Uninsured British travelers who fall ill on their holiday this summer could face an average extra £900 [$1,376] holiday bill according to the Association of British Insurers.
The ABI’s bulletin noted that “many travelers are under-estimating or ignoring the risk of falling ill abroad,” thereby exposing themselves to “potentially crippling medical bills.”
The ABI cited the following statistics to back up is warning:
• Every week travel insurers deal with nearly 5,000 claims from travelers who have fallen ill abroad, paying out £4.5 million [$6.88 million].
• Nearly one in four travelers still holiday abroad without travel insurance protection, with 16 percent mistakenly thinking that the UK government will pay for medical treatment if they fall ill abroad (source for both figures: consumer research by ABTA, January 2013).
• For people travelling in Europe there remains a significant lack of understanding on the need to have, in addition to travel insurance, a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). ABI consumer research reveals that nearly half (46 percent) did not know that the EHIC entitles them to state-provided healthcare, with over half (56 percent) unaware that the Card has to be renewed every five years.
ABI spokesperson Malcolm Tarling said: “Falling ill while abroad has got to be the biggest fear for any traveler. Yet too many UK travelers are playing Russian roulette when travelling abroad by failing to protect themselves against mortgage size expensive medical bills. In the USA for example minor operations can cost £20,000. This makes travel insurance not simply an option but a must have for travelers.
“And travelers in Europe should not just rely on the European Health Insurance Card. While this will pay for the cost of medical treatment, it may not cover everything that would be free on the NHS [the UK’s National Health Service], and will not cover the cost of medical repatriation back to the UK.”
Source: Association of British Insurers
Topics Europe
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