Travel despite FCO advice
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So far my advice would be if you are OK without travel insurance (we don’t normally take it anyway), and can self isolate on return then have your holiday.
What I would like to know, nosey so and so I know, is why some people decide to travel without proper travel insurance and what plans have they in place if things go dreadfully wrong?
David
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The EHIC system is excellent - if you’ve been unfortunate to need a hospital you’ll appreciate how easy the system is, and how good healthcare systems are (Italy in my case). Beyond that I guess folks just keep their fingers crossed or use the consulate if necessary, although any help offered is discretionary.
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Eloquently put WTG👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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There is a very basic and deep desire for certainty in the human psyche, insurance companies financial advisers etc. Etc. Make use of this in getting people to part with their hard earned money. Just look at the dividends that insurance companies pay their shareholders.
When I was working and was caravanning in France I took out travel insurance because I had to be back at work on a specific date. One time while in France the bolt holding the timing belt pulley to the driveshaft sheared and the cylinder head was wrecked. Fortunately we had the insurance and were transported back to the UK and I managed to get back to work OK.
I still had to pay for the repair, if it happened now without insurance I would have the car repaired in France even if it meant a few extra days.
Illness and injury are something else, we are both fit and well so barring accidents we should be OK.
We take safety very seriously and so far have been fine. The risk of a serious accident is very small. Having done many solo long distance bike rides in Sumatra, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and other less hospitable places all without insurance, I guess I have higher risk threshold than some others. One trip I did I got severe food poisoning (self medicated and hired transport back to civilisation), another I fell off my bike and chipped a bone in my elbow (strapped it up, cleaned the cuts and got on with it.
We had a great time in Vannes, no need to wear a mask on the cycle paths but once you enter the town everyone wears masks and plenty of hand sanitiser at shops etc. The market stalls are really well spaced out, I think the market is on every day now with different stalls on different days.
Hope this answers your questions.
Richard
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Richard, thank you for your up date. We've also been following how you and others are doing over there.
Many years ago we used to travel to Spain, Italy etc. With to small children and our caravan. We never used to have insurance not even breakdown cover. Can't think it ever bothered us then.
Times have changed, while we are both fit and well my concern is the same as AD, and A&J. OH is the driver and while I do drive I don't tow the caravan. If anything happened to him then we could have problems getting the outfit back.
One time in Spain he was taken ill and we left the MH on site and flew back to Scotland. Thankfully it was short lived and we returned back to Spain and continued our trip.
I think if we do decide to 'brave' it this year it would have to be in the MH not the caravan as I'm happy to drive that if required.
Enjoy the rest of your trip, I bet the weather is better there than here, it's raining shock horror.
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"There is a very basic and deep desire for certainty in the human psyche, insurance companies financial advisers etc. Etc. Make use of this in getting people to part with their hard earned money. Just look at the dividends that insurance companies pay their shareholders."
Hi Richard, This may well be true but it applies to many things in life and what is also perhaps true is that what people do is look for a set of circumstances that suit what they want to do so as to justify their decision.
Our circumstances, financially, are very different than when we first went abroad but from our fist, on a shoestring trip, to now,I would no more consider going without insurance than I would pay for an extended warranty on a TV.
But that's my choice and, if I ever considered not doing so, I would be quickly told not to be so daft.
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When we were first married we spent many years driving and camping around northern Europe. From memory, I think we may have added something to our car insurance policy but we never gave a thought to health insurance, even when I was running marathons. Nowadays, whenever we go abroad we buy insurance immediately we've booked and, having had a minor hiccup on a recent trip , would not consider going without it.
One factor to consider from 2021 onwards if "you know what" . negotiations are going as badly as reported is that quite possibly the EHIC cover will become redundant in EU countries. Surely an even greater argument for having insurance at what, in terms of the total cost of trips, is a relatively modest cost.
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Hope this answers your questions.
Richard
Thank you for your comprehensive reply. I don't think I am particularly risk-averse but I tend to be pragmatic about such things. Being in our midish seventies and both having medical condition which I wouldn't describe as particularly serious I would consider it inappropriate to travel without insurance. As I mentioned previously I would not want to put my wife in the situation where something serious went wrong which would make life very difficult for her and in fairness vica versa, that is just too much stress to think about!
David
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I'm with you Bill.. I have used EHIC alone for many years. The French health service is excellent and I have never found any problems with it. If I were hospitalised I would see no reason to be air ambulanced back to the UK where the hospitals are no better and in some cases worse than in in France.
But at the end of the days its down to personal choice and appetite for risk/ level of risk aversion.I don't claim to be right and accept others may wish to insure against all eventualities. Both views have credence- its all down to personal choice. What I dont like is inferences by others that one position is the "right" one.
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Unless you know someone, as we do, (a couple in their sixties) who had a terrible car accident in France on the return journey to the UK you can't comprehend the back up of insurance and the communications done on your behalf. To go without that is not something to be contemplated.
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I don’t see anyone 'challenging' people's decisions. There are posts pointing out possible consequences of going without health and breakdown insurance which some folk may find useful and, if that helps, it’s all to the good.👍🏻
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Hi Jamsdad, in my posts, I cannot speak for others, I have been clear that what I do is my choice, as it is for you.
However, I feel that you comment re “all eventualities’ is a clear inference, which you say you don’t like, that to do so is wrong.
I spent 31+ years in one of the emergency services and saw on an all to frequent basis the results of incidents that people thought would not happen to them.
While I totally respect you right to make your decision it does not mean that I have to agree with it.
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Thanks to everyone for their reply’s and concerns. The intention wasn’t really to have so much discussion about insurance, however, it does seem that more people would have travelled despite FCO advice and the perceived difference in COVID threat if they could have got travel insurance.
Obviously insurance is a personal decision based on many factors and I respect that. One of the biggest outcomes from a solo cycling trip in Indonesia was that I met my wife! (She wasn’t my wife at the time, but she is now.) So remember to weigh up the good things that can happen as well as the bad.
Anyway, Back on topic, the roads have been quiet, exit and entry at ports simple and straightforward, and from a COVID measures perspective things appear to be more controlled here (in France) especially with regard to wearing masks.
I suspect COVID will be with us for a very long time so I hope the discussions will help you in planning next years trips.
Lastly we do have an isolation plan for when we return to the UK, travel from port to home, food and other supplies as well as a list of jobs to be done in house and garden.
wherever you’re caravanning we hope you are enjoying
regards
Richard
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I agree it is up to the individual to make his own risk assessment and do whatever they think best for them, but i think this assessment should also take into account the possible risk to others.
Rather than go abroad we spent 1 month on a site in Devon, the site was splendid the weather was glorious and Devon & Cornwall we know very well but have not been too for many years so from that perspective we had a wonderful time, on return my daughter asked "what does Spain have that Devon & Cornwall does not?", on reflection only balmy evenings when you can sit outside until the wee small hours, and almost a guarantee of temperatures into the 25-30's
but here is the twist....last Saturday we visited our daughters family, 5 miles away, Saturday all was good, Tuesday son in law woke with hacking cough and temp, Tuesday PM was driven to test centre , he was too ill to drive himself, Wednesday result = positive, he is now laid up in bed exhausted, yes we are self isolating, but my point is, if this had been us down in Spain and i was so ill i could not drive, there is no way my OH could drive home, and would you really feel at ease in your caravan 1000's of miles from home feeling wretched and now probably isolated from the rest of the site, being in the UK 1 of the family would have come to our rescue i am sure, being in Spain would have been a whole new ball game. Yes it is a long shot that this could happen, but a long shot in my opinion well worth considering carefully, afterall it is only a holiday.
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Yup, who knows, there is an article in the press today where 4 english girls are stuck in an Italian hotel, they have proved positive for covid and now the Italian authorities will not let them leave the hotel to return home until they have had 2 x negative tests, you just never know what will be next
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Eurobreakdown are now offering insurance when travelling against FCO advice. No cover for CV19 related issues of course, but another option for those prepared to take the risk.
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