Have EHIC card, going to Brittany for 2 weeks in September, do I really need travel insurance?

www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/guide/ghic/

The above is a good guide to what a GHIC covers and why you need travel insurance too.

I had food poisoning in France and because we called a doctor before we rang the insurance company they wouldn't pay out. We used our EHIC card to make a claim and it took over twelve months to be reimbursed!

RosieandherMaw

Well of course - you’re still in the EU

With UK issued EHIC.

Thank you all. I’ve bitten the bullet and taken out insurance!

We've just booked insurance for two people 60+, one with cancer from Vibe Insurance for £162 for two weeks in Jersey. Doesn't seem extortionate, but then guess it may be different for older age and different medical conditions. And as we haven't claimed from them I don't know how good they are at paying out. Might be worth a look to get a quote, you don't have to buy it.

Bonnes vacances BluebellGran.
Are you on the new Saint Malo ship? I can recommend the CCClub lounge restaurant on board.

Sorry, your last post wasn't there when I posted

I am delighted to hear you have decided to take out insurance.

Hopefully, you will never need it, but one never knows what is around the corner.

Yes, you really really do need insurance.

Two friends (unrelated) had an illness and a bad accident abroad that required hospital stay until fit to be transported home.. That's when the big expenses set in. Due to their conditions no commercial passenger airline would transport them . Don't assume that because you have a car, a sick or injured passenger will be able to travel back to UK by road, allowed on a ferry etc.

They had to use professional medical private jet services and one of them had to be accompanied on the plane by a privately hired doctor and nurse (also paid for by insurance)

Definitely yes. GHIC does not cover repatriation. Some countries do not have free health care so there can be "top up" costs. Wouldn't think of going anywhere outside UK without travel insurance.

I m another in the YES camp when I go over to Ireland to visit one daughter I always take out insurance

I would.
A SiL of mine broke a hip in France, where they have a 2nd home. Their own insurance covered everything after she finally left hospital, including IIRC an escorted return to the U.K. (Dbro had already returned) and an ambulance all the way back to their house.

Also, while we were staying at a BiL’s place in France a few years ago, a fellow guest was taken ill in the night. We visited him the next day in Dijon hospital (he wasn’t conscious) and the first thing I was asked was whether he had his own insurance.
Luckily he did - I had sat with him until the emergency services arrived, and he had told me where to find all his documentation.
Sadly, after a 2nd heart attack his life support eventually had to be switched off, but his insurance covered the return of his body to Scotland.

You definitely need insurance . It doesn’t just cover you for illness or worse on holiday . It will also cover you if you need to return home early due to the death of very close family , or if you’re the victim of theft . You should take our instance as soon as you book as you’re covered if you need to cancel due to illness or death of someone in your party .

BluebellGran

Thank you all. I’ve bitten the bullet and taken out insurance!

Great update, thanks. Here’s hoping you don’t need it

I don’t know how anyone could relax on holiday knowing they had no insurance.
My aunt who has heart failure, along side other health issues, takes a chance every time she goes away. It will be the family who has to sort it out, if anything bad occurs 😩
Glad you are now sorted 👍🏻

Frankly, it should be illegal to travel abroad without travel insurance and I think you should have to prove you have it before you board a plane or ferry. Do you not see the appeals for Just Giving every year because someone is ill abroad and can’t afford the medical bills? Or , worse still, they are trying to raise money to bring a body home. If you are taken ill, travel insurance will pay for the expenses of any family member staying with you and for medical repatriation if needed. The EHIC only covers whatever the locals get for free and that can just mean A n E. Also, please remember to inform the insurance company of anything that is wrong with you or any changes in medication. If you don’t, they will try to wriggle out of paying up.

We all hope not to need insurance. It's not for the minor stuff that you could pay for or use the GHIC for, it's there for the catastrophic costs. If you had an accident and needed medivac back home at a 6 figure cost.

Humbertbear

Frankly, it should be illegal to travel abroad without travel insurance and I think you should have to prove you have it before you board a plane or ferry. Do you not see the appeals for Just Giving every year because someone is ill abroad and can’t afford the medical bills? Or , worse still, they are trying to raise money to bring a body home. If you are taken ill, travel insurance will pay for the expenses of any family member staying with you and for medical repatriation if needed. The EHIC only covers whatever the locals get for free and that can just mean A n E. Also, please remember to inform the insurance company of anything that is wrong with you or any changes in medication. If you don’t, they will try to wriggle out of paying up.

Good idea- should bring it in here 👍🏻

I have heard of the worried well, using their travel insurance as a means to get a good look over once on holiday 😳

Wise decision Bluebell - happy holiday.

I bought inexpensive insurance for France from Asda online, very simple. You need it if one goes into hospital as need accommodation for the other one, to be flown home in case of accident or illness.Wouldn’t risk not having it myself as bills can be huge .

If you can afford a holiday then you can afford travel insurance.

God forbid, but don't be one of those whose family has to set up a 'Go Fund Me' page

We have just returned from a fortnight's holiday in rural Normandy. We are 80 and 79. We both have EHIC cards, and didn't bother with travel insurance as it is just too expensive - we'd rather spend that money on some lovely French lunches!

Brittany ferries are great but their rules are different than the Dover- Calais routes for fitness to travel. The pregnancy cut off is earlier.