What’s the Point in Travel Insurance?

When you’ve been saving for a couple of years and shelled out on a holiday, getting an add on like travel insurance might seem like a real pain. A lot of people head abroad thinking that the worst won’t happen to them, but travelling without insurance is very dangerous – not only for your health, but also for your wallet. 15% of Brits gamble on their holidays by not taking out an insurance policy, which could mean serious costs and possibly even financial ruin if something went wrong.

 

Receiving treatment and being returned to the UK could cost thousands of pounds, even with an EHIC card. The card will give you the same kind of health cover as a national in the country you are in. However, many countries in the EU do not have the same kind of standards as the NHS, so you could still find yourself out of pocket, particularly if you need to be airlifted somewhere. A couple of figures from the Go Direct travel insurance website might give you a few ideas, and note that these are not covered by the EHIC while costs further afield will be even higher:

 

• For an air ambulance back home from the Canary Islands you can expect to pay £12,000 - £16,000.
• For a scheduled flight with a Doctor escort from the Mediterranean you can expect to pay £1,800 - £4,000.

So, even within the EU you can be put in a very tight financial situation if you need to return home to the UK after an accident. Medical costs are the most likely thing that you will have to pay a lot for if you need to make a claim. However, there are plenty of other things that could go wrong on holiday aside from your health.
Statistics quoted on Pha Travel Club say that 6% of people had to cancel or cut short their holiday due to unforeseen circumstances, while 8% had lost their luggage. This isn’t quite going to cost the astronomical sums that an air ambulance might, but it could still set you back hundreds of pounds. Plenty of insurers can cover you for loss of baggage, passport or cancellation, and with Go Travel's travel insurance policy coming at under £15, it’s hard to see a reason why you wouldn’t want to take out some cover.

 

If you take regular trips abroad then you may want to consider annual cover. Take a look at the AA for some annual travel insurance quotes.