Get insured – or risk a huge bill
Do you ever go on holiday without travel insurance? Perhaps you think that it’s not worth buying for a quick hop abroad. After all, when the air fare is so cheap, the cost of the policy seems expensive.
Apparently, more people are travelling without insurance – around 29%, a rise of 7% this year over 2004.
Going abroad without cover may seem like a risk worth taking. It isn’t. There is only a small chance of you getting ill or injured in the one week or weekend when you are out of the country, but if it happens you could end up counting the cost for years to come.
The Foreign Office has launched a television campaign, which will also be shown in 150 cinemas throughout the UK next year, highlighting the rising cost of medical care abroad.
The advertisement shows someone facing a bill of £15,000 after a white-water rafting accident. This is unlikely to happen on a weekend break in Europe, admittedly, but any type of medical care can be expensive.
Travellers to Europe are advised to obtain, from a post office, the EHIC form, which replaces the old E111 document. This entitles you to reduced cost, sometimes free, treatment in Europe, but is not a substitute for insurance. It won’t cover the cost of repatriation or of numerous other things, such as being burgled, which can happen abroad.
The trend for under-45s to hold stag and hen parties abroad has fuelled the rise in the number of people travelling without insurance. According to surveys, revellers prepare for sun and sex – with lotion and contraceptives – but don’t bother with insurance. Often they end up in hospital or the victim of a crime which they are unable to prevent because they are so drunk.
Paul Sizeland, the director of consular services at the Foreign Office, told me that the trouble with stag parties is that everyone thinks the tour leader is in charge of everything. Sizeland said his staff often have to help people, who have no clue where they are staying, to become reunited with their parties.
No doubt several innocent holidaymakers end up needing hospital treatment after accidentally bumping into sozzled groups of Brits attempting to drink a town dry.
If this doesn’t make you reach for the nearest insurance policy, nothing will.
Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore
Friday, December 9th, 2005
My name is Alan Potts and I'm the Editor of the UK Ferry Tickets web site and Managing Director of BUYability Limited. You can connect with me or keep up to date with new posts on this blog via the following social media sites: 
