Is insurance compulsory?

Doshwaster

Might be cheaper in the long run to have an annual travel insurance policy.

If you are ever thinking about risking not having travel insurance then you should check out the cost of an air ambulance to bring you home in the event of a serious injury, or in the worst case scenario returning a dead body.

bagand96

PawelK said:

Thanks everyone for their replies. I found the cheapest insurance for around £20-25 for both of us but that's just for the week we're away. Should I pay more in order to be covered from now until we return? 

If you buy a Single Trip policy and specify the dates of the trip, you will be covered from the day of purchase for cancellation cover.  If you buy an annual policy then it needs to start today to cover for cancellation.  Most tour operators allow changes or even cancellation subject to loss of deposit and admin fees, but the cost increases and flexibility decreases the nearer you are to the departure date.. Insurance is there as an extra to cover things that the tour operator won't.  Have a read of the policy details though to see what and what isn't covered, i.e. many will not cover Covid related issues now.

PawelK said:

I am quite clueless to this as I have never (or perhaps once long time ago) purchased any insurance for my holidays although they're usually self made and not a package. My attitude towards insurance is that I am in a very low risk (healthy, careful person) group and also have EHIC card. I was always prepared to take the risk and just cover anything unexpected from my cash. Insurance companies often refuse to pay out and I'm pretty sure over the years, I have saved a small fortune by not taking them each time I travel.

An EHIC (or GHIC) isn't a cover all. It only provides you to the healthcare that a local person would be entitled to which may or may not be the same as the NHS here.  Furthermore if you have an accident abroad you may end up in a private ambulance and private clinic/hospital where your EHIC will do you no good.  EHIC will also not cover repatriation to the UK.  The costs can quickly spiral.

Whilst you feel you may have saved a small fortune not having insurance over the years you have a run a big risk.  Many think it will never happen to them, but £20 for a policy will look great value once your medical bills are into their thousands.

Costs of not having travel insurance - Can you take the risk? (direct-travel.co.uk)  (granted this article is from an insurance company trying to sell you a policy, but the costs are food for thought)

soolin

PawelK said:

Thanks everyone for their replies. I found the cheapest insurance for around £20-25 for both of us but that's just for the week we're away. Should I pay more in order to be covered from now until we return? Although jet2 seems to have a good free change or refund policy in case of any lockdowns or their cancellation etc.
Another thing to consider is, if it's says "adequate", does it mean I need to go throw both insurances terms and conditions and compare them to ensure the one I'm taking out doesn't duplicate what jet2 already covers?

I am quite clueless to this as I have never (or perhaps once long time ago) purchased any insurance for my holidays although they're usually self made and not a package. My attitude towards insurance is that I am in a very low risk (healthy, careful person) group and also have EHIC card. I was always prepared to take the risk and just cover anything unexpected from my cash. Insurance companies often refuse to pay out and I'm pretty sure over the years, I have saved a small fortune by not taking them each time I travel.

I think you are being very naive- how does your general good health protect you against other issues? My son was mugged once on holiday, needed some  hospital treatment and also had to replace several items that were stolen , His friend lost a near new phone in the same attack which again was covered by the insurance. The hospital asked for his insurance details- liaised directly with the company and my son didn't have to pay out a penny.

My late mother had a bag stolen in Italy by a guy on a moped- apparently it was quite common- had to get new passport and even new prescription sunglasses (and they were well over £300) as well as all the other incidentals a lady tends to carry in her bag , this was a while ago and she also lost all of her travellers cheques and again this was all covered by insurance.

These are just 2 incidences, I've claimed for lost luggage , my father was given wrong train tickets to meet a ferry once and insurance covered all his additional costs , a son of a work colleague was medically repatriated to the UK after being in hospital for several days after a rather nasty inident with a ski lift.

Both my OH and I are considered older travellers - we both declare chronic conditions and our yearly policies tend to be around £120 for the pair of us (they increased significantly from around £70 earlier due to our ages)

Doshwaster

Personally, I only have travel insurance for the medical cover. Whenever I've had minor loses on my travels it has never been worth claiming as I have a high excess. 

Sandtree

soolin said:
These are just 2 incidences, I've claimed for lost luggage , my father was given wrong train tickets to meet a ferry once and insurance covered all his additional costs , a son of a work colleague was medically repatriated to the UK after being in hospital for several days after a rather nasty inident with a ski lift.

Both my OH and I are considered older travellers - we both declare chronic conditions and our yearly policies tend to be around £120 for the pair of us (they increased significantly from around £70 earlier due to our ages)

You just need to be slightly careful on the luggage side of travel insurance because they normally have a "not covered elsewhere" clause meaning that if you have home insurance that covers your personal possessions outside of the home the two insurers end up sharing the claim and it becomes a claim you have to declare as having made on your home insurance. Worthwhile for a big claim but small claims can mean you lose more in increased premiums than your recover after the excess.

onashoestring

When choosing your policy these are the Covid related things you need to consider :
does it cover
if you are diagnosed with coronavirus  and you have to cancel your holiday? 

cancellation due to FCDO advice or lockdowns ? 

if you are diagnosed with coronavirus  and you have to quarantine or extend your stay ? 

If not , do you have the funds to cover this yourself , if necessary? 

PawelK

Thank you everyone. I have now purchased a single trip insurance for both of us and intend to do some more research of some annual policy. I initially thought though a bank account would be the best but the cheapest seems to be Nationwide which is £13/month which I consider not competitive with other companies when looking initially on comparison websites. 

CKhalvashi

emmajones1976 said:

I would wager that term above has been enforced at the departing airport a grand total of zero times.

Belavia at Vilnius and Gatwick have demanded it on departure every time I've flown with them (although from memory they're the only ones to do so and it's a bit of a moot point now as they're not flying to either).

It has been enforced for me on arrival multiple times though; Belarus, Ukraine and Albania have asked to see a copy on arrival, the latter 2 aren't too far from mainstream for tourism these days.

As above, you'd be completely stupid to not be covered by insurance.

Any insurance purchased now should cover anything leading up to that trip, however if you're using it more than a few times in a year, it should pay for itself by buying an annual policy.

The Nationwide cover for £13 a month offers more than just travel insurance, however a standard annual standalone policy can be purchased from £60/year for a single traveller.