Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Want to avoid a painful holiday nightmare? Get the right insurance

Post Thumbnail

BRITISH holidaymakers are being warned they could be hit with whopping medical bills this summer if they fall ill and don’t have insurance.

And Spain – a traditional favourite with UK tourists for more than 40 years and a popular choice this season with so many trouble hotspots elsewhere – has become one of the most expensive places in the world for treatment.

According to travel insurers AllClear, the average medical insurance claim in the Costas is £4845 – 80% more than Italy’s £2676, more than twice that of France (£2411) and more than two-and-a-half times the £1732 charged in Portugal.

Amazingly one in five Britons risks venturing abroad without insurance, despite the average annual policy costing just £32.

While in EU countries, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) offers free or discounted medical treatment at any state-run hospital, private clinics are more common in some climes.

AllClear’s Garry Nelson said: “Irrespective of whether you have EHIC, you may still be channelled through private hospitals rather than the state system – and if you don’t have travel insurance, you could be left with extremely high medical bills.”

The EHIC doesn’t necessarily cover everything that’s included under the UK NHS service, so procedures like X-rays or casts for broken limbs cost extra.

And it wouldn’t foot the bill for repatriation or an air ambulance on the flight home, which can reach hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Latest figures from the Association of British Insurers highlight that insurers pay out almost £4 million a week to cover the cost of emergency medical treatment abroad.

While many people associate high medical bills with serious health problems, it’s actually the everyday illnesses – like tummy bugs and toothache – that can cause the biggest problems.

The Sunday Post carried out an investigation into the average charges for private medical treatment across the EU and beyond.

Our results highlighted that a simple tooth extraction could set you back more than £100, and a chest infection nearly £2000.

A broken limb from an unexpected slip or fall could see travellers having to shell out several thousand pounds.

That’s not to mention serious conditions which could stretch into astronomical costs.

James Dalton, ABI’s director for general insurance, said: “Falling ill abroad can be very traumatic but travel insurance can cover the potentially high medical treatment costs which can run into the tens of thousands.”


Insurance Advice

INSURING you and your loved ones before travelling can be a minefield, but AXA Insurance has issued these simple pieces of advice:

  • Check what medical conditions you must declare, including pre-existing conditions and if you’re awaiting the results of tests to diagnose a condition. Also check whether you’ll need to declare any changes in health you have after you purchase the insurance.
  • Check what excess you’ll have to pay in the event you need to make a claim, as these can vary.
  • Also, check how many excesses you have to pay as some insurers will apply one per person claiming or per section being claimed under.
  • If you’re travelling on a non-package holiday, check what cover you have if your flights are cancelled and you can’t travel. You should get the cost of the flight back from the airline but what about any pre-paid costs you have for the trip such as hotels, attractions or car hire?
  • If you’re looking for an annual policy, think about the start date of the insurance. Many insurers will allow you to start from a future date but if you need to cancel your holiday before this date you may not be covered.
  • If you plan to take expensive items abroad, such as a high-value camera or phone, check the baggage cover on the policy you’re buying. Most will limit you to £200-£300 per item.
  • Not many customers will have the time to read the entire policy wording before purchasing insurance, but most insurers will provide you with a summary. This will give you a better understanding of whether the cover is right for you.
  • Most insurers will exclude the theft of your property if it’s left unattended, so check where and when you are covered.

READ MORE

Waiting to buy travel insurance can be costly

Safety is holidaymakers’ most important factor, research suggests