EHIC...is it enough?

missbiggles1

lisyloo wrote: »

If you break a leg and have to be in traction for 6 months, then you probably won't want to stay abroad.
If you partner is working they might not want to (or be able to leave their job for 9 months).
Travel insurance would pay as many seats as you need plus a nurse to travel with you if that's needed.
That's just one example but the general consencus is that you'd be mad to go without it.

I said already that it was a good idea to have insurance.

It would be madness to travel to the US without travel insurance, in the western EU countries it's simply inadvisible.

Pincher

I used to get annual travel insurance, but since turning 50, the premium is creeping up. For three days, you could consider single trip instead.

You get FREE annual European (not world) travel insurance with Nationwide Flexaccount, but you must keep up the minimum pay in every month. Be aware of their age limit, the years fly by.

Nick_C

People make some valid points about why you should have insurance to travel to Rome. I wonder if those people would take out insurance to travel to Edinburgh? All the same arguments apply.

I travel a lot so I'm usually covered by a world wide annual policy. But if it had lapsed and I was going to Europe for a couple of weeks I wouldn't take out a policy.

Rome is just another part of the EU superstate. Your EHIC card will give you cover in Italian hospitals on the same basis as a local. For me, that is good enough.

Quentin

Nick_C wrote: »

People make some valid points about why you should have insurance to travel to Rome. I wonder if those people would take out insurance to travel to Edinburgh? All the same arguments apply.....

The financial consequences of getting run over by a bus and breaking your leg or dropping dead in Edinburgh are vastly different to doing so in Rome!

mufi

Nick_C wrote: »

People make some valid points about why you should have insurance to travel to Rome. I wonder if those people would take out insurance to travel to Edinburgh? All the same arguments apply.

I travel a lot so I'm usually covered by a world wide annual policy. But if it had lapsed and I was going to Europe for a couple of weeks I wouldn't take out a policy.

Rome is just another part of the EU superstate. Your EHIC card will give you cover in Italian hospitals on the same basis as a local. For me, that is good enough.

As others have said, repatriation by air ambulance, possibly with attendant team of staff, is the big one. Not necessary from Edinburgh plus, if it were, presumably the NHS/an.other foots the bill?

GwylimT

When I was in my twenties I broke my leg in spain, while the EHIC covered my basic medical needs it didn't cover things my insurance did. I had to have daily heparin injections which were not covered bu EHIC when I was discharged from the hospital, it also wouldn't cover the extra seven days in a hotel before I was deemed fit for travel. Due to my cast I was unable to sit on a standard plane seat as my leg has to be elevated a business class seat was required, this also rules our transport by car/bus/train.

Nick_C

I wonder how many are actually repatriated by air ambulance from within the EU. Repatriation normally applies if you have concerns about the level of medical care you are receiving overseas, or if it would be cheaper for the insurance company than paying for your treatment overseas.

If I was so ill that I could only be moved by air ambulance, I would want to remain in an Italian hospital.

Its quite common to see people with plaster casts on public transport, and getting back from Rome by train or car would be perfectly feasible.

And if I was to die in Rome I would want to be cremated there. Is it vastly more expensive to burn a body in Italy than in the UK? Transporting waste (which my body will one day be) for 1000 miles for incineration seems pretty daft to me.

elisebutt65

My parents don't bother with travel insurance now that they're over 70 as the cost is prohibitive. Their luggage is covered by home insurance & they have private medical insurance as well. They are both prepared to be buried wherever they drop as well.
They also have enough in the bank to cover the cost of an apartment temporarily (I've for a few months) if one has to stay in hospital. That said, the only place they tend to travel to nowadays, is to visit my sister in New Zealand for 6-8 weeks a year, so staying longer wouldn't be a problem.

jackyann

The thing that you most need to take account of is that EHIC covers you at the same level as citizens of that country.

So in France you will still be liable for 20% of the cost (does vary, just speaking generally); in some EU countries, nursing care is not provided by the State - it is assumed that you will provide your own (whether private or by family)
However, at present, in Scotland, there is still the UK NHS.
In some places with reciprocal agreements, you may be billed for certain treatments, or length of treatment / hospital stay is limited.
You do have to check it out at an individual level. To be blunt, dropping dead isn't such a problem, as say, a devastating stroke.

Gong to the US is horrendously expensive, and anywhere a long way away ups the cost because of repatriation.

We are a couple in our 60s and we paid £105 this year for multi-trip insurance in Europe (which oddly, includes Morocco). This includes all the usual cancellation, abandonment, accident etc insurance and as I said above, medical cover, as long as we have initially used the EHIC / reciprocal agreement card.

I have only been further than Europe once, as paid as much for a month's cover in the US as I did for my annual Europe multi-trip.

huckster

For those looking for EHIC with a top up of cover there is a product called EHIC Plus. Apparently older people travelling to Europe can find this a more competitive option to standard Travel Insurance.

Always read details of the cover to make sure it is adequate for your needs and phone companies if you have questions.