Travel Insurance

[justapax]

As Asturias56 suggests, here's a new thread to accommodate the thread drift from the EES thread. It seems there's sufficient interest in the subject of Travel Insurance to make a thread on the subject viable.

I don't have a Nationwide FlexPlus account, only a FlexAccount, so I just shopped around for someone who would accept my history of cancer and ongoing Meniere's (which implies a higher risk of falls and broken bones), The cheapest varies from year to year. This year it was Assicurazione Generali. You have to have an address in Italy, no insurer seems to have grasped that some people have two-centre lives.

Car insurance is so much higher in Italy than in the UK that I don't drive there, if I want a car for the day I hire one, (this is infrequent) otherwise I use public transport - Travel Insurance however is about the same though, so I insure in whichever country works out cheaper. At the moment the £ is weak against the €, so next year the UK will probably be cheaper.

[Asturias56]

Thanks

I use SAGA but this year I had to drop the USA & Canada from the world -wide coverage - the difference was amazing. I can't see I'm going there for fun and if it's work I'll just put a short policy on the clients bill...........................

[Alsacienne]

So far I haven't found an insurance company in France that will offer me an annual policy for health care. Suggestions (legal!) please ... or do I just keep shelling out for each trip? Many thanks in advance.

[justapax]

Originally Posted by Alsacienne

So far I haven't found an insurance company in France that will offer me an annual policy for health care. Suggestions (legal!) please ... or do I just keep shelling out for each trip? Many thanks in advance.

I searched 'assurance de voyage anneulle' and it came up with https://www.assurance-voyage.axa-ass...devis-en-ligne and one of the options is monde (hors etats-unis, canada et caraibes) ou monde entier, plusieurs voyages effectues dans l'annee. Sorry, this keyboard doesn't do accents without a lot of effort. All spelling mistakes are my fault, not theirs.

Also https://www.allianz-voyage.fr/assura...multi-voyages/
and https://www.europ-assistance.fr/fr/a...oyage-annuelle

[Alsacienne]

Thanks justapax! I'll investigate ... though the one of the many Allianz brokers here laughed in my face and said it didn't exist here!!! Much appreciated.

[Piper.Classique]

Originally Posted by Alsacienne

Thanks justapax! I'll investigate ... though the one of the many Allianz brokers here laughed in my face and said it didn't exist here!!! Much appreciated.

I have had an annual policy through AXA but although the repatriation amounts are adequate the in country amounts assured are quite small.

[ZFT]

Is this thread about travel or health insurance. Title says travel but posts refer to health?

[Asturias56]

At our age they 're much the same thing - and most people in the UK don't have health insurance - they depend on the NHS . The only time they come into contact with health insurers is when they want to travel.

[ZFT]

OK. To me travel insurance is all the non health issues, delays, losses, cancellations etc.. Personally i never get 'travel' insurance as most credit cards seem to offer it with bookings. 'Health' insurance, i have an annual worldwide (except US) with AXA which when I've needed it has worked well. For USA travel i take out a specific short term policy, typically mind boglingly expensive.

[BonnieLass]

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who take a holiday somewhere, doesn't matter if shorthaul or long, and they don't bother with travel insurance...then something goes wrong and they need treatment abroard or repatriation and its the usual sad face in the media and crowdfund to get them home.

If you're spending a couple of grand or more (or less tbh) on a holiday, just get travel insurance cos you never know when you might need it and it isn't that expensive - single trip or annual is still a fraction of the cost of that "must have" holiday abroard.

Heck when I moved to my new home it entailed 5 flights plus trains up, down and across the country and I still got travel insurance cos you just never know what could occur....and anything/everything is possible

Cover yourself for the unexpected, save a lot of heartache if things go awry.

[USER0005]

Originally Posted by ZFT

Is this thread about travel or health insurance. Title says travel but posts refer to health?

I take the view that I can look after just about everything myself except health. The car has European breakdown cover and we drive a popular brand of vehicle (VAG) so if anything did go awry we're not going to be far from a garage.

We're as likely to lose posessions outside the UK as at home, delays happen and you just live with it. Miss your Le Shuttle train or ferry there's another one in half an hour or so.

Health and potential repatriation cover are the most important factors and I really wish insurers would just offer that rather than the "nice to have" but hardly essential add ons that we just don't want.

We only travel within Europe, Mrs ATN's pre-existing conditions make travel further afield untenable from a pure insurance perspective. Anyway there's so much to see and do in Europe we've no urge to go further afield.

[Asturias56]

"If you're spending a couple of grand or more (or less tbh) on a holiday, just get travel insurance cos you never know when you might need it and it isn't that expensive - single trip or annual is still a fraction of the cost of that "must have" holiday abroard."

Agreed - just investigate foreign health care costs and the cost of repatriation - it's truly frightening. Tho a family member had a heart attack in Italy (pre-Brexit) and the treatment couldn't have been better and it was free - tho' they required a fax from the DHSS in Newcastle (which came in 12 hours) to confirm UK coverage.