Medical Insurance on Long Euro Trips
Hello All
I'm amazed at the quotes for medical insurance for a 6 month trip we are planning to Portugal.
I have type 2 Diabetes and Osteoporosis both conditions are under control and we'll managed but insurance quotes for 6 months are coming in at £550+
I wondered how other people get on with this, we certainly got cheaper motorhome insurance by asking for advice on a forum here.
Do some people just rely on EHIC for medical cover?
Can anyone recommend a company that actually talks to you instead of general online forms?
Thanks Shane & Shirley
Comments
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The first port of call I would think would be this Club. Going for six months is going up the cost scale compare to a more modest period. Unfortunately they don't publish a Red Pennant brochure anymore but in 2016 the cost for two people for health and motoring insurance was about £350 for 185 days. OK it might have gone up bit since then. RP tend to accept medical conditions providing the medication has not changed within two weeks of taking out the insurance. We were always OK when Margaret was taking tablets for diabetes but as soon as she started using insulin it became a bit more difficult! Whether the policy is loaded for your other condition will largely depend on the risk but it's worth having a conversation with the Club as they will arrange for a medical assessor to ring you to discuss the matter with you.
You should of course always take the EHIC Card with you as some insurance companies load cover point without it. Personally I would not recommend just relying on the EHIC Card. If a member of your party is taken seriously ill I am sure you will get an excellent quality of care. However if anyone should need to be repatriated the EHIC Card won't help you.
David
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We are the opposite to DK, and are quite happy to rely on EHIC for 3-4 month trips to Spain. (69 + 73, both with pre-existing conditions).
We are happy that emergency (and even routine) treatment would be just as good as the NHS. Having medical insurance will not make any difference to that (though it might cushion some incidental expenses).
If seriously ill, I would be be in no particular hurry to get back to UK. If still sufficiently mobile, getting back home if preferred is not going to be financially disastrous.
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Vic
What you do is obviously entirely your concern and you have to stand by the possible consequences. The trouble is that in extreme circumstances just using the EHIC card could leave you very exposed I am completely confident that you would get the same medical help in Europe as you would in the UK. However what happens in the worse case scenario? You have one partner not only dealing with the stress of what may have happened to the other partner but also having to worry about either long term care or worse. Personally I would not want to put Margaret in that position and I certainly wouldn't want to be in that position myself!!! The modest extra cost for peace of mind is well worth paying in my view.
David
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Yes, everyone has a different level of risk they are willing to take, both financially and organisationally.
I often think (and this applies just as much to breakdown insurance) that I would like to be able to buy just an 'assistance helpline service', without any financial protection at all. (AFAIK this does not exist, and if it did whether it would be financially attractive).
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+1, I know of a case of heart Attack(heart issues not disclosed to insurer) with no specific insurance. In excess of £10,000 to be medivac’d to the UK. The stress alone is not worth the money saved☹️
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I totally agree with the comments following Vic.s remark about relying only on the EHIC. Remember, the EHIC only gives the cover that is available to a national in a particular country; so, for example, in France it is about 80% of the cost of treatment (except life threatening illnesses). The bills can mount up. When I lived in France I needed a Hernia op I was in their medical scheme yet the cost to me was 1300 euros (I had insurance to cover this). Break a leg/arm there and you would have quite a large bill to pay. Relying on just EHIC is dangerous advice.
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I had never heard of EHIC Plus so tried to find reviews. The few that are about are very mixed. Their T&Cs look the same as most policies (I got fed up and scan read eventually!). The title is a little misleading as it is nothing to do with EHIC although, like most insurance policies, it is a requirement that you have one. It operates as an extension to the EHIC and gives cover for STATE HOSPITALS only, so if you are initially taken to a private clinic they will not pay anything and indeed you would have to pay for any treatment given in that hospital! Re regulation, it is based in Spain and protection from the UK financial authorities is 'limited'. I got a quote for 2 x 70 - 75 yr olds 60 day annual multi trip cover for Europe, £153.07 but I did not go into detail about pre existing conditions which could raise the cost. So there you have it; you pays your money and takes your chance.
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I have long standing medical issues and found that RP was too expensive for me with the loading they applied. I now use the medical insurers on my Nationwide Flex Plus account. The loading was a quarter of that required by RP.
If you have a bank account that provides such cover then ask them.
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Wherenext
That is interesting as we can use Nationwide free medical insurance in Europe. Unfortunately the last time I got a quote they wanted to load an additional £255 and that was just for medical cover and only for 31 days. RP on the other hand was about £100 cheaper and included breakdown cover. We only have the basis Nationwide account but I can't image it would be cheaper if we have the Plus account? Red Pennant in my experience don't load for medical conditions but you can come up against a brick wall with some conditions. Margaret takes insulin for her diabetes and depending on blood sugar levels has to adjust the dose. This seemed to cause some problems for RP and in the end we decided to cancel our trip abroad as it seemed too much of an issue.
David
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I too use the cover provided with my Bank Account (Lloyds). We get Annual Worldwide Multi Trip essential as we go to places other than Europe without the caravan. They have a long list of accepted medical conditions. Fortunately, we have never had to claim so cannot comment on how good it is.
We seem to have wondered a little off the OP's question which was answered early in the discussion. This is the joy of this forum as you learn from other peoples knowledge, eg EHIC Plus as DD mentioned.
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From our experience:
1. You MUST tell the insurers about any and all pre-existing conditions, even if you don't think they are relevant, otherwise, they will look for any and all ways to avoid paying out. After an event, they may (will?) require to see all of your medical records.
2. Must have EHIC sensibly anyway and this may allow you to forget about paying the excess on the policy.
3. If you have a medical or other emergency, contact your insurers straight away. Don't expect them to rush around after you or recommend hospitals, or doctors etc (unless included in your policy) They may well just say "If it costs more than £250, ring us back" - you are essentially still on your own? (I'm sure the premium price of RP may prompt some discussion and would be interested to hear it ;-) )
4. Make sure you don't go or are not taken to a private hospital (hotels/taxis etc may do this if they have an "arrangement")
5. If you have any doubt about your diagnosis and are still in pain - go back (sister in law was told in Turkey that she hadn't broken her hip but after walking on it in excruciating pain for 10 days and returning to UK, she needed a hip replacement!) Also hospital payment amounts are usually only if you are an in-patient abroad (she got nothing for her time in UK hospital even though the original accident happened in Turkey)
6. Don't expect UK standards in some hospitals abroad (Porto A & E was like a war zone when we attended. The doctor was very good and treatment was sound, but there was little privacy and very busy. They wanted EHIC and passport copies and treatment was free after that.
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David, thanks for your comments.
A couple of hears ago RP wanted over £400 for long stay multi trips. This included a medical load of about £120. I was also unhappy about some cover for recovery of caravan so I looked around and Nationwide satisfied all of my queries with a load of just over £30 for medical side. This year it was £60+ as the condition has worsened but still excellent value.
The insurers all have their own risk assessment and different conditions will be viewed as either no problem or with gasps of horror, same as motor or home insurers have different reactions even to the same circumstances. We just have to find what suits us.
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Wherenext
I have never had a loaded premium with Red Pennant. However I have had a refusal of cover for one condition which could be covered by a recommended alternative company which I didn't follow up. You do have the option to have cover that doesn't include a particular condition. However this worries me as I can imagine the situation where the insurance company try to wriggle out of cover blaming the one uncovered condition although it might have no affect on why you need medical care. I have heard that people on blood thinning medications also have difficulties because of the need for regular testing and the possibility of changing levels of medication. I do sometimes worry that the likes of RP don't have enough expertise in medical assessments. I suppose Margaret having had a heart bypass and diabetes treated by insulin we are always going to find things like medical insurance difficult. Having said that, before those conditions we paid about £400 for 66 day multi trip insurance with RP which I didn't think was too bad!
David
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We have year-round travel insurance bundled with our house policy; however, it doesn't cover Cath's rare medical condition. We now have additional cover with Explorer who's website even includes it in their drop down on line form! https://www.explorerinsurance.co.uk/https://www.explorerinsurance.co.uk/
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Are you meaning EHIC Plus? If so that is nothing to do with the issuing of the EHIC card which is done via the Government, EHIC Plus is a policy with an insurance company using the cover you get with the EHIC card as a base line for their policy.
David
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