Why I never bother with travel insurance

alanrowell

Nobjocki wrote: »

I simply don't share the same fear of the unknown as you do.

So trekking up Kilimanjaro means I have a fear of the unknown - how about travelling in Sri Lanka during a very nasty period, or being in Jordan when rockets are being fired. Do you fly gliders and paragliders? Do you go for walks in the Scottish mountains in the winter? Sound like fear of the unknown to you? Doesn't to me. So don't talk merde about things you nothing about.

Nobjocki wrote: »

Neither do my kids.
They have the intelligence, wits and experience to survive in very difficult environments.

Well from your comments it sounds like you've taught them to avoid risk like you do yourself- but haven't taught them to assess risk as part of assessing risk is the certain knowledge that one day they are going to end up with the fuzzy end of the lolly pop. No amount of intelligence, wits or experience is going to do that. What do you do then?

Nobjocki wrote: »

Provided I don't go white-water rafting or get drunk and ride a motorbike without a helmet or eat seafood in a dodgy-looking restaurant or cross the road without looking both ways I am under no more risk than I would be walking down a street at home.

Sounds like being risk adverse to me rather than assessing risk.

Let's educate you about risk - let's say walking down the road gives you a 1 in 1000 chance of coming to some harm. Let's say white-rafting rafting gives you a 1 in 10 chance of coming to some harm. Which is "safer". You'd probably say "walking down the road". But you'd be wrong as you'd white water raft possibly once a year but you walk down the street every day. So your real risk is that every 3 years you will come to some harm just walking down the road - but only once in 10 years when white water rafting.

In any case insurance is merely the way you protect your bank balance from harm. In itself it doesn't make you safer but it ensures that if random events occur and you do come to some harm then you won't be the latest bankrupt begging on a street corner as most of us can't finance large medical costs - or legal bills if accused of a crime when abroad. Merde happens regardless of what you do so you've got to learn to mitigate the effects

lynzpower

Nobjocki wrote: »

I simply don't share the same fear of the unknown as you do.
Neither do my kids.
They have the intelligence, wits and experience to survive in very difficult environments.
It comes from growing up without being wrapped up on cotton wool and met at the airport by a rep and a coach to take them to some dreary resort where everyone is terrified of falling over and banging their heads or being run down by a drink-crazed foreigner.
And all because some doom-monger like yourself warned them about danger round every corner.

This is about the most ridiculous post Ive read on this subject.

I am not "terrified" of anything but I guess getting knocked over by a car could happen anywhere. As can major food-borne illnesses. As can a host of other things. This is not about being wrapped in cotton wool, its about taking a sensible precaution should you need medical assistance.

mancitychick

Yoghurt wrote: »

A flight from Thailand to Britain is not £35000 so that's a lie.

Of course its not a lie. My father recently took ill and had to fly back from Thailand, fortuanatley he was able to fly home on a on a normal scheduled flight and did not require an air ambulance. However he did require a doctor from a Thai hospital to travel with him, this end up costing us just over £7,000.00. This was for his ticket, the doctors ticket and the doctors/hospital fee.

magpiecottage

Not sure why everybody is trying to "educate" these people.

Let them go. Sooner or later something will happen, they won't be able to pay for treatment and they will die.

Its called natural selection! Survival of the fittest (or in this case the prudent).

Soubrette

magpiecottage wrote: »

Not sure why everybody is trying to "educate" these people.

Let them go. Sooner or later something will happen, they won't be able to pay for treatment and they will die.

Its called natural selection! Survival of the fittest (or in this case the prudent).

Actually, statistically he'll probably be ok - that's why travel insurance is cheap compared to the possible payouts.

However a full risk assessment should include the possible cost of an action as well as the percentage risk of it happening.

95% risk of an adverse event leaving me £20 out of pocket - I'll cover that myself thanks.

1% risk of an adverse event leaving me £50,000 out of pocket - I'd rather spread that risk by getting some insurance

philbostavros

Hi

I feel sorry for any friends and relatives of those travellers who chose not to take out travel insurance (for whatever reason).

Sure, it's up to them but spare a thought for those poor devils back home who have to try and help pick up the pieces.

lynzpower

FH_Brit wrote: »

Lynz - when you have a good report of a company - NAME them so readers can get the same good service!!!

That is the point of MSE - Value for money!!!

THIS WAS NIELSON, both the holiday and insurance booked through them, This was in 2000 though so they may not be be this great still. Luckily I haven't had to claim on travel insurance since ( thankfully!)

Soubrette

philbostavros wrote: »

Hi

I feel sorry for any friends and relatives of those travellers who chose not to take out travel insurance (for whatever reason).

Sure, it's up to them but spare a thought for those poor devils back home who have to try and help pick up the pieces.

My bold for emphasis

I'll bet Bill Gates doesn't bother

Insurance is for those events that we can't afford to insure ourselves.

Most people can't afford to lose a lot of money if they break a leg while abroad...some take the risk that they'll probably be ok and some people actually can afford to take the risk themselves. Most of us of course would rather not take the risk because we can't afford it if it happens - so we take out insurance.

For example I never take out holiday cancellation insurance (you know the ones if you holiday in England that if you cancel you get back the money you've paid for your holiday less your deposit). I feel that over the course of my lifetime I'm likely to only have 1-2 cancelled holidays as opposed to 20-30 non cancelled holidays. I can cover the cost of not going as I've already budgeted for this and I believe that I am much more likely to be quids in at the end of my lifetime unless I'm pretty unlucky. Even if I am unlucky it's a cost I can cover and if I'm luckier than average I might have no cancelled holidays and a little more money in my self insure pot.

Nobjocki

This thread has simply turned into the mundane talking to the dull - like a conversation between two nodding dogs in the back of a safe car.

By not taking out any insurance of any kind except car insurance ( and that's only because I am legally obliged to ) for the past 25 years I reckon I've saved myself the best part of £20,000.

That's 20 big ones in my butt pocket.

I am that money saving expert.

Soubrette

Nobjocki wrote: »

This thread has simply turned into the mundane talking to the dull - like a conversation between two nodding dogs in the back of a safe car.

By not taking out any insurance of any kind except car insurance ( and that's only because I am legally obliged to ) for the past 25 years I reckon I've saved myself the best part of £20,000.

That's 20 big ones in my butt pocket.

I am that money saving expert.

Out of interest - do you have a self insure pot of money? Or contingency plans if something does go wrong?

Or are you just hoping that an expensive adverse event will never happen to you?