Travel Insurance - advice please

Chris1001

Hi

My dad, who is 87, is hoping to go to Italy for a few days in November as part of the Help for Heroes project - not alone, my sister and I are going as well to drive the car and generally keep him company. The question of travel insurance came up, and (being quite stubborn) he said that it wouldn't be necessary as he has his E111. Does anyone have any opinions about this?

McKneff

First of all the E111 is no more and has not been for a good few years. What you all need to apply for is the EHIC, you can do this on line.

This provides only the very basic cover of health insurance.

Never, never go with out travel insurance,
Crashing your car, breaking your leg, dying abroad (sorry), repatriation etc., all of these and hundreds more things could happen which are not covered by anything other than proper Travel Insurance.

And have a good time.....................

Chris1001

Thanks. My instinct was that he should have it as well. I already have travel insurance and my sister probably has too (if not, I'll tell her and it's not expensive). He's the difficult one! . His attitude is along the lines of - well, I'm not going to have a heart attack, and if I do then you can bury me there. (He's not the sentimental sort!) But as you point out, car accidents can happen, and we are going to be driving out of Naples :eek:so I'm going to have to try and persuade him about being sensible.

McKneff

You could just take it out for him, and let him think he's had his own way. He's entitled at 87 lol.

Dont forget all of you need this EHIC though. Its important.

Chris1001

Thanks again for your help. Unfortunately doing this for him on the QT would probably backfire on us. If you knew my dad you'd understand! I've just checked online and there are several companies who are coming up with quotes ranging from £16 to £37 for Europe - so that's not bad at all. I think I may go round and help him look it up online. I'll just tell him that he's got to do it or we won't take him! We're on the case with the EHIC, but thanks for the reminder.

dacouch

Please make sure he declares all existing medical conditions including blood pressure tablets

Chris1001

He doesn't take anything at the moment - but did have a heart problem about five years ago but it seems to have cured itself and he stopped taking the drugs about a year afterwards. Having said that he's a bit unsteady on his feet and has trouble walking. Do you think you need to declare stuff that happened several years ago, and if you don't would it affect a claim say for something completely unrelated?

luci

You must declare all previous history, no matter how long ago, and let the company decide if it is relevant or not. Some companies won't cover previous heart conditions.

bouncydog1

Not sure where you have tried for quotes but try age concern as the underwriters will be well versed in the issues affecting older people.

Chris1001

I tried compare.com; put in my dad's d.o.b. Got a quote back immediately from about 10 different companies. Checked the terms and conditions which said that you're not covered for something that has been a problem in the last 12 months. So on the face of it it looks OK. I heard the post office did policies for elderly travellers. This would be good as he could take the responsibility for it - the stress of doing anything online for my dad is likely to bring on a heart attack frankly.