Don’t forget – Travel Insurance

If you are planning your annual vacation then at the top of your list should be sufficient insurance to cover all eventualities… including health and accident.

Following stories that some hospitals in Spain have been refusing the E-HIC (European Health Insurance Card – formally the E1-11), travel insurance expert Beth Macer from payingtoomuch.com reminds people to ensure they have both travel insurance policy, AND the E-HIC.

She says: “When travelling within the EEA (European Economic Area), it is not sufficient just to rely on the E-HIC to cover you. People have the misconception that the E-HIC will cover all eventualities and that it is an alternative to travel insurance. However, please bear in mind that the E-HIC should/will ONLY cover necessary medical treatment from state healthcare providers (which may not always be free). It will not cover repatriation should you need to be flown home, and will not cover baggage or cancellation.”
In a recent survey by travel organization ABTA it was found that 1 in 5 UK holiday makers travel without insurance. While a similar proportion of those polled thought that thought the UK government would cover the cost if something went wrong.
John de Vial, ABTA head of financial protection said: “It is very worrying that so many people are putting their health and finances at risk by travelling abroad without insurance. Many wrongly assume that it is the Foreign Office’s responsibility to pay for their hospital bills, particularly younger travellers. In the current economic climate, customers should be careful to purchase insurance at the time of booking their holiday to obtain cancellation cover for redundancy as well as any potential illness prior to travelling.”
The survey found that 17% of those asked also believed that travel insurance was unnecessary when travelling in Europe if they had a European Health Insurance Card.
ABTA urged people to buy insurance at the same time as booking a holiday.