We all get hung up on packing like Ninjas at this time of year as we ready ourselves for holidays overseas and look to save ourselves the costs associated with checked-in bags. But one thing as many as half of us completely forget to pack every single year is travel insurance and that is in spite of the fact that the costs associated with not having it can be astronomical.
But what lies behind the reluctance of so many people and would it help if we answered some questions?
Do I really need it?
In a word, yes. It can make life a whole lot easier if for whatever reason you are forced to cancel a holiday before you travel or need to cut a trip short and it can save you tens of thousands of euro and endless heartache if - heaven forbid - something terrible happens to you while you are overseas. And it can do all this for less than €100 a year for a multi-trip policy covering a family of five.
But if I have private health insurance I am grand?
No you’re not. A private health insurance policy can see the cost of a travel insurance premium fall but it is not all you need. For a start, if your travel insurance is connected to your health insurance then the travel insurance company might well insist you claim from your health insurance before they will countenance a payment and that adds a layer of administrative stress you don’t need. And many private hospitals overseas will want to see evidence of travel insurance before they treat you or else will ask for a hefty deposit.
But I definitely don’t need travel insurance if I am travelling in Europe?
This is a commonly held assumption. It is also a wrong one. While it is true up to a point that if you fall ill while in the EU you will be treated in that country's health system just like you would be if you were a citizen of that country, you have absolutely no protection if you have to cancel your trip before you leave because of an illness to you or a loved one or if you have to curtail it for the same reason. And being in Europe will make little difference if you are the victim of a crime and it will most likely not get you home to Ireland in an air ambulance.
How much are treatments overseas?
That depends on where you are and what you are being treated for and where. If you need an urgent hip replacement in a private hospital in the UK you can expect to pay as much as €30,000 while emergency brain surgery in New Zealand will cost at least twice that while if you have a massive heart attack in the US you can expect to face a bill of around €200,000. And that is before the cost getting you home to Ireland is factored in.
Okay, well maybe I should take out a policy, will I just go with the cheapest one?
No. The price difference between the cheapest travel insurance policy on the market and the most expensive can be - relatively speaking - very small but the level of cover they offer can be substantial. Some of the cheap as chips policies will not even cover cancellation which, to our mind, makes them absolutely worthless.
Should take out a policy sold by my tour operators?
They don’t tend to be the best value for money. If you are booking a holiday with a tour operator you might be told that you will get additional peace of mind if you book the insurance with the tour operator also, as their reps overseas will have all the details of your policy should things go wrong. But in an era of digital communications, you should be able to access all the documentation you need handily enough on your smartphone.
I am going to wait until the last minute to take out my policy. That’s smart, right?
No, it is the opposite of smart. You should take out your travel insurance the moment you book your holiday. Or better still take out an annual policy. Almost 40 per cent of the claims are made before travel with illness and death the most likely reasons for cancelled holidays.
Do I have to declare pre-existing conditions?
Indeed you do. There is no point making a claim for that overseas heart attack if you had a heart attack the day before you took out the insurance and neglected to tell the provider. If you do that the insurer will be very quick to declare your claim null and void. And remember that some companies will reject any claim for a cancellation or curtailment if it is down to a pre-existing condition, even if the condition endures for years. So always be upfront with them.
I don’t have to read the small print, do I?
You do, but only sort of. The small print on some policies can run to more than 20,000 words and no-one in their right mind is going to read all that - not least because the quality of the writing is shocking. But look at the size of the excesses and the exclusions. Insurance companies don’t line their pockets by giving money away and do their best to make making claims as hard as they possibly can. They also make the benefits of their policies crystal clear and hide the exclusions in small print. For instance, phones are not covered in many cases, while other valuables can lose their cover if they are not with you at all times. And, if you hadn’t been storing your passport in a hotel safe when it is stolen, you can almost certainly forget about making a claim for its theft from your hotel room.
So what can I do?
Rather than reading the policy document in full, download a PDF version or copy the text into Microsoft Word and search for "not covered", "excluded" and "exclusions". At least that will give you a sense of what not covered by your policy.
Are there any other exclusions I should know about?
If you plan to take part in adventure sports or if you plan to go skiing you will need a different policy to the one you might need if you just plan to lie by a pool on a campsite while your children go up and down slides. Things you might want covered are emergency medical care, medical evacuation and repatriation, trip cancellation and/or interruption; loss or theft of baggage or personal items and 24/7 worldwide assistance.
Keep an eye on destinations covered too. Recently Pricewatch was taking out an annual policy and as we went to pay we noticed that along with Syria, Iraq and North Korea, Cuba was not covered. While we have no plans to go to Cuba, we won't be covered if we do.
Will strikes or natural disasters be covered?
It is not automatic. Some cheaper policies do not cover travel rearrangement expenses, accommodation and cancellations relating to “natural disasters” outside of weather disruption. If you want travel disruption cover, you will have to pay more for it, although not a whole lot - and such an add-on might only cost €15.
How do I go about making a claim?
First you need to inform the insurer immediately as soon as you realise you can’t go on the trip or need to cut it short. Don’t forget to tell the police if you are the victim of a crime overseas. If you do not have a police report, you will not be entertained by an insurer. You will also need to make the official complaint quickly. If you leave a police report for longer than 24 hours, an insurance company might view your claim with scepticism.
It is also good to have your wits about you. We heard from a reader recently who got into hot water with his insurance company because he took an ambulance to a Mexican hospital after suffering a broken foot. It turned out that while his treatment in the hospital was covered his transfer there in an ambulance was not unless he was admitted and spent at least one night there.
Oh, and one more thing. Take a photograph of your passport and email it to yourself before you leave home. If it is stolen, having all the details on your phone makes it easier to get an emergency replacement. The reason you need to email it is to cover yourself in case the phone is stolen too.
Over 70? Companies can refuse to offer a quote
Ageism continues to be rife in the travel insurance sector. While the European Court of Justice ruled that it was discriminatory and illegal to price car insurance based on gender a few years back, no such restrictions apply in the travel insurance sector when it comes to a person’s age.
A person who wants travel insurance at 66 can often be expected to pay twice as much as someone aged 65, even though there is no difference in the level of risk the two people pose to companies. Someone who hits 70 or 75 will be told they can’t get any insurance at all with many companies.
Companies can just refuse to offer a quote for someone once they hit a certain age, and there is no comeback.
Meanwhile, there are companies that make it their business to offer travel insurance to older people. There is oktotravelinsurance.ie although they have an interesting line on the website which reads "With the present uncertainty due to Brexit and with our offices being based in the United Kingdom, in the event of a no deal or no agreement withdrawal being put into place to allow UK based companies to trade in EIRE, we can only sell policies prior to the exit date (currently October 31st 2019 at the latest). Policies brought prior to this date (October 31st 2019) with trips within the following twelve months will be fully valid." There is also goodtogoinsurance.eu, which you most likely will never have heard of, and the AA, which you most certainly will have heard of, while the VHI covers most of the travelling public in Ireland aged between 70 and 80.
There can be restrictions on pre-existing conditions, and many insurers will insist policy-holders have private medical insurance. Age Action Ireland has a comprehensive list of the companies that insure older people - although it does make it clear that it is endorsing none of the companies and as with most things it is very important that you do your homework and are sure you are getting what you are paying for before you agree to anything.
Travelling in Europe? Don’t forget your EHIC card . . . like we did to our cost
Last summer the Pricewatch family found itself on holiday on a campsite just south of Barcelona. For the first 10 or so days, time passed very pleasantly with days filled with sunshine and swimming pools and sandy beaches and barbecues and ice-creams.
A couple of days before we were due to leave we went to the pool as normal in the morning before heading down to the beach for a quick paddle before heading back to our fancy caravan for lunch.
The road from the pool to the beach passed a newly installed trampoline where the Pope’s Children paused for a bounce. One of the adults - not this one - joined the children on the trampoline and less than 90 seconds and four bounces later was hanging on to the contraption’s side netting with a bulge the size of an orange - and the colour of a plum - on her left foot.
Lifeguards were called and then a taxi and off we went to a Spanish A&E. When we got to the hospital it was weirdly quiet and the woman manning the reception desk made all the right noises of sympathy when she saw why we were there.
Then she asked of for our European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This page has spent at least a decade reminding the nation about the importance of bringing a European Health Insurance Card on holiday. As keen readers will be aware when you have the card you are treated like a citizen of wherever you find yourself within the EU and will be taken care of in the public system at no cost. Without it you are expected to pay.
But did Pricewatch bring the EHIC cards to the hospital? No. Did we even bring them to Spain? No. The receptionist was lovely and said that she would make do with an Irish passport instead. Did we have that? No. We explained to the woman at the admissions desk that while we were European citizens we’d no way to prove it. She whistled some more and said she’d have to charge us and presented us with a bill for €120, which is what we’d have had to pay at home, with or without the card.
With that in mind the first thing we will be packing this year - when we go back to the very same campsite, incidentally, will be the EHIC card. And we will be steeing very clear of the trampoline. At least the adults will.
If you have a smartphone, download the Ehic app to help you navigate overseas health systems. Remember, your card needs to be renewed every five years. And don't ever pay for the card. Some sites will try charging for the service, but it is free through the official site, ehic.ie
Readers’ experiences: Not having travel insurance can be costly
In just the last week we received correspondence via email, Twitter and regular mail from three different readers which illustrates the importance of travel insurance.
First up was a man who we will identify as Paul. He was assaulted in Dublin City recently and required serious facial surgery which meant that he and his family were unable to fly to Spain on their holidays as planned.
Paul contacted the airline and sent medical confirmation of his injuries and the fact that he could not fly as planned. The airline said there was nothing it could do and refused his request for a refund leaving him down just over €900.
Next up was a reader called Joan. She and her husband and children were due to fly to Portugal last week - also with Ryanair as it happens - but had to cancel after her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer." The hotel we were due to stay with very kindly refunded us our deposit, but unfortunately this was not the case with Ryanair," she says.
She was led to believe that in “certain circumstances, they may/can give a refund”.
So she filled in a form she had been given and provided the necessary information, including a doctors cert as to why the family couldn’t travel.
Ryanair first responded by saying the doctor’s cert was not detailed or accurate enough so she got a more detailed cert from to which the airline responded that the tickets were non-refundable. “This is understandably a very stressful, trying and emotional time for myself and my family as it is, without having this added, unnecessary stress,” she writes.
“Their website clearly states that there is leeway as regards refunds. I went to the trouble of paying for a doctors cert, as per their request and then be told that it was insufficient. I then went and got a very detailed and personal doctors cert, as to my poor dads condition, only to be told point blank, that there was no refund available. Why put me through the stress of all this, just to turn around and refuse outright any refund or resolve to this matter.”
She says she has “little time either mentally or physically, on my hands to be dealing with this, but I am just so shocked by their response and lack of empathy, I just feel duty bound to pursue the matter. Surely there must some leeway on this, their own policy says there is. I mean what more exceptional circumstances are there in life, more than a terminal illness of a parent?”
After we conacted Ryanair, the airline has been in touch with Joan and has agreed to refund the cost of her flights.
Then there was a reader called Mark who sent us a letter after rupturing his Achilles tendon in May. He was due to fly to Athens yesterday for a week's holiday. When he contacted the travel company – he did not give us the name – he was told the €479 was non-refundable.
While we empathise with all these readers who for different reasons found themselves unable to travel, by not taking out travel insurance they were effectively leaving themselves at the mercy of the airlines and tour operators. There is little to be done after the fact but maybe someone will be able to learn from their experience.
