Do I need travel insurance for Europe?
Discussion
We have GHIC cards. We go to Europe for up to 90 days at a time.
We have nationwide flex accounts with travel cover. However they have changed provider to Aviva. They want extra money for long stays and any pre existing conditions.
But I am not sure why we actually need health cover for Europe except to be flown home and if I am honest I would probably prefer to stay in a Swiss or French hospital anyway.
What am I missing?
We have nationwide flex accounts with travel cover. However they have changed provider to Aviva. They want extra money for long stays and any pre existing conditions.
But I am not sure why we actually need health cover for Europe except to be flown home and if I am honest I would probably prefer to stay in a Swiss or French hospital anyway.
What am I missing?
As @Alorotom said, your GHIC card does not get you free healthcare anywhere in the EU. It's an insurance policy that lets you reclaim (having paid yourself up front) the costs of any healthcare you recieve in an EU country that would have been free to a national of that country.
The first bit can be just a logisitical headache, potentially meaning you need to take on a lot of debt to pay the hospital bills, then reclaim it - but not any interest on the loan.
The second bit is the real kicker though as while in the UK the NHS provides all healthcare free at the point of service most European countries their free healthcare only covers the very baseline 'life or death' treatment. For anything/everything else nationals of those countries are expected to have private health insurance and that's what pays for all other treatment.
Have a major car crash and break your back and no, they won't demand cash to put you in an ambulance/treat your critical injuries at the hospital - but good chance you'll get an invoice for the ambulance and all costs for treatment/hospital stay/etc in the hospital once you're off the 'critical' list and onto the 'stable' one will appear as a big/huge bill at the end of the day that you, personally are responsible for and isn't covered by the GHIC.
The first bit can be just a logisitical headache, potentially meaning you need to take on a lot of debt to pay the hospital bills, then reclaim it - but not any interest on the loan.
The second bit is the real kicker though as while in the UK the NHS provides all healthcare free at the point of service most European countries their free healthcare only covers the very baseline 'life or death' treatment. For anything/everything else nationals of those countries are expected to have private health insurance and that's what pays for all other treatment.
Have a major car crash and break your back and no, they won't demand cash to put you in an ambulance/treat your critical injuries at the hospital - but good chance you'll get an invoice for the ambulance and all costs for treatment/hospital stay/etc in the hospital once you're off the 'critical' list and onto the 'stable' one will appear as a big/huge bill at the end of the day that you, personally are responsible for and isn't covered by the GHIC.
scot_aln said:
Gathering by some of the articles you read in certain newspapers I thought it was GHIC and a Gofundme page these days.
I am willing to bet that not a single one of those people know what a GHIC is. In the most of the publicised cases these people are pure morons, but there do seem to be a few having to resort to it who are caught out by genuine technicalities.
I certainly hope I never need to depend on travel insurance. There'll always be a slight doubt knowing that their prime interest is in wriggling out of coughing up.
Jader1973 said:
Do not travel anywhere overseas without travel insurance.
I know a bloke who works in medical repatriation. You do not want to be paying for an air ambulance to fly you back home.
my OH had to work out the cost for their trust for someone stuck in the EU, it was about £300k if i recall I know a bloke who works in medical repatriation. You do not want to be paying for an air ambulance to fly you back home.
//j17 said:
Have a major car crash and break your back and no, they won't demand cash to put you in an ambulance/treat your critical injuries at the hospital - but good chance you'll get an invoice for the ambulance and all costs for treatment/hospital stay/etc in the hospital once you're off the 'critical' list and onto the 'stable' one will appear as a big/huge bill at the end of the day that you, personally are responsible for and isn't covered by the GHIC.
I knew someone who moved to France from the UK. She was all properly set up apart from arranging her health situation. A few months in a truck smacked into her at a junction. The garage bill for her body was about 45 grand.
Friends' son was hospitalised in the Caribbean on a cruise (pneumonia). The bill for internet on the cruise alone hit four figures.
The boy was helivac-ed to a French territory (not the closest hospital by a long way) and friends send an image of his EHIC across to the hospital. Saved the insurance company a LOT of money.
The boy was helivac-ed to a French territory (not the closest hospital by a long way) and friends send an image of his EHIC across to the hospital. Saved the insurance company a LOT of money.
GHIC worked really well for us In Lanzarote last year when my wife was taken ill on a cruise ship and we had to be disembarked. Was taken by public ambulance to main public hospital and treated free of charge after presenting GHIC card. Level of care was very good. The cruise ship medical centre asked whether we wanted a private or public hospital but knowing how long and difficult it is to recover monies from travel insurance we went to public hospital. No payment was required to be made to the Spanish hospital. I think if you read the small print of most travel policies they require you to use GHIC if available.
Edited by Mark-ri571 on Monday 9th June 14:54
My wife and I ( UK citizens ) often travel to Germany to stay with my Granddaughter, who is a German citizen.
We both have GHIC cards but have never bothered with travel insurance for these short trips of 4 to 5 days. ( by air )
Would our GHIC a card cover us if we had an accident or became ill? Bearing in mind my Granddaughter is “family” and uses the German health service.
We both have GHIC cards but have never bothered with travel insurance for these short trips of 4 to 5 days. ( by air )
Would our GHIC a card cover us if we had an accident or became ill? Bearing in mind my Granddaughter is “family” and uses the German health service.
sherman said:
I knew the EHIC scheme had stopped.
I have never until today heard of the GHIC scheme.
Im in France just now. Covered under RBS travel insurance anyway.
I will look into the GHIC card when Im home.
Well assuming the T&Cs of the RBS travel insurance don't require you to have a GHIC for cover in EU countried you're covered...I have never until today heard of the GHIC scheme.
Im in France just now. Covered under RBS travel insurance anyway.
I will look into the GHIC card when Im home.
//j17 said:
sherman said:
I knew the EHIC scheme had stopped.
I have never until today heard of the GHIC scheme.
Im in France just now. Covered under RBS travel insurance anyway.
I will look into the GHIC card when Im home.
Well assuming the T&Cs of the RBS travel insurance don't require you to have a GHIC for cover in EU countried you're covered...I have never until today heard of the GHIC scheme.
Im in France just now. Covered under RBS travel insurance anyway.
I will look into the GHIC card when Im home.
If you're dropping money on a holiday, i'd want to cover myself.
Out of the blue, the missus was hospitalized on day 1 of our June holiday last year, diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. 5 night stay in a Spanish private hospital, with all the tests (£9,348).
We had a few more holidays in the pipeline, so well worth the small outlay to have that all come back.
Out of the blue, the missus was hospitalized on day 1 of our June holiday last year, diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. 5 night stay in a Spanish private hospital, with all the tests (£9,348).
We had a few more holidays in the pipeline, so well worth the small outlay to have that all come back.
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