The real cost of travel insurance

[NYCguy]

... Being Egglish, can get access to the National Health service, for me, there is no real risk for UK.

Holders of Australian Medicare Cards are entitled to free medically required treatment in the UK, NZ, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Italy and Malta.

Note that this doesn't cover the cost of repatriating you (or your body) back to Australia, nor does it give you any cancellation insurance, and it won't get you back to Australia urgently if something goes awry at home.

Of course it goes without saying that traveling to the USA without adequate insurance is absolutely bloody stupid, unless you are wealthy enough that a $30K bill for having your appendix out doesn't worry you...

[Dave Noble]

Holders of Australian Medicare Cards are entitled to free medically required treatment in the UK, NZ, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Italy and Malta.

Note that this doesn't cover the cost of repatriating you (or your body) back to Australia, nor does it give you any cancellation insurance, and it won't get you back to Australia urgently if something goes awry at home.

Of course it goes without saying that traveling to the USA without adequate insurance is absolutely bloody stupid, unless you are wealthy enough that a $30K bill for having your appendix out doesn't worry you...

I am aware of what an AU Medicare card entitles plus, as referred to in your quoting of me, I am fully aware what my UK NI card provides for in EU

There is nothing that I can think of which could require an urgent return to Australia plus the ticket I use is fully flexible and fully refundable; if I am dead, I am hardly going to worry about whether my body gets a flight to Australia

The US is irrelevent in this

Dave

[Mal]

I am aware of what an AU Medicare card entitles plus, as referred to in your quoting of me, I am fully aware what my UK NI card provides for in EU

What about the stopover in Singapore/Bangkok/Hong Kong/Tokyo? Or if a person became sick while in the air and the plane was forced to land somewhere remote on the way?

I don't see Travel insurance as simply something people need for their home city and destination city. Everyone is free to make their own calculated risk on what they want to risk though - that's the freedom of choice (And I'm still yet to make a claim for any travel insurance I've used/bought... There's probably a couple of Thousand $ I could have used elsewhere!)

[Dave Noble]

What about the stopover in Singapore/Bangkok/Hong Kong/Tokyo? Or if a person became sick while in the air and the plane was forced to land somewhere remote on the way?

I am prepared to take the risk for the hr or so transit.

If my trip involves stops in countries other than those where I have no concerns, then I do ensure that I have insurance.

I don't see Travel insurance as simply something people need for their home city and destination city. Everyone is free to make their own calculated risk on what they want to risk though - that's the freedom of choice (And I'm still yet to make a claim for any travel insurance I've used/bought... There's probably a couple of Thousand $ I could have used elsewhere!)

I have an annual policy at the moment from columbus on the 20% AFF discount . For my $200 outlay , I did get $500 for delayed luggage this year

Dave

[Dee Thom]

(And I'm still yet to make a claim for any travel insurance I've used/bought... There's probably a couple of Thousand $ I could have used elsewhere!)[/quote]

Recently I was hospitalised in RAP, S/Dakota with strep/pneumonia (picked up in Asia ). Hospital, Medical centre, drugs, recoup in Motel, cancelled flts, car rentals, accom etc., totalled over $US 11K, all in seven days!
The TI $342 cost, was a better investment than NAB in 1991.
Dee.

[NYCguy]

Are you a little tetchier than normal today, Dave? You know, just because someone quotes your post doesn't mean that they are trying to diminish or contradict the content of that post in any way.

I didn't see any proviso in the posts preceding mine that the discussion in this thread was to be limited to travel occurring exclusively within the United Kingdom or the other member states of the European Union, hence my comment about the dangers of traveling to the USA without insurance unless one has very deep pockets.

Whilst some people may have coverage for medial services throughout the EU, the vast majority of travelers do not; hence, they require travel insurance. As unlikely as it sounds, some people fly economy! Not only that, they fly on cheap, inflexible tickets. This may lead them to believe that there is a tangible advantage to buying travel insurance. Some individuals may consider that it would place an excessive financial burden on their significant others if they had to repatriate their remains back to the other side of the world, or buy a ticket at short notice to visit them in their hospital bed in a far-off land.

Not everyone has the means to whack an F ticket to London on the Centurion to allow the missus/mistress/whatever to fly over and visit if one should fall down the stairs at Claridges and bust a hip. For those individuals, adequate insurance may add a level of comfort to travel, knowing that they are covered in case of sudden illness or injury.

[Dave Noble]

Are you a little tetchier than normal today, Dave? You know, just because someone quotes your post doesn't mean that they are trying to diminish or contradict the content of that post in any way.

Quoting and then making comments does, to me, normally tend to imply that the person is making a response to the quoted text

I didn't see any proviso in the posts preceding mine that the discussion in this thread was to be limited to travel occurring exclusively within the United Kingdom or the other member states of the European Union, hence my comment about the dangers of traveling to the USA without insurance unless one has very deep pockets.

Well, my comments related to particular types of trips where I would happily take the risk and travel without coverage. For most international travel I fully agree with you that insurance is a very sensible thing to have and would recommend having it.
risk

of the 1 in 3 statistic on travellers , how many are covered adequately elsewhere or are travelling domestically I wonder

Dave

[JohnK]

I don't travel anywhere without travel insurance. I have an annual policy that expires next week for which I paid $280. I still have not lodged my claim for delayed luggage back in August but I think I will get around $350 when I finally send the claim for processing.

Next time I may try Columbus travel insurance as it is only $250. I won't need it until next overseas trip in March. I feel that travel insurance provided through credit cards is inadequate.

[turtlemichael]

I feel that travel insurance provided through credit cards is inadequate.

Are there facts to back-up this statement and several similar ones in this thread?

I'm interested as I have relied on Amex card insurance for the past couple of years but then, I haven't had a claim in recent times. The day will come of course and I don't want shocks. Is Amex insurance substantially less useful than a paid policy like Columbus?

I'm also interested on Serfty's comment (post #10) which seems to imply, unless I am reading too much into it, that his credit card insurance is adequate but having a separate policy just gives him the freedom of how to charge the fare etc

[JohnK]

Are there facts to back-up this statement and several similar ones in this thread?

There have been a few examples posted on AFF in other threads. I would need to search to find them.

As far as I am aware travel insurance provided by credit cards is very basic and subject to an excess applied to claims as well. This may not be an issue when the claim is for large amounts but for smaller amounts the excess is significant. Travel insurance provided by the likes of Columbus is comprehensive.