Travel Insurance

[chaggle]

We never have up to now but we're off to Gran Canaria for a week and OH is thinking about it.

Any of you seasoned travellers bother with it?

[bindeweede]

We never have up to now but we're off to Gran Canaria for a week and OH is thinking about it.

Any of you seasoned travellers bother with it?

Always. On the back of the EHI Card - "Make sure you have valid travel insurance."

[Tony.Williams]

Yep. You have to consider a worst-case scenario - e.g. falling off a cliff while posing for a selfie and rupturing many organs, so needing massive emergency treatment plus a special flying ambulance to bring you home.

The only holidays for which insurance isn't advisable would be those within the UK.

[chaggle]

Talking only about Europe...

I asked a bunch of guys in the pub last night - some have holiday homes abroad, some do city breaks, all travel.

All said yes - they have travel insurance.

I asked why.

They said what if you get ill?

I said use your EHIC.

They ALL said - 'what's an EHIC'?

So they didn't know that you could get healthcare free. I rather got the impression that they just bought travel insurance because 'that's what you do'.

As for Tony's example, I believe you would get fully treated but I agree that a special flight home would need to be paid for. I wonder how many times that actually happens?

I will get it coz it doesn't cost much and OH wants it but I'm really not sure it's worth it.

[Matt]

My brother got travel insurance for a tube trip to the cinema, cost less than a pound but qualified him for a year's two for one cinema tickets. Simples!

On a more serious note, yes we always get travel insurance. It's wisest to get it when you book the holiday rather than the day you fly out but I'm not as wise as I'd like to be.

[Tony.Williams]

I will get it coz it doesn't cost much and OH wants it but I'm really not sure it's worth it.

Like all insurance, it's a complete waste of money until you need it.

[bindeweede]

Greetings from Switzerland. I meant to add earlier that most tour operators now insist clients have travel insurance. If it's not the company's own, another company name and Policy Number is required.

Obviously if your arrangements are made independently, it's a personal decision.

As the EHIC is not valid here, the £29 cost for one week's cover seemed reasonable.

[chaggle]

The EHIC is valid in Switzerland.

https://www.ehic.co.uk/

Although it is essentially an EU health card, it can also be used in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway. In total it can be used in 28 different countries across Europe

.

[Ketchup]

The EHIC is valid in Switzerland.

https://www.ehic.co.uk/

Although it is essentially an EU health card, it can also be used in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway. In total it can be used in 28 different countries across Europe

.

You just pipped me to the post there, chaggle.
Yes, EHIC is valid in Switzerland, but there are some exceptions.

Healthcare in Switzerland is based on a combination of public, subsidised private and fully private systems. If you’re an EEA national, using an EHIC in Switzerland entitles you to receive public healthcare at a reduced cost and will cover your treatment until you return to the UK. It also covers the cost of treatment for pre-existing medical conditions and routine maternity care, provided the reason for your visit is not specifically to give birth.
https://www.ehic-cards.org.uk/ehic-switzerland/

Bindy - is there perhaps something you're not telling us?

[chaggle]

[bindeweede]

No plans for a foreign holiday this year - yet, though apparently bookings have rocketed since Johnson's comments yesterday. The EHIC is gradually being replaced by the GHIC - Global Health Insurance Card - even though it's not global. As my EHIC expires tomorrow, I've applied, anyway.

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/health ... card-ghic/

ETA. From the GHIC website -

From 1st January 2021, neither a GHIC nor most EHICs will cover you in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. When visiting these countries, you must make sure your travel insurance covers you for healthcare cover.

https://www.ghic.co.uk/