Travel insurance or just take a credit card?

Always take travel insurance out.

I got majorly ill in the US years ago and the whole bill came to more than $50,000. Luckily I had a good travel insurance company that paid for all the tests in hospital, the payments to stay in hospital, and arranged a flight back (2 flights, one regional, and one international) with a nurse and doctor.

If you have preexisting conditions there are travel insurances that specialise in that. Keep looking around for a good one as it's worth having the peace of mind.
 
You are crazy for even thinking to not get insurance. Always have insurance when traveling anywhere.

I pay £20/m to NatWest just so I can have worldwide travel insurance with my bank account (in addition to mobile insurance) and don't have to faff around buying a new one every time I travel, at least 3-4 times a year.
 
A2Z said:
You are crazy for even thinking to not get insurance. Always have insurance when traveling anywhere.

I pay £20/m to NatWest just so I can have worldwide travel insurance with my bank account (in addition to mobile insurance) and don't have to faff around buying a new one every time I travel, at least 3-4 times a year.
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You pay £240 a year for travel and phone insurance add-on?

It's like £70 for AA (no USA, no wintersports) for an annual travel insurance.
 
Most travel insurance companies wont pay for things whilst abroad, you will be required to pay yourself and then go through the claims process. Regardless if it's medical, transport or items.
So get insurance and also bring your credit card. - You get what you pay for, some policies are practically worthless.
 
Raymond Lin said:
You pay £240 a year for travel and phone insurance add-on?

It's like £70 for AA (no USA, no wintersports) for an annual travel insurance.
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My NatWest one covers USA as well. Just checked AA and an annual worldwide Inc USA is £95 for Bronze or £118 for Silver which figures wise is a comparable to mine. Also NatWest gives family cover - so wife is automatically covered as well. Kids would be too if I had any. Also includes brake down cover but I don't use it as I don't have a car currently. I doubt you will find any phone insurance for less than £120/year, so seems good value?
 
SixTwoSix said:
Additionally, as I posted in another thread when I went on holiday a few months back...
One thing I became aware of with a recent trip is that with most insurers, if you havent declared everything that's happened in the last two years that resulted in either a doctor/hospital appointment or prescribed medication, the entire policy can be voided for everyone on it. This can be as simple as not declaring a course of antibiotics.
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Good shout, but that seems so unfair I wonder if there is a similar process with the Ombudsman as there is for car insurance.
As in, technically they can cancel your policy and not pay out if they find out you have a single non-OEM part on your vehicle - but they don't tend to do this because they'd lose against the FOS, they just ask you to pay the difference in what your policy would have cost.
I'd like to think a travel insurer would also lose if you caught diptheria or something and they tried to not pay out because you forgot to mention you had an ingrown nail 2 years ago.
 
Blackbadger said:
Most travel insurance companies wont pay for things whilst abroad, you will be required to pay yourself and then go through the claims process. Regardless if it's medical, transport or items.
So get insurance and also bring your credit card. - You get what you pay for, some policies are practically worthless.
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The vast majority of insurance companies will pay for medical bills if required/requested by hospitals there and then, hospital bills in the US can run into the 10s of thousands very quickly and not a lot of people have that to spend at short notice. A friend I know was in a bad accident in the US and 2 calls from his wife to the insurance company (virgin money if memory serves) and all medical bills were covered there and then.
 
Blackbadger said:
Most travel insurance companies wont pay for things whilst abroad, you will be required to pay yourself and then go through the claims process. Regardless if it's medical, transport or items.
So get insurance and also bring your credit card. - You get what you pay for, some policies are practically worthless.
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This is wrong.

99% of the population don't have a high enough limit on their CC to even cover a day or two in a US hospital.

100% the insurance company pays out. My MIL got ill on holiday, the FIL contacted Nationwide (it was coverage as part of their current account) and they sorted out the hospital, change to hotel stay length so FIL could stay there while MIL was in hospital, transport to airport and change to flights.
 
Thanks for your responses folks. I've just taken out a single trip policy with LV and paid £131.

I'll be doing a fair bit of surfing and many of the insurers on the comparison site I used had paddle boarding and boogie boarding listed but surfing was conspicuously absent.

So I ran a quote through with LV because I have my car and home insurance with them and although their essential policy for £80 said there was only cover for boogie boarding, their premier policy specifically listed surfing as covered.

I probably should have continued shopping around but to be honest I couldn't be bothered.

It's sorted now, that's the main thing.
 
A2Z said:
My NatWest one covers USA as well. Just checked AA and an annual worldwide Inc USA is £95 for Bronze or £118 for Silver which figures wise is a comparable to mine. Also NatWest gives family cover - so wife is automatically covered as well. Kids would be too if I had any. Also includes brake down cover but I don't use it as I don't have a car currently. I doubt you will find any phone insurance for less than £120/year, so seems good value?
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I swapped to nationwide when NatWest went up to £15-16 from £12. Nationwide is £13 for the same thing. Or from first look it's the same thing.

Brake down, travel and mobile insurance for the family
 
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Yep get insurance, have a look at Rock Insurance, just paid about £20 for a family single trip policy in Europe.

Nationwide £13 a month policy is brilliant though, I used to have it and did have a claim with them of £10k once when my daughter was ill on a trip to the US.
 
robfosters said:
Go fund me has already raised £50k!

why bother, just let everyone else pick up the bill :rolleyes:
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You see this a lot on dog breed Facebook groups. People recklessly taking on dog ownership and then realising that actually looking after one costs a lot of money, especially when (not if) they need care from the vet and you didn't bother to take out insurance. Never mind, post a few cute pictures up and then everyone will chip in to save poor Teddy.
 
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