Would you travel to Europe without medical insurance?

tyllwyd

We are in a situation where due to various reasons it is going to be very difficult to get medical insurance for my OH for a trip to Europe. We've got EHIC cards, and we aren't bothered about cover for cancellation or for lost/damaged property etc. How big a risk would it be to travel without the insurance?

kalaika

Personally, I wouldn't travel anywhere without travel insurance, but then I'm lucky that I have no pre-existing medical conditions to push the premiums up.

Incapuppy

kalaika wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't travel anywhere without travel insurance, but then I'm lucky that I have no pre-existing medical conditions to push the premiums up.

I wouldn't travel anywhere abroad without travel insurance either and I have plenty of PEMCs to push the premiums up.

liney

I wouldn't, but then i've insurance for most things!

Is he really uninsurable, or just expensive? Have you looked at cashback offers with the likes of Quidco, which may make it more affordable?

tyllwyd

It's not the cost of the insurance - he's got an ongoing chronic condition and recent complications, so any insurer is going to want to get more information from his gp and two different consultants, so the chance of getting a response from all of them in time is not good. And if they then excluded any pre-existing conditions from the cover, then the insurance would be pretty much worthless to us anyway.

peachyprice

But it's not just your OH travelling, don't the rest of you deserve insurance too?

In your circumstances I would put the majority of you on one policy so that you're all covered for all eventualities (can't understand why you think lost/damaged property isn't worth insuring, that could run to £1000's) and do your OH separatley so that if it's not done in time or is too restrictive at least you'll have some form of insurance for everyone else.

pamsdish

My husband had a pre-existing heary/lung conditions which we simply could not get cover for. we took the risk ,he had to have medical treatment INR every week and was taken ill whilst there, we found that although the amenities are basic even archaic ,we received far superior treatment patient to patient than Uk all covered by EHIC, for treatment, complications arise if you have to ambulance home.
Its your choice.

tori.k

It would be the repatriation costs that i would be worried about if he ended up too sick to travel by normal means,

Mands

tori.k wrote: »

It would be the repatriation costs that i would be worried about if he ended up too sick to travel by normal means,

That and the cost of someone staying behind after the holiday to provide support if he was hospitalised. An extended stay in a hotel plus new flights plus living expenses could add up quite quickly.

The other concern would be if something happened to him and he was taken to hospital by ambulance. Often the ambulances head to a private hospital, which wouldn't be covered by under the EHIC agreement, but with the stress of the situation and any language issues that might not be immediately clear.

Hope the OP is able to find something that works for them,
Mands

benjus

I currently have worldwide travel insurance included with my bank account, but before that I never used to bother with travel insurance for short (2-3 day) trips within Western Europe.

However, in your case the risk sounds much higher, so I'm not sure I'd be so comfortable.

malkie76

tyllwyd wrote: »

And if they then excluded any pre-existing conditions from the cover, then the insurance would be pretty much worthless to us anyway.

You are paying for insurance against the unknown. For example, if someone in your group has a fall and breaks their pelvis on holiday. You might not pay for the medical bill in the hospital, but you certain will for someone to stay at look after them. If they can't travel post hospital you'd have those costs to consider, and non-standard repatriation costs (ie medical flight home) would run into hundreds of thousands. You'd be liable for those costs, and they will pursue you for them.

Small amount of money in exchange for peace of mind.