What is the point in having insurance?

reformedEffortMaker_2

Have to admit, reading all of these threads about rubbish airlines, I am now starting to question the point of insurance altogether?.

My husband's best friend had an biking accident on USA two years ago and had to be airlifted to hospital with a broken collar bone, it cost him £30,000 (yes, thirty thousand pounds!!), as his insurance excluded off road sports. The hospital were pretty aggressive with getting their money and I doubt they would have had any quarms about making him bankrupt if he hadnt been able to use a combination of savings and a loan to pay for it

Having heard lots of stories in the 80's and 90's about baggage handlers going through luggage and stealing property (i doubt they have all retired), and now the volcano shenanigans. I am starting to wonder.......

If you buy a cheap suitcase from argos, fill it with clothes from asda and primark then if your luggage is lost of stolen it will cost less just to replace than the excess anyway....

If you're ill in the EU, your EHIC card should work (although saying that I am in Greece at the moment and listening to other tourists, the only thing the local doctors are accepting is hard cash),

If you lose your passport, you cant contact the embassy to help you sort out temporary travel

I suppose the only thing i would be annoyed about is losing/damaging is my mp3 player or camera....but again, will all the excess fees, would it be worth claiming?

Of course I am willing to have common sense knocked back into me, anyone know of any good reasons to keep paying for it?

Incapuppy

reformedEffortMaker wrote: »

Of course I am willing to have common sense knocked back into me, anyone know of any good reasons to keep paying for it?

Well there are a number of reasons, the first being the situation your friend found themselves in after a quad biking accident. He should have checked the T&Cs of the policy to ensure it met his needs.

If you fall ill whilst abroad outside the EU, the costs of medical treatment and repatriation can be horrendous.

What would you do if you broke a leg the day before you went on holiday? Would you be quite happy to lose all monies paid?

Would you like me to go on?

richardw

reformedEffortMaker wrote: »

My husband's best friend had an biking accident on USA two years ago and had to be airlifted to hospital with a broken collar bone, it cost him £30,000 (yes, thirty thousand pounds!!), as his insurance excluded off road sports.

He didn't buy the right insurance cover, it's just as daft as buying insurance for a Ford Anglia when you drive a Cortina.

DKLS

Simples, you buy the right cover to protect you, I always buy specialist divers insurance for egypt as most policies dont cover diving specifically. I also have additional insurance for my luggage as I usually have 5ks worth of kit with me.

dacouch

The obvious answer is that if your friend had taken out an Insurance policy that covered off road biking (It would be expensive) it would have covered his claim of £30000 so it would have been well worth it for him.

The EHIC card generally provides the same cover as local receive for free in that country which is often A&E treatment. There are countries in Europe where most of the hospitals are private and your EHIC card does not always work in these hospitals. The amubulances will often take you to the private hospitals in preference to the public hospitals as they receive a sweetener.

The EHIC card will not provide air ambulance cover eg to bring you back to the UK

richardw

dacouch wrote: »

The EHIC card will not provide air ambulance cover eg to bring you back to the UK

or ANY mode of repatriation transport.

reformedEffortMaker_2

ahhh....i knew there was some point to it all.....but if i broke my leg the day before I was due to travel, I would just change my flight dates...right?........

Incapuppy

reformedEffortMaker wrote: »

ahhh....i knew there was some point to it all.....but if i broke my leg the day before I was due to travel, I would just change my flight dates...right?........

With a cheap non-refundable/non changeable ticket? No. What about your accomodation costs too?

richardw

reformedEffortMaker wrote: »

but if i broke my leg the day before I was due to travel, I would just change my flight dates...right?........

Depends if your private health insurance includes a sorting out personal affairs service cover.

lfc321

I've claimed on travel insurance several times, always without a problem (of course you need the right cover for the activities you're doing). The two most recent occasions were for hotel accommodation after my flight was cancelled due to snow, and a £500 medical bill after a skiing injury (and yes, it was a private medical centre in France that treated me - they did not want to know about EHIC).

I'm 100% convinced of the value of travel insurance providing you choose the right policy.

SandC

If you wind up in intensive care you might want your wife or other travelling companion to stick around rather than get on their flight back home. Insurance will cover their costs while you are ill.

My brother got very sick in France. His card would have covered his medical costs. It would not have covered his wife staying out there for the 7 weeks he was in intensive care (accommodation and transport to and from the hospital every day). It would not have covered their flights back home with accompanying doctor and breathing apparatus (they flew business class with a row of seats to himself, if that had not been available then an air ambulance would have been used), nor would it have arranged for an ambulance to be sitting waiting at Birmingham airport to take them straight to the bed waiting for him at our local hospital (50 miles north of B'ham). Not only would it not have covered the expense of the above but it wouldn't have been organised on his behalf either.

Never think it won't happen to you and if you are going to do any sort of activity whatsoever check beforehand that you are covered. Most policies are very transparent these days.