Do I need travel insurance for The Netherlands?

esuhl

NiftyDigits wrote: »

There is a world of difference compared to what EHIC offers:

But... I don't need most of the cover offered. The trip is cheap and I won't have any expensive belongings.

The only thing I'm worried about is medical bills.

SandC wrote: »

Get insurance for the medical cover, as with the above post, budget policies do not mean you don't get good service when you make a claim, they are simply different levels of cover.

My brother got ill in France some years ago. Yes, his medical costs were covered - but the cost of keeping his wife there for the 8 weeks he was in intensive care was not Then when he was well 'enough' to fly home he had to have a doctor with him, 3 seats to himself in first class as he had to lie down, oxygen and seat for his wife also (alternative private flight at even more cost), ambulance waiting for him at airport to take him to UK hospital etc.

He was your age and no history of any serious illness but he got a collapsed lung and complications from that resulting in ICU and an induced coma.

It's worth it, trust me!

I'm not sure I'd be worried about repatriation if I was too ill to fly normally. There would be no language barrier as everyone in The Netherlands speaks English. And I live alone, away from family, have no partner or children, and if I die, I'd be happy to be scooped up and put in the bin!

I suppose the main question I have is whether the standard of care in the Netherlands would be the same or better than in the UK. And, if I had just an EHIC, would it be more complicated to sort out emergency care than if I also had insurance...?

The quotes for insurance are only £10 to £25, so it's not a big expense. But, in my situation, I can't see myself wanting to claim for anything, even if something happened.

Thanks for all the comments, everyone. I'll ponder it a little longer.

One other question -- I'd be flying out in just over two weeks' time. How late can I leave it to book insurance? I imagine I could do it the day before I fly out, could I?

esuhl

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

You might be severely ill and want family nearby.

Hmm... yes, that's possible. But my sister is the only family member I'm close to and we live a few hours apart anyway.

And if I was really ill I probably wouldn't be able to fly anyway. I'd have to be so ill that I couldn't take a normal flight, but not ill enough that I couldn't fly at all... It seems unlikely. And not the end of the world if I was in a Dutch hospital instead of an English one.

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

You might need treatments available on the NHS that aren't available in the Netherlands.

That's a good point. Does anyone know whether the NHS provides treatment I wouldn't get in The Netherlands...?

With all these questions, maybe it's best to just shut up and cough up for the insurance!

missbiggles1

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

You might be dead and have family that want you buried or cremated in the uk.

You might be severely ill and want family nearby.

You might need treatments available on the NHS that aren't available in the Netherlands.

Yeah - that's really likely!:rotfl:

SW17

esuhl wrote: »

One other question -- I'd be flying out in just over two weeks' time. How late can I leave it to book insurance? I imagine I could do it the day before I fly out, could I?

Yes, you could do it the day before, but (hopefully obviously), the cover only starts from when you buy the insurance for things like cancellation, and anything known before you made the insurance purchase would generally not be covered.

Doshwaster

esuhl wrote: »

But... I don't need most of the cover offered. The trip is cheap and I won't have any expensive belongings.

The only thing I'm worried about is medical bills.

Medical cover is the only reason I have travel insurance. I'm not fussed about possessions as I never have anything valuable and on the rare occasions I've tried to claim for cancellations they always found a way out of not paying (such as the snow at Heathrow a few Christmases ago which was an "act of God")

PeacefulWaters

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Yeah - that's really likely!:rotfl:

I should reword "free at point of access". Which the NHS is. Unlike many countries covered by the EHIC.

The Dutch system has mandatory health insurance funding GP services and hospitals. How far does an EHIC get you? I'm not willing to find out without travel insurance as a back up.

esuhl

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

The Dutch system has mandatory health insurance funding GP services and hospitals. How far does an EHIC get you? I'm not willing to find out without travel insurance as a back up.

Yeah... that was kind of the question I was asking.

If there's any possibility that I'd have problems, it's a no-brainer to get insured as it's so cheap. But, as I'm only going for three days, I can't see myself needing anything other than emergency treatment, which should be covered by the EHIC.

I just found this on the NHS site, which might be helpful for anyone else visiting the Netherlands.

Your EHIC does not cover private treatment. However, healthcare providers in the Netherlands are all private entities and all Dutch residents have to take out a basic level of health insurance.


If you are visiting the Netherlands short-term then your EHIC will cover you for emergency treatment no matter the provider. But, if you need to see a GP or you are referred to hospital by a GP then you need to check that you are referred to a provider that has a contract with the Zilveren Kruis Health insurance company, which is the government contracted health insurer. Check with the referring GP or contact the Zilveren Kruis before you make an appointment, simply email [EMAIL="gbr@zilverenkruis.nl"]gbr@zilverenkruis.nl[/EMAIL] or call 0031 (0) 33 445 68 70 for advice.



Even with the EHIC you may have to pay for your treatment in advance or make patient contributions (co-payments). The Zilveren Kruis may only be able to reimburse you for part of the treatment. Also, since July 1 2014, you can no longer be reimbursed for patient co-payments made abroad once you go back to the UK.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/countryguide/Pages/healthcareintheNetherlands.aspx



So, yeah -- I'll just get the insurance.

Voyager2002

NiftyDigits wrote: »

I disagree. My policy covers me for up to ninety days per trip. Whilst it isn't six months, it is a lot better than nothing. I find it excellent value, especially as I can take up to ten return trips per annum. I pay £80 for that...with no excess.
If I ever see you on GoFundMe, you get nothing! Get adequate insurance!

If you read the small print, I think you will find that if your trip is 91 days or longer then you have nothing -- even the first part of such a trip would not be covered. Obviously that policy works well for you, but would not be appropriate for me.

esuhl

And now I'm wondering how much the small print of insurance policies differ... They're sold as headline "£15m cover" or £10m cover", but... how do you compare all the exclusions and small print...?

SandC

How do you compare? Well you have to read all the fineprint, sorry!

Most of the cover is not necessary for your average trip. £5m medical is plenty. A lot of people buy insurance with high cover for cancellation etc. which is daft as why have £7.5k cover for a trip that probably only cost you £2k tops? They often word it bronze, silver, gold or premium but you'll get the same treatment when you make a claim whichever policy you've bought - as long as you've bought a policy that covers you and your possessions (do you really need £2500 cover for your stuff?).

I don't buy it for anything other than medical either. Bear in mind if you, say, tripped and broke your leg you would in all liklihood be discharged from hospital fairly swiftly (or not if it were a bad break), but would the airline let you fly back? You may have to find the funds for staying out there until you could. Yes, that's a cost you can probably cope with our of your bank but then you've missed your original flight and have to buy a new one too. For the sake of a tenner?