If you book a holiday and fail to take out adequate travel insurance at the same time

Incapuppy

Don't come bleating on here when it all goes pearshaped and you end up out of pocket due to your own stupidity or ignorance.

How many threads recently???!!! :wall:


Perhaps it's time for a mass education programme or for it to be made mandatory to provide proof of insurance at the time of booking to protect people from themselves?

Yes, I am expecting a panning from a lot of people for my thoughts, but c'mon folks, it's not rocket science is it?

thegirlintheattic

I agree in general, and many travel companies require proof of insurance as part of their T&C, although not at time of booking. Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with booking insurance after you booked the holiday if it is within a few days, which gives you a chance to look around and compare prices.

I would worry about being insistent on proof of insurance AT booking, as I think many companies will take this as an way of charging extortionate prices for in-house cover.

In the end of the day if people are going to be stupid and not get travel insurance then they are going to pay the price.

dzug1

No it's not rocket science but the present political climate is heavily in favour of de/self regulation and the chances of anything happening are slim

And making it mandatory to have travel insurance implicitly makes it mandatory to supply it - which will drive up prices as companies have to provide cover for those who are really uninsurable

interstellaflyer

I don't think there is any excuse, we booked our package holiday through Thomson, holiday cost £1500, Thomsons insurance was just short of £70 for the 3 of us, £70 on top of £1500 is nowt and it's done and dusted, yes ok there are probably cheaper polices out there but I'd rather it all sorted in one go and we only do one overseas holiday a year so multi trip would be pointless. Holiday insurance cover is soo cheap in comparison to the holiday cost and the consiquences of being caught out overseas without it why oh why are people so damn stupid and or tight to go with out it.

thegirlintheattic

interstellaflyer wrote: »

I don't think there is any excuse, we booked our package holiday through Thomson, holiday cost £1500, Thomsons insurance was just short of £70 for the 3 of us, £70 on top of £1500 is nowt and it's done and dusted, yes ok there are probably cheaper polices out there but I'd rather it all sorted in one go and we only do one overseas holiday a year so multi trip would be pointless. Holiday insurance cover is soo cheap in comparison to the holiday cost and the consiquences of being caught out overseas without it why oh why are people so damn stupid and or tight to go with out it.

£70!!! That's more than my parent's one costs with a long list of pre-existing conditions! I booked with Thomson and refused to take out their policy, got one an hour later with better cover for £20 for two. This is why mandatory policies on booking would be a mistake.

I know £70 isn't much compared to the price of the holiday but that is a whole month's spending money for me.

interstellaflyer

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

£70!!! That's more than my parent's one costs with a long list of pre-existing conditions! I booked with Thomson and refused to take out their policy, got one an hour later with better cover for £20 for two. This is why mandatory policies on booking would be a mistake.

I know £70 isn't much compared to the price of the holiday but that is a whole month's spending money for me.

That's for 3 of us, 2 with pre existing conditions, and I was using an example and making a point not asking for lecture on buying cheap insurance, I already mentioned that I could've probably got it cheaper but I've got better things to do than spend my day searching the net for cheap holiday insurance.

Soubrette

interstellaflyer wrote: »

That's for 3 of us, 2 with pre existing conditions, and I was using an example and making a point not asking for lecture on buying cheap insurance, I already mentioned that I could've probably got it cheaper but I've got better things to do than spend my day searching the net for cheap holiday insurance.

I'm sorry but this did make me chuckle - you want to lecture others on not having holiday insurance but you don't want a lecture yourself on whether you could get it cheaper.

Comeon - just a bit funny

Personally I have no sympathy with those who take out no insurance and can't afford to self insure. I have a lot of sympathy with those who thought they were covered but turns out they weren't when they try to make a claim.

getmore4less

What about those that are happy to self insure upto point of departure.

The key cover if you are happy to cover the cost of cancellation upto departure is medical and repatriation once you have left.

malkie76

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

£70!!! That's more than my parent's one costs with a long list of pre-existing conditions! I booked with Thomson and refused to take out their policy, got one an hour later with better cover for £20 for two. This is why mandatory policies on booking would be a mistake.

I know £70 isn't much compared to the price of the holiday but that is a whole month's spending money for me.

Sorry, but "pay-cheap, get-cheap" in my book.

I'm happy to pay £160 for a two person yearly policy that covers absolutely everything with no excess. Something as daft as a 'hole-in-one' on a golf course is covered on my policy.


I completely agree with the sentiment of this thread - far too many people coming on these forums recently complaing they can't get a refund on their cheap-as-chips flights now that Gran has stubbed her toe and can't go.

thegirlintheattic

interstellaflyer wrote: »

That's for 3 of us, 2 with pre existing conditions, and I was using an example and making a point not asking for lecture on buying cheap insurance, I already mentioned that I could've probably got it cheaper but I've got better things to do than spend my day searching the net for cheap holiday insurance.

I was using your experience as a example of my point. If people are forced to take out cover with their provider at the time of booking, people are going to pay over the odds, which some people can ill afford.

malkie76 - A lot depends on circumstance. £20 for a short, single trip to Europe when their is going to be nothing but sitting by the pool is acceptable to me when I checked the cover, especially as it is with a leading company. I agree that you need to check policies in detail, I used Trailfinders insurance when I went to the US for a month, and whilst it was expensive it provided the best cover especially in terms of the activities I was doing.

Many people don't need an expensive, bells and whistles annual policy.

spiro

"leading a horse to water" and "make it drink" spring to mind. Years ago in travel agents you used to have to sign for either their insurance (expensive) or to say you were responsible for obtaining your own insurance.

In terms of not having insurance I would say:

lost your luggage - tough, you took the gamble and lost
lost passport/money - tough, you took the gamble and lost
cancellations/delays - tough, you took the gamble and lost

medical treatment/repatriation - this goes beyond stupid if you dont have cover especially outside europe or when sports like sking are involved.