Travel Insurance?

[Omaha]

Now being a bit of a scardey cat I'm inclined to always take out travel insurance. Now recently I've talked to a few people who don't & I was beginning to wonder was I the biggest sucker & bleedin eejit around. Now my annual insurance was up a few weeks ago, I find this useful since I take several trips abroad a year & I was all planning to renew it the day before I head out next week. Now the trip I'm heading on is fairly tame by my standards so on hearing people say travel insurance was for suckers & a waste of money I was tempted to risk it & not get any.

When I was booking my NZ trip I enquired of the travel agent could the other travel company I'm travelling with next week refuse to bring me if they copped I'd no travel insurance which I promised them I was getting myself. She said they could so being the complete sucker I am I'll be renewing my insurance next week.

Another prob I've had is the dangerous pursuits part. Now everyone knows NZ is far from the tamest of countries extreme sports wise. :ok: I've eh been known to indulge in activities for which I've not been fully covered under this category, mind you though I gave white water rafting a miss last year for this very reason which was guffawed by a certain person, but technically my scenic flight over the Grand Canyon wasn't covered either but there was no way insurance or not I was going to be deterred from that.

What I'm curious about is how many here take out travel insurance & do many risk underinsuring themselves re: the risks they'll be inclined to take. Do many feel travel insurance is a waste of money or does anyone have horror stories where they didn't take out insurance & it came back to haunt them.

I'd like some feed back on this so I can be sure I ain't going ga ga on this subject. :\

P.S. Also do people feel one insurance policy differs much from the other. Are there any insurance companies they'd avoid like the plague or on the contrary are there any they would recommend. I tend to use www.getcover.com though I'm also looking at the Trailfinders one given they cover for extreme sports. I usually go on price but should this really be my most important consideration.

Lastly has anybody got experience of a company been slow to pay out for a legitimate claim since I know it happened to the family of my aunts husband who sadly got knocked down by a car in New York & died, he's first time out of the British Isles (opps!) & he atleast in his fifties. :( They had a divil of a time getting the money out of the blaggarts of an insurance company despite the fact that he just got insured in the nick of time before leaving Ireland. :mad:

[Globaliser]

I'd never dream of travelling uninsured, and with the amount I do an annual policy is pretty good value all round. I've been with Boots for several years.

I've fortunately only had to make one claim. Between us, my partner and I managed to leave some Bose headphones (not cheap) in a hotel, with a CD player and a CD in the side pocket of the case. The CD was one of a set of 3 (an opera). All, you might have thought, highly dodgy stuff, particularly as I didn't discover it for several days, and was already at sea on a cruise ship.

They paid the claim, no trouble, no hassle. It included the full cost of a replacement set of CDs, on condition that I sent them the remains of the set from which that single disc was lost.

[SLF]

Had an annual policy for 15 years, initially via BA Exec club and more recently with Norwich Union. Never made a claim, but I'm a pretty healthy savvy traveller. :cool:

Wouldn't dream of travelling un-insured :eek:

[MerchantVenturer]

The biggest potential costs are medical, especially in somewhere like the USA.

I would never travel without adequate travel insurance.

Last year my wife and I claimed for the first time. She broke her leg in Austria, not skiing or anything like that, just walking along a road in summer and her leg turned over awkwardly fracturing a bone.

We were directed to the local clinic where she received first class treatment, jumping the queue of Austrian 'National Health' patients in the waiting room.

We continued our holiday afterher leg was put in plaster, albeit I had to push her in a wheelchair. Apart from the actual medical expenses the insurance company paid for taxis at either end of the journey home to/from the airports (a hundred miles from resort to Salzburg Airport that cost a pretty penny) and for two extra seats on the aircraft home so she could have three seats in a row in order to keep her leg elevated.

The only thing we could not claim was a £35 excess.

Sometimes you hear sob stories in the media of people who have gone abroad without insurance, had a serious accident then expected the sympathy of the public for their predicament. They never get mine.

IMO anyone going abroad without insurance is extremely foolish.

I'm not in the insurance trade by the way- never have been either.

[redsnail]

Travel insurance is sensible of course.
I'd check to see if Ireland has reciprocal national health rights with New Zealand as well. That can save a fortune.
(eg Australia and Britain have reciprocal rights)

[Damsel]

We are airline employees and we never travel without insurance. Would be very foolish to leave without any cover.
We purchase annual policies at an excellent rate.

[PAXboy]

I have used Amex for ages. I have an annual scheme through the Platinum card and had to make two (minor) medical claims. Both were dealth with speedily and in full. Oh yes and the delay claim when I was in the middle fo the New York and North Eastern USA power blackout of August 2003. They paid the maximum that the policy says (£200) they paid without quibble when I gave them receipts. etc.

One medical claim in South Africa ... I rang to lodge the claim and get a ref number and carried on the holiday. They rang back 36 hours later (from the UK) to make sure that I was OK, did I have all that I needed and could they help me with any kind of medical contacts etc.? That phone call was enough to ensure that I renewed the policy!

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"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

[christep]

I have a different view on this. Insurance companies only exist because, on average, people pay more into them in premiums than they take out in claims. So the only logical reason for taking insurance is if you believe you can somehow beat the odds or if there is a chance of you having a cost which is beyond your means to pay.

That being so, I have a medical insurance policy with a large excess to cover me for major problems when I travel to places where health care is not free/reciprocal. But I cover any (very rare) minor health costs myself.

I don't take any other type of insurance - I can't think of anything else that could happen which it would be beyond my ability to pay reasonably easily, so I apply the basic principle that I'd rather (on average) keep the money which is the insurance companies' profits.

[PilotsPal]

Apart from the medical and personal possessions aspects of travel insurance, cover is usually included for delays, cancellations and missed connections. And don't forget third party liability - if you do something that damages someone or something else.

Frankly, for the price of a decent meal a year's cover is a bargain. There were plenty of people caught up in the tsunami who were only too grateful for the help their insurance companies were able to provide.

A good place for research is the London Evening Standard's site (thisismoney or something like that) which has a very helpful comparative tool. Some people prefer to have a high value of medical cover, others are more concerned about personal possessions or unforeseen events. Up to you what you feel you need.

[Biggles Flies Undone]

Travelling without insurance is like sex without a condom - sooner or later something is going to happen to make you wish you'd been sensible.....

I buy an annual worldwide family policy for about £100. On a recent holiday my daughter managed to drop a heavy object on her bare foot - the EMS costs for X-ray, strapping etc easily exceeded the annual premium.

Don't be fooled by thinking you can just get away with personal medical expenses cover, either. There are parts of the world where you really don't want to spend time in hospital and your insurers will arrange a MEDEVAC flight to get you back home.

[PAXboy]

christep: I agree with you to a degree. I have lived without one particualr aspect of insurance for some time but travel is one not to be missed. I think that the annual contracts are very good as it saves buying every time. I strongly suspect that the package holiday market pay way over the odds for their insurance.

As always, shop around.

[christep]

Paxboy,

Absolutely - if you are going to buy then buy an annual policy.

But I have been travelling very extensively for over 10 years and I have never had a cost that I would have been able to claim on a travel insurance policy, so in that time I have saved a couple of thousand quid by not buying travel insurance. Which is more than I can see incurring for any non-medical event. I stand by my assessment that I prefer to keep the insurance companies' profits myself.

By the way, travel insurance is a very UK (and Anglo-) market thing. Mention it to people from many other developed countries and they haven't a clue what you are talking about. Such is the power of advertising and scare-mongering in the UK.

[Pax Vobiscum]

I'm quite happy to jaunt around the EC (carrying my trusty E111) without insurance, but I buy an annual policy to cover any trips beyond this area. Having worked in insurance for over 20 years, I can confirm that christep is correct - don't take out any cover that you can afford to bear yourself (unless you think that you're subject to much higher than average risk and that the insurance company won't pick up on it).

I can't quite reconcile christep's financial analysis - I don't think the cost of an annual travel insurance policy should be 200 pounds more than the cost of medical cover alone?

[barbiegirl]

"I don't take any other type of insurance - I can't think of anything else that could happen which it would be beyond my ability to pay reasonably easily, so I apply the basic principle that I'd rather (on average) keep the money which is the insurance companies' profits."

lets say your ill on board the aircraft and it has to divert to get you medical attention, this costs approx £20, 000 (quoted to me by one of our captains)- this is another good reason to have travel insurance, unless Christep you got a spare 20K lying around!!

[Globaliser]

christep: But I have been travelling very extensively for over 10 years and I have never had a cost that I would have been able to claim on a travel insurance policy, so in that time I have saved a couple of thousand quid by not buying travel insurance. Which is more than I can see incurring for any non-medical event. I stand by my assessment that I prefer to keep the insurance companies' profits myself.You shouldn't even have got to savings of one thousand quid, let alone a couple.

FWIW, that single lost property claim was, in total, worth about four years' worth of annual premiums.

[Llademos]

You've got to be barking not to have travel insurance at least for the medical. If you're in the travel industry then you'll get an annual policy for under forty quid - doesn't cover delays and being offloaded, but does have medical cover in spades. Even in Europe the E111 won't help you when you need aeromed back to the UK.

Ll

[Evening Star]

Agree with the spirit of what you are saying christep, but...

Suppose the issue is how lucky do you feel? I often wonder about insurance and what I really get for it. In truth, I could cope with the smallish claims such as described by Globaliser, so where I have insurance tend to set my excess highish to lower the premium. Insurance is therefore in place for the scary events.

With regard to travel insurance, ES family travel insurance is part of the package for having a premium bank account. If it was just for the travel insurance then in truth I would be paying slightly more than normal annual travel insurance. However, get other savings and useful freebies as well, so works out worth the £12/month account fee.

[christep]

Globaliser,

If you are going to lose things every four years then I guess you are beating the odds (i.e. you are losing things more often than average) so it makes sense for you. I haven't lost or broken anything or incurred any significant costs in being delayed anywhere in 10 years of very extensive (as you know from my postings in another place) global travel.

So far I am well up.

Medical is a separate issue, as I discussed. But I don't think airlines bill people for the cost of diversions if they are taken seriously ill (but I'm not sure about this so I am open to evidence to the contrary).

Again, the fundamental principle of insurance is that you pay in (on average) more than you take out. Otherwise Insurance companies could not exist.

The only issue is what is the level of cost that could reasonably be incurred which you could not cover. I realise that for some people a cost of 1000 quid is beyond their means and so paying 50 quid to cover against that seems reasonable even if the odds of incurring the 1000 quid cost are 100:1 against. But for me, if I have a 100:1 risk of incurring a 1000 quid cost then I will take that rather than pay 50 quid in insurance because on average I will spend less money that way, and 1000 quid isn't going to bankrupt me if I have to pay it.

[Omaha]

Thanks for all yours replies and advice.

I went with 'Trailfinders Annual Gold Cover Insurance' which covers me for about 60 sporty activities on as many trips as I like. Getcover.com fell down greatly in this area. The hazardous activities cover was per trip on top of my annual insurance & was exorbitant. Now I can relax knowing when I get to NZ & I can indulge in the activities I want without having to worry & I won't have to fork out again for insurance for a full year. :ok:

[christep]

Omaha,

Emergency medical care in NZ is free to UK citizens. I'm not clear what your insurance is likely to pay for?

( http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAdviceForTravellers/TreatmentAbroadOutsideEEAAgreementWithUK/OutsideTheEEAReciprocalAgreementArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4055564&chk=hjXVY2 )

[BOFH]

Free medical care is worth what you pay for it. (I do not wish to appear sarcastic, christep.)

If I understand correctly, dental work isn't covered - that would be my first concern. You can carry other injuries but bringing a tooth back in a glass of milk is quite different.

I think I have spent about 2000 quid on travel insurance over the last few years, buying it in Australia and Germany, where it is expensive. (My health insurance during that time was about 15,000 pounds.) Because so many people take out annual insurance in the UK, the overhead comes down, so you're getting closer to the pure risk cost - and you get peace of mind.

You can also save money by driving your car without a tax disc or insurance - but would you? Plenty of people seem to do so...

BOFH

[christep]

Dental work which requires hospital treatment (i.e. dental surgery) is covered. Any other dental work is within my means to pay (a few hundred quid perhaps?).

Tax discs are something compeltely different - I don't see the relevance.

On car insurance I would only ever buy third party since those claims could be beyond my means to pay. I wouldn't buy comprehensive since I could, in the worst case, afford to buy another car.

I understand that for some people a few hundred quid is beyond their means so spending 75-100 quid a year may be worth it. But in my case I can't see how it would make sense (beyond medical insurance (with a high excess) for counrties where I don't have free cover).

[Globaliser]

christep: I understand that for some people a few hundred quid is beyond their means so spending 75-100 quid a year may be worth it. But in my case I can't see how it would make sense (beyond medical insurance (with a high excess) for counrties where I don't have free cover).When you say "free cover", do you mean cover under pre-existing private medical insurance that you've already paid for? And does it include repatriation? I can see that if your private medical insurance covers you for medical treatment overseas plus repatriation, one of the big reasons for getting travel insurance is nullified. But most of us do not have that sort of private medical insurance, nor could we afford the sum that might have to be paid out if we happened to be the unlucky person to cop the accident/injury/illness while away, however affordable that risk might theoretically be on an actuarial basis.

My own claim experience above demonstrates just that: I'm not in the habit of losing stuff and I think it's the only time I've ever had to claim on a travel insurance policy for my own loss (as opposed to helping other members of my party from time to time who've been mugged, had their cars broken into, etc.). One might be careful and lucky most of the time, but it only takes one claim to make the whole exercise worthwhile. And it's not just the cash value, it's also the security of having people looking after you at the insurers' end - about which my insurer was brilliant.

Also, if you can afford to just go out and buy another car if yours is totally, may I be so bold as to ask what you do for a living? Methinks I need a change of career ... :D

[HKPAX]

I 100% agree that it is barmy to travel without medical insurance. But it is worth checking if any (existing) medical insurance already covers you. Often USA is excluded. Some countries have reciprocal agreements with others for hospital care. E.g. my broken leg in Australia was treated free because of agreement with the UK - but I had to fork out US$500 for a helicopter lift which you could argue was a bargain for 2 hours exclusive use of the equipment, the pilot, a doctor and two men on the winch. Wish I was in a mood to appreciate their sheer professionalism more!

I added "emergency evacuation" insurance for a business trip to East Timor last year - cost about US$100.

Does your household insurance cover you for losing things? - mine does. So if you buy extra insurance you may be paying twice for the same cover.

[Omaha]

Firstly I'm not a citizen of the UK, perhaps the British Isles but I am not British but Irish. Also I'm covered for cancellation. My ticket cost over €1,000 & is non refundable. The insurance is also intended to cover me for trips to Italy & France. Hope I did, well I'm kinda sure I did make the right choice in getting it, anyway what is done is done!

[I Just Want To Fly]

I am a retail travel agent, and am responsible for selling a lot of the policies you buy. As agents we make a lot of money from travel insurance. Our commission rate is 40%. We also receive movie tickets and prizes for achieving our insurance targets.

Having said this, it is my opinion that:

""If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel"

My suggestion, shop around and ask for a discount. Cheapest is DEFINATELY NOT always the best, so be carefull. I have had many clients stung by internet insurance policies, particularly after the Tsunami

[BOFH]

Tax discs are something compeltely different - I don't see the relevance.

There's a class of people for whom it's less expensive to take the risk, although you are right, it is not mandatory to have travel insurance. On the other hand, it can still work out cheaper for them.

Of course you could cover the cost of having your body taken home, or for a nurse or physician to accompany you on your flight (and their return flight), or have a family member flown over to be with you when you are critically ill or dying.

I am not criticising you, Christep. If you put 100 pounds into an insurance policy you'll get about 75 back in the long run. The 25 you pay is for peace of mind.

BOFH

[bluebird121]

:cool: I travel a lot throughout the year and would never consider going anywhere with travel insurance..i know someone who never had any insurance... got badly injured and had to pay all his own expenses so it was a rather expensive holiday for him..not worth the worry for all it costs and it gives you peace of mind and you can enjoy your holday..:ok:

[Omaha]

I travel a lot throughout the year and would never consider going anywhere with travel insurance
Do you mean 'without travel insurance' mate. A wise man. :ok: or woman. :uhoh: & he/she enjoys cycling. :D

[bluebird121]

:ok: yes i enjoy cycling and am a female but i just cycle along the canal paths. i do not take any risks by going on the roads. although i am well aware of the dangers even on the tow path..i do however lessen my risk by wearing a helmet and reflective gear and use lights when the weather is poor. there is no insurance available for me doing this sport. or i would have it.. oh yes and i have been cycling for about 5 years now.. roughly 100 miles per week ....less in the winter..:ok:

[PAXboy]

Would these people need regular insurance or Travel insurance, as their car "took off" and smashed into the top floor of a house (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4493713.stm) ???

From the BBc report, Police are investigating exactly how the car crashed into the upstairs wall, after going out of control on the A30. The photos are classic and, yes, it was a Red BMW.
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"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.