Travel Insurance is it a con?

zaax

Having read some of the horror stories of trying (and failing) to get travel insurance to pay out for simple things like broken bones etc. Also the wording on their policies are not very good, or hidden eg no pay out for phones or tablets.

I wonder if it worth while getting travel insurance for EHIC countries?

2gorgeousgirls

Travel insurance is most definitely worth it, you just need to check that the policy you buy covers what you need.

The EHIC card will not cover you if you need to be repatriated to UK by air ambulance, nor (heaven forbid) cover bringing your body back if you were to die. It will also not cover a travelling companion staying on in Spain with you if you are hospitalised beyond you return date.

Travel insurance is not just for medical emergencies. If you have paid for a holiday and have to cancel then it could reimburse your costs (minus an excess of course). It can help if your passport, valuables are lost/stolen. It could be beneficial if you have not booked through a travel agent and there is a problem with your flight/accommodation.

Private hospitals may not accept the EHIC. What if you're badly hurt, unconscious, how do you tell the ambulance to take you to a hospital which accepts the card?

As I said, in my opinion travel insurance is well worth the money but you need to check the policy details carefully to check it is what you need.

Yes there are always stories of people having difficulties with travel insurance but some of these difficulties are sometimes due to people not declaring medical conditions or situations they are aware of that may impact on their policy.

From my own personal experience, we had to cancel a holiday a few years ago as my husband's Crohns flared up and he was hospitalised. We contacted the insurance company and they paid up very quickly. We did lose £200 as there was an excess but if we had no insurance (or had not declared his health conditions) we would have lost £3000.

Another time, my husband left the camera on bus and again the insurance paid up without a quibble.

InsideInsurance

For the EEA/EHIC countries your main coverages will be cancellation and repatriation.

Whilst they wont cover medical expenses that would be covered by EHIC if you have a major illness/ accident that means you arent going to be fit to travel by commercial airline for 9 months then you'd be stuck there were as travel insurance will cover a medivac once you are fit enough for one.

People generally have problems claiming because they dont understand their policy eg they "choose" to have private treatment in Spain rather than public/ dont follow the EHIC process or they take their Cartier jewelry and expect their Tesco Value travel insurance to cover it appropriately for leaving it in their bag by the pool whilst they go off for a swim.

wiogs

zaax wrote: »

Having read some of the horror stories of trying (and failing) to get travel insurance to pay out for simple things like broken bones etc. Also the wording on their policies are not very good, or hidden eg no pay out for phones or tablets.

I wonder if it worth while getting travel insurance for EHIC countries?

Well worth it - assuming you get the correct policy of course.

I would never ever travel without insurance.

victor2

zaax wrote: »

I wonder if it worth while getting travel insurance for EHIC countries?

Absolutely. Decent insurance includes things which are not covered by EHIC, such as cancellation, delays, lost luggage, theft etc.

814man

If you regularly follow the threads on this page you will see that a frequent issue posted is from users who have problems and complaints they want to raise, occasionally even genuine ones, but don't have travel insurance to cover them.
At least once a week there is a post from a new user which starts with a rant about something and a demand for assistance with claiming money etc, but they are never heard of again once they are asked the simple question, do you have travel insurance?

zaax

I got no where with my complaint when my phone was stolen a few years ago in Ibiza; 'Mobile phones wasn't covered' the insurer said 'see section 10B para 3 of the main policy', which could only be accessed after you brought the policy and was 20 pages long.

and yes I do expect them to be covered are they are items that everyone carries with them, and if they are not covered it should say so before the policy is brought.

Voyager2002

zaax wrote: »

I got no where with my complaint when my phone was stolen a few years ago in Ibiza; 'Mobile phones wasn't covered' the insurer said 'see section 10B para 3 of the main policy', which could only be accessed after you brought the policy and was 20 pages long.

and yes I do expect them to be covered are they are items that everyone carries with them, and if they are not covered it should say so before the policy is brought.

Whenever I have bought travel insurance, I found that a little effort was needed in order to read the full policy before paying, but it can be done. Furthermore, the law provides a 'cooling off' period during which you have a right to cancel an insurance policy and receive a full refund: the reason for this is to give you time to read the full policy and decide whether the cover meets your needs.

It is usual for travel insurance to exclude mobile phones (and other electronic devices), perhaps because there is a large industry in cover specifically for these items.

InsideInsurance

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Whenever I have bought travel insurance, I found that a little effort was needed in order to read the full policy before paying, but it can be done. Furthermore, the law provides a 'cooling off' period during which you have a right to cancel an insurance policy and receive a full refund: the reason for this is to give you time to read the full policy and decide whether the cover meets your needs.

It is usual for travel insurance to exclude mobile phones (and other electronic devices), perhaps because there is a large industry in cover specifically for these items.

Cooling off doesnt give you a right to full refund, it just gives you a right to cancel. Insurers are still entitled to charge a reasonable cancellation fee and for the time on cover.

Yolina

zaax wrote: »

Having read some of the horror stories of trying (and failing) to get travel insurance to pay out for simple things like broken bones etc. Also the wording on their policies are not very good, or hidden eg no pay out for phones or tablets.

I wonder if it worth while getting travel insurance for EHIC countries?

And for each horror story, they are quite probably hundreds if not thousands of no-drama payouts by travel insurance

Also an EHIC card doesn't necessarily cover the full costs - there's a EHIC country-by-country guide on the NHS website: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/countryguide/Pages/EEAcountries.aspx

Edit there's also an official "European Health Insurance Card" app for android/ iPhone/ windows phones which is quite useful

f4phixeruk

Went to Portugal for a fortnight WITHOUT insurance a few years back. Was the worst holiday I ever had. Spent the whole fortnight worrying about it. Simple things like going into the pool. Crossing the road. I was worried.

Never gone abroad since without getting insurance as soon as I book the holiday.