Drinking Holiday Insurance

Pollycat

Moto2 wrote: »

We seem to be turning into a very risk adverse society, even the slightest of risks has to be mitigated by an increasing amount of people, I guess it's why an awful lot of people now get their excitement from a screen rather than real situations.
Some people need some perspective, to describe going abroad without being insured to the hilt as very stupid is stretching it a bit, driving the wrong way up the M1 at 70mph is very stupid, going without insurance is just a different choice.

Or maybe we're turning into a more sensible society - after reading in local papers about people having accidents abroad and not being insured and begging family, friends and even strangers to foot the bill.

TBH, I don't give a toss about whether people buy travel insurance or not - as long as they understand the limitations of the EHIC or the implications of not having insurance at all.
And from what I've read on here, a lot of people don't appear to understand that at all.

Moto2

Pollycat wrote: »

.............. - after reading in local papers about people having accidents abroad and not being insured and begging family, friends and even strangers to foot the bill.

I can't say I can recall any articles regarding that but I'm sure they happen and I'll take your word for it.
What I do tend to see quite often is articles about locals winning the lottery, perhaps I should buy a ticket if a good win is likely at some point?

duchy

pleasedelete wrote: »

I was once next to a nurse on a plane. She was flying out to Australia in business class via Singapore to then fly back with a Uk patient. There were going to be 2 of them with him flying back- all 3 in business. Imagine how that much costs. She is on standby and has a couple of hours to get to the airport to go anywhere in the world.

I used to book these kind of journeys for the insurance companies.
We had a permanent bank of doctors and nurses employed for this ( the specific risk to the patient's life dictated whether a doctor or nurse was needed to medically escort ) and they were never without work -and it was very lucrative for them.

Two hours is a bit of an exaggeration though. They usually know the day before that there is a case pending and once the airline gives medical clearance we'd need to get them out on the first flight possible -they then get a prescribed amount of rest time (if they travel in business the rest time is shorter than if they travel in economy)before they travel with the patient from the hospital abroad to the UK hospital where they do the handover. Private ambulances at both ends of the journey- the NHS won't pick them up from the airport.

The costs both for the travel, hotel and a very healthy hourly rate add up but the insurance companies regard this as more cost effective to get this done than further weeks in a foreign hospital stacking up charges.

I worked in the department that handled all of this - There were always at least five agents doing nothing but dealing with the airlines, making the reservations and logging and getting medical clearance - there was another team of at least thirty people who did the liasing with customers and making arrangements for those who could travel under their own steam or could use their original flights without assistance or escort. We worked a 24 hour shift pattern - and this was one single insurance company (a very well known one ) and we didn't handle work for any other insurance companies .

The distress of the families either stuck in a foreign country or at home trying to make arrangements for a loved one on holiday abroad even knowing it would all be paid for was bad enough - I can't imagine how much worse it would be without the wherewithall to pay for it or deal with it without language skills (the company employed a lot of agents with language skills -and also had a bank of freelance interpreters on call) or the knowledge and time to cut through the red tape.

I've said before I wouldn't even do a day trip to France without travel insurance - and some people scoffed - but once you see just how difficult it can be it's easy to think "It'll never happen" but in my view ten or twenty years of annual policies can pay for themselves with even one fairly minor mishap.

I was gobsmacked when I started working in this field at just how many and the variety of cases- The most common was first time MRI (heart attack) the heat, extra booze and often more activity than at home all contributed but there were some extraordinary cases too - like the seven year old taken to Florida by his (supposedly) recovered alcoholic NRP who went on a bender the first night there and ended up getting sectioned leaving the lad alone (Dad refused to give permission for the boy to be flown home so he was stuck in a hotel room until his Mum could be flown out to bring him home).
Luckily the holiday reps agreed to stay with him (but liability issues meant they couldn't take him anywhere) otherwise the US authorities would have taken him into care. Incidentally the holiday company was Thomsons - the company getting complained about on another thread for insisting their clients take travel insurance.
I have no idea what happened to the Dad - He was on his own as he'd invalidated his own policy. I assume he was deported but there was a very real possibility that once released from hospital he'd have faced child neglect charges and could have been jailed and then deported on release. (and chased by the US authorities for his treatment costs later assuming they didn't write it off )

Still there will always be people who think they will never have a first heart attack or a stroke or slip and fall or believe they will never have another driver crash into them or hit them as they cross a road on holiday............ They have made the decision that travel insurance isn't needed - and I've made my decision based on what I've seen ............... Maybe I'm a pessimist but maybe they are a bit too optimistic !

Before I worked in that job I'd have said these cases were rare too..........now I know better . We were never quiet at work and we only dealt with the major cases - the a few stitches or an overnight in hospital and back to enjoying the rest of the holiday and getting the planned flight home weren't even on our radar but dealt with as "administrative issues" by another department.

Pollycat

Moto2 wrote: »

What I do tend to see quite often is articles about locals winning the lottery, perhaps I should buy a ticket if a good win is likely at some point?

Perhaps you should.

Moto2

Pollycat wrote: »

Perhaps you should.

OK, I'm on it today - thanks

duchy

Moto2 wrote: »

I can't say I can recall any articles regarding that but I'm sure they happen and I'll take your word for it.
What I do tend to see quite often is articles about locals winning the lottery, perhaps I should buy a ticket if a good win is likely at some point?

Injured tourist without travel insurance left stranded in Dublin hospital

A British holidaymaker has been left for nearly a month in a Dublin hospital with serious injuries as his family cannot afford the €10,000 required to fly him home by air ambulance.

Peter Carter, 66, had only just arrived in the Irish capital when he suffered a serious fall at the Temple Bar pub, sustaining a broken neck, a deep cut to his forehead and extensive bruising.

Mr Carter was rushed to Mater Hospital's spinal unit where he was treated for his injuries, but when it emerged that he did not have sufficient travel insurance, his family were hit with the bill to bring him home.

Although he was covered by his European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for his hospital bills, he was not covered for repatriation.

He told the Irish Independent: "I spoke to the British Embassy and to the Foreign Office and they are going by the book.

"They're saying if there's no travel insurance, then there's no repatriation. I thought they might show a bit of compassion in this case but they're being very black and white about it."

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/724672/Medical-bill-strands-British-tourist.html

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http://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/familys-plea-for-cash-as-holida-a56519/

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Getting bored now -One google search brought up dozens of cases

zagfles

Pollycat wrote: »

What a very strange post.

Beyond you is it? Why am I not surprised

It's a simple concept. I'll take it slowly for you.

Have an accident in France and you may have to pay some costs even with an EHIC.

Have an accident in the UK and you may have to pay some costs. Not everything is free on the NHS contrary to popular belief.

Both could be several thousand.

For those obsessed with insuring against small risks which could cost several thousand, make sure you have insurance which covers dental implants, and not just for travel, for normal day to day living in the UK.

Even private medical insurance, and often even specific dental insurance usually excludes implants.

Oh, and make sure you have life insurance which covers the cost of your funeral. Have you seen how much funerals cost these days?

zagfles

Moto2 wrote: »

I can't say I can recall any articles regarding that but I'm sure they happen and I'll take your word for it.
What I do tend to see quite often is articles about locals winning the lottery, perhaps I should buy a ticket if a good win is likely at some point?

That's right. After all, if we live our lives based on stories in the news, we shouldn't really travel at all. Look at what can happen:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11496863/Germanwings-crash-We-only-hear-screams-in-the-last-seconds.-Death-was-instant..html

http://www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/inquest-death-students-horror-coach-9096513

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/portuguese-truck-driver-charged-with-killing-350787

But those are only deaths. Who cares, as long as no-one is out of pocket.

zagfles

duchy wrote: »

Injured tourist without travel insurance left stranded in Dublin hospital

A British holidaymaker has been left for nearly a month in a Dublin hospital with serious injuries as his family cannot afford the €10,000 required to fly him home by air ambulance.

Peter Carter, 66, had only just arrived in the Irish capital when he suffered a serious fall at the Temple Bar pub, sustaining a broken neck, a deep cut to his forehead and extensive bruising.

Mr Carter was rushed to Mater Hospital's spinal unit where he was treated for his injuries, but when it emerged that he did not have sufficient travel insurance, his family were hit with the bill to bring him home.

Although he was covered by his European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for his hospital bills, he was not covered for repatriation.

So why doesn't he just stay in the Dublin hospital to recover? If I was confined to hospital I wouldn't really care whether it was in Dublin, London or Paris. We had a relative in a foreign hospital (well not foreign to him as he now lives there) and he chatted over Skype to his friends/relatives every day, including us.

Wonder how many people living in the north of Ireland take out travel insurance for their cross-border shopping trips?

Pollycat

zagfles wrote: »

Beyond you is it? Why am I not surprised

It's a simple concept. I'll take it slowly for you.

Have an accident in France and you may have to pay some costs even with an EHIC.

Have an accident in the UK and you may have to pay some costs. Not everything is free on the NHS contrary to popular belief.

Both could be several thousand.

For those obsessed with insuring against small risks which could cost several thousand, make sure you have insurance which covers dental implants, and not just for travel, for normal day to day living in the UK.

Even private medical insurance, and often even specific dental insurance usually excludes implants.

Oh, and make sure you have life insurance which covers the cost of your funeral. Have you seen how much funerals cost these days?

No it wasn't beyond me.

I just couldn't see why you were bringing in the issue of dental implants in the UK.

I'm sure anyone who goes to the dentist in the UK is aware that treatment is not free (unless you're on certain benefits).

You appear to be obsessed about dental implants for some bizarre reason.