 500 flights/holidays in my life and never once taken travel insurance and never once needed it.
    I repeat - travel insurance is a con and if any Government thought it was really necessary,like car insurance, it would have been made compulsury years ago.
  • Sam_Bee
    Sam_Bee Posts: 1,393 Forumite
    Nobjocki wrote:
    I repeat - travel insurance is a con and if any Government thought it was really necessary,like car insurance, it would have been made compulsury years ago.

    You have an accident in the States and see how your life is ruined when you can't pay the hospital prices.

    I've had to deal with many people (typically motorbike accidents) in Asia who didn;t have insurance, and as per my above post, it can have serious consequences on their future financial life.

    In fact, you miss the point. Ryanair's and several other companies travel insurance is a rip-off, often because you can;t seem to 'opt-out', but it's a no brainer to not have great value travel insurance. In fact, i've go as far to say downright idiotic.
  • trisontana
    trisontana Posts: 9,472
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    The only compulsory car insurance is Third Party. This to insure you against damage to other people's property and cars. You can take this form of insurance out if you are prepared to pay pot thousands of pounds if you damage or write-off your own car.

    This is same as travel insurance. It's all about risk. Don't take any out if you don't want to. But if you fall ill or have an accident abroad then be prepared for a very hefty bill. Do you take the same attitude to something like house or contents insurance? Are you prepared to face a bill of thousands of pounds if your house burns down or you get burgled?
    What part of "A whop bop-a-lu a whop bam boo" don't you understand?
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,583
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    The only compulsory car insurance is Third Party.

    I think a lot of mortgage lenders would disagree with that.
    3rd party car insurance may be the only one that is legally required but it is usually a term of your mortgage that you take out buildings insurance (if you don't have a mortgage then it's up to you but you would be left with nothing if your house burns down).

    I personally wouldn't want to be stuck in a foreign jail without legal advice or in a foreign hospital without a translator of the means to get home.
    You could die or be infected with something nasty (like HIV) in a foreign country.

    I don't think this is a con.
    The risk of the worst happening may be small but it's a risk nevertheless.
  • MFewings
    MFewings Posts: 144 Forumite
    Nobjocki wrote:
    Travel insurance is one of the biggest cons of modern life.
    I've probably taken 500 flights/holidays in my life and never once taken travel insurance and never once needed it.
    I repeat - travel insurance is a con and if any Government thought it was really necessary,like car insurance, it would have been made compulsury years ago.

    Shame you feel travel insurance is a con. YOU have been lucky and had no reason to claim but many other people do have accidents or ill health which then leave them with huge bills because they have no insurance.

    Surely the small cost of a yearly travel insurance policy - like insure and go - which covers for the basics but leaves all the extra cover off is worth taking just for peace of mind. Or if not your peace of mind then perhaps that of your family members if you were taken ill abroad and needed the expense of long hospitalisation or air ambulance home.
  • angel
    angel Posts: 2,017 Forumite
    I've never bothered with travel insurance and never needed it. If it was cheaper I might get it but it seems such a lot of money for such short trips.
    :smileyhea "here, hare, here" :smileyhea
  • trisontana
    trisontana Posts: 9,472
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    angel wrote:
    I've never bothered with travel insurance and never needed it. If it was cheaper I might get it but it seems such a lot of money for such short trips.

    It would be even more money if you are faced with a massive medical bill.
    What part of "A whop bop-a-lu a whop bam boo" don't you understand?
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