Short EU trip Portugal - travel insurance?

oz0707

Hi. Not travelled to the EU since brexit. Going on a short (4 day) trip to Portugal soon.

What is advised now with travel insurance? I have this morning applied for the uk GHIC. Would this cover me for all medical expenses in Portugal?

I can get an insurance policy cheap enough, 7 quid for the cheapest, 15 for the next cheapest. However when you start reading the small print i'm wondering if it's worth it. The 7 quid one wanted you to phone a special number before incurring over 500 in medical expenses. I can't see that being the first thing someone does if they injure themselves or it's an emergency. So just want some advice to weigh up the pros and cons.

Thanks

bagand96

A GHIC covers you for the same level of medical care as a local in that country, at the same cost. 

Travelling without travel insurance is extremely foolish. What if you had an accident over there that required a prolonged hospital care and repatriation to the UK by air with medical care? You're looking at tens of thousands of pounds that neither the UK or Portuguese governments would pay for. 

Like any insurance read the policy to see if it suits your needs and what the policy requires. 

baser999

If you refer to any comparison site you’ll be offered no end of travel policies from a few days up to months away. Take a Meerkat policy and you get extra benefits such as cinema tickets and discounted meals I believe so a small premium could be repaid very easily.
IMO a you certainly shouldn’t travel anywhere abroad without cover.

oz0707

Took some out with cover wise for 8 quid or something like that. It's the platinum package so fingers crossed I don't need to use it

onashoestring

A GHIC will provide access to some emergency treatment locally but is not a replacement for travel insurance.

For example GHIC won’t cover  :

Cost of any extension to your stay - if you can’t return on planned date because of being in hospital or being too unwell to travel. ( As a minimum you will need to pay for new flight you may also need several weeks additional accommodation while you recover from an accident or illness )

Getting you back to the U.K. with a medical repatriation flight - ( if you need to be accompanied home by qualified medics following an accident or sudden illness ) 

Repatriating your body if you died abroad. (£10,000) - without insurance you relatives will have to find the money .

A travel insurance policy will cover this but there may be an excess to pay - so you need to read the T&Cs of the policies to ensure it provides the covers that you need .

powerful_Rogue

oz0707 said:

Hi. Not travelled to the EU since brexit. Going on a short (4 day) trip to Portugal soon.

What is advised now with travel insurance? I have this morning applied for the uk GHIC. Would this cover me for all medical expenses in Portugal?

I can get an insurance policy cheap enough, 7 quid for the cheapest, 15 for the next cheapest. However when you start reading the small print i'm wondering if it's worth it. The 7 quid one wanted you to phone a special number before incurring over 500 in medical expenses. I can't see that being the first thing someone does if they injure themselves or it's an emergency. So just want some advice to weigh up the pros and cons.

Thanks

Even before brexit everyone should have taken out travel insurance.

thegreenone

Our GHICs took about 4 weeks so I hope you're not going to Portugal, soon, soon.