Don't forget the Insurance!!

[clinkham]

It reads as though the Thomas Cook response came out of this very well. Unlike the poor unfortunate family

Holiday burns hell for Great Harwood family (From Lancashire Telegraph)

I know we are all excited when we are about to set off for another wonderful visit to PP, but before you pull the door to and climb in the taxi to the airpport, check - Passport, online boarding pass, money, credit cards, AND boring old travel insurance.

 

[copper]

Also dont forget to renew the European Health card Know a few people who have found theirs is out of date as they are due to travel Not quite as bad as the passports being out of date !

 

[Sparky]

Excellent advice Copper, i have heard that some insurers insist on you having an up to date EHIC.

 

[Deanscroft]

All depends on where you are heading. I have experienced both private and public hospital stays in Mallorca and I could not fault the National health Hospital in Inca. For medical cover here all you really need is the up to date Health Card. Whether you want to take the insurance for all the other bits it covers eg delays, lost luggage, repatriation, that sort of thing is another question

 

[El Gordo]

All depends on where you are heading. I have experienced both private and public hospital stays in Mallorca and I could not fault the National health Hospital in Inca. For medical cover here all you really need is the up to date Health Card. Whether you want to take the insurance for all the other bits it covers eg delays, lost luggage, repatriation, that sort of thing is another question

I think Repatriation is probably the most important thing that the EHIC does not cover.

 

[clinkham]

I agree there is little point in insurance for lost luggage and other bits and bobs, particularly after navigating the small print and paying excesses for any claim.
However not to have cover for illness and repatriation seems to me to be rather cavalier. And expect, in extremis, the Consul in Palma to sort out the mess and the local press back home to provide publicity for a pub whip round to get the sick holidaymaker - or their body - back to Blighty, is rather selfish.
Rather like the thousands that drive without insurance and as a result, those that do the right thing have to pay higher premiums.

 

[sws97sdg]

Agree, and we now have yearly policy which cost about £1.25 per week which isn't bad for piece of mind!!

 

[JMD40]

Cannot stress enough the importance of EHIC and adequeate travel insurance to cover for illness, accidents etc.etc. Also, remember your insurance is declared totally void IF you fail to tell the company of any illnesses you have, ANY regular medication you are taking, any minor/major hospital stays, any family member who is very ill in UK etc. etc.

 

[mwc]

Agreed, It has just cost me an extra £60 for my own travel insurance as I will be having an operation when I get back to remove a plate that had to be fitted a few week's ago after shattering my collar bone, though that's better than my insurance being void I suppose.

 

[Smiddy]

Don't forget the insurance

Think it's something like 52% brits DONT bother about insurance. Absolutely mind boggling! As i've mentioned before i've suffered life long health problems, and must have paid thousands and thousands in insurance costs. Thankfully i've never had occasion to visit any of the hospitals in Mallorca in the 30 or so years i've been visiting and do not grudge a penny for the piece of mind it has given me. Nor have i ever had to claim against the insurance.

I watch the Sun, Sea & A&E on television, and there are the usual unfortunate everyday problems people encounter on holiday, but the amount of drunk morons who end up in hospital really is depressing.

 

[clinkham]

Another quote from the Daily Telegraph today - Number of Britons requiring hospital treatment abroad rose during the past year according to Foreign Office figure.
An average of 70 needed treatment each week, and more than 30% of cases were in Spain. In Majorca and Ibiza respectively hospitalisations rose by 132% and 40%. (Daily Telegraph 21/7/12)

Just off to check my travel insurance documentation....

 

[mwc]

Smiddy you are right, I find it incredible that anybody would even contemplate travelling without insurance. It's not even like it's expensive for a normal fit & well person.

 

[Smiddy]

Insurance

Smiddy you are right, I find it incredible that anybody would even contemplate travelling without insurance. It's not even like it's expensive for a normal fit & well person.

Hi MWC! As you say it costs very little, a lot of the more mature posters will no doubt recall the 70's when the Thomsons of this world would insist you took out their insurance, which we all tended to do . Of course when we look back they had no right to do this, and it was very expensive, but at least just about every body was insured! Then we had the rise of all the independent brokers which brought down the prices dramaticaly over the years, we're now in a position when you can get a policy for around the cost of a decent round of drinks! The whole mind-set needs to be changed, people trying to shave a couple of pounds off their holiday, and they could be putting their lives at risk in the process.

We turn up at the check-in desk with our passport, and in a lot of cases, pre-printed boarding passes, because we know we must, perhaps it's time for the airlines to insist on a valid insurance certificate as well, bit like taxing your car, it's not getting taxed unless you have your ins.cert.