Travel insurance - a cautionary tale

Gosh. What a mess. I wonder what will happen.

A friend did something similar without insurance and incurred costs he couldn’t pay, his girlfriend started a crowdfunding campaign and did get the cash to cover the costs.

You would be really surprised at some of the crowdfunding.

Betrayed to the press by a family member. It takes all sorts right enough!

Granniesunite

Betrayed to the press by a family member. It takes all sorts right enough!

I imagine that was for publicity for the crowdfunding?

I wonder how many have done this successfully.
The price of travel insurance is exorbitant. I used to have mine with my bank account but when I turned 80 that stopped. I have been quoted costs for the insurance more than the cost of the holiday. it is very disheartening and of course we no longer have ehic .

of course we no longer have ehic

No, we have ghic, Global Health Insurance, just like ehic. . Still free to apply for.

But not a substitute for proper travel insurance.

We are off to France later in the year so have just applied for our GHIC. As a supplement to our insurance, of course!
I will just mention that we haven’t added extra for dangerous activities whilst we are there because we won’t be doing anything out of the ordinary.

Crazy!
Even my dog has pet insurance to travel abroad.
How can anyone go overseas on holiday without peace of mind?

westendgirl

I wonder how many have done this successfully.
The price of travel insurance is exorbitant. I used to have mine with my bank account but when I turned 80 that stopped. I have been quoted costs for the insurance more than the cost of the holiday. it is very disheartening and of course we no longer have ehic .

Two points- yes travel insurance is exorbitant but medical costs have gone up and somebody has to pay for them. If more people are “dodging” the issue and trusting to luck and paracetamol, it isn’t bringing costs down for the rest of us.
And second- I really decry this reliance on crowdfunding.
Why should anybody else other than perhaps family, be under any obligation to bail somebody out because they were too mean or stupid to get insurance? And if they really couldn’t, perhaps there was a very good reason for that!

Stupid man.

RosiesMaw

From todays DT

Malcolm Stocker, a retired pub landlord, 68, has been in intensive care in a hospital in Icmeler for almost a month after being diagnosed with pneumonia while on holiday with his girlfriend.
His family say he had several pre-existing conditions and was refused medical insurance before the two-week trip, but decided to go anyway.

digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/1734/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/1734/pub/1734/page/45/article/NaN

Well what did they expect?

Exactly @RosiesMaw !! He took a risk travelling without insurance and it has come back to bite him with a vengeance.

While no-one would wish to fall ill while away on holiday, to travel knowing that there are multiple underlying risks is foolhardy, particularly when he has knowingly been turned down for insurance by the brokers.
If you want to take the risk then at least make sure you have the wherewithal in the bank to support you should the unthinkable happen.

Westend Girl. Nationwide still offers insurance to people aged eighty and over. You do not have to open a current account, a savings account will suffice. Relatives of mine have taken up this offer.
I would like to say that one has to be scrupulous in being truthful when applying for travel insurance. I know of someone who suffered a bleed on the brain whilst on holiday, they had insurance but had not declared that they were on blood pressure tablets. The insurance company refused to pay out.

This is a sad tale.
There has been another case recently of a woman also in Turkey.
One newspaper article suggested the Turkish hospitals are putting people in induced comas to prolong the treatment time.

I have to agree with RosiesMaw.

I can no longer get travel insurance and would never consider travelling abroad and putting that burden on my family if I became ill.

So many incidences of crowdfunding to pay for the treatment of someone, who deliberately and irresponsibly travelled without insurance.

I remeber many years ago finding out late at night that my son, with chronic asthma and a peanut allergy was travelling the next day, without insurance. I was raging and spent hours tring to get him insurance. He won't do that again in a hurry.

no one is under any obligation to contribute to a crowdfunding appeal.
i don't understand some of the attitudes espoused here.
let's kick a man when he's down.
i wouldn't want to go there, wherever it is, but if going abroad equals holiday for him and partner, then he they took a calculated risk.
it was only 2 weeks.
might be the last foreign holiday he can manage.
leave him alone, if you don't want to help him.

Calendargirl

^of course we no longer have ehic^

No, we have ghic, Global Health Insurance, just like ehic. . Still free to apply for.

But not a substitute for proper travel insurance.

GHIC wouldn't have been of any use to him in Icmeler, as it is in Turkey and the GHIC doesn't apply there. It is absolute madness for anyone to travel without proper travel insurance - never mind if you have pre-existing health conditions. You should also take out travel insurance as soon as you book a holiday. I had taken out a policy for our recent trip to Corfu, but in the period before we actually travelled, my husband was put on medication for high blood pressure. I made sure to contact the insurer and notify them of this.

then he they took a calculated risk
A “calculated risk” would have involved having the funds to get home before setting off.
This risk was far from “calculated”
They also ignored the medical reasons behind being denied insurance.
No, it was far from “calculated”.

So, welbeck, should we take a calculated risk with driving our cars today and not have insurance?

Iceland takes no prisoners when it comes to tourists either, the last place I would go without insurance.

Hope he gets well and is home soon.

Even if you have travel insurance be careful particularly the US many will pay for treatment in a “public hospital” not a private hospital, the first question they ask is about insurance.

I think you may have missed the point welbeck. Consider the stress he has put his family under, trying to deal with the situation and find the funding to pay for his treatment.

A lot can happen in a few days, never mind a few weeks. I would dearly love to go abroad, but have accepted that it is no longer possible. There is no way I would put that responsibility on my family. It would be totally irresponsible to do so.
The ramifications of becoming ill on holiday, without insurance are enormous.

Not only ill, we got stuck in Australia when Covid struck. Although we had paid for 3 days accommodation in Perth we were there over a week, had to find another flight and hire a car when we got to HR. The cost of that more was way more than the cost of our insurance.

Joseann

So, welbeck, should we take a calculated risk with driving our cars today and not have insurance?

there is no comparison.
it is a legal requirement to have third party cover for driving, as it is others who may suffer losses.
this is a personal choice for an individual.
he did nothing illegal.
of course in circumstances, it may have caused his family worry, but the idea of crowdfunding will spread the cost.
i'm sure more than his family have contributed.
i don't see why people are getting so aerated.
it doesn't adversely affect them, or the wider community.

You may well want to contribute to his crowd funding appeal, wellbeck and if enough people do then he will get home. But what a risk he took for the sake of having a foreign holiday. His family must be frantic with worry but blaming the hospital by using language like holding him hostage and demanding money loses some of my sympathy. They made a mistake and now have to rely on the kindness of strangers to resolve it. I hope he gets home soon.