Is travel insurance really needed for 1 week direct flights trip to the UK?

[Austman]

I'm wondering why I might need travel insurance at all for a simple 1 week trip to the UK. Flights will be on Qantas with no stop-overs or connections - just QF9 and QF10. Australian citizens have reciprocal public heath cover in the UK (the NHS). I will not be driving a car. I will not be taking very valuable items or cash. Hotels can be cancelled with no penalty. Qantas flights can be cancelled and turned into a voucher. I don't need income protection. I will not be going skiing. I'm a EU citizen (but not UK) too if that matters.

What's there to insure that Qantas or Medicare or EU rules won't cover? Medical Evacuation? Personal Liability?

Is TI always needed for simple trips?

 

[mella2007]

I would never travel without insurance period. Flight delays, lost or delayed luggage, Hijacking, Death, Medical emergency...
for such a small cost for a week, I wouldn't even think twice (or if you travel a lot why not purchase a yearly policy?)

 

[Austman]

I would never travel without insurance period. Flight delays, lost or delayed luggage, Hijacking, Death, Medical emergency...
for such a small cost for a week, I wouldn't even think twice (or if you travel a lot why not purchase a yearly policy?)

I generally get TI from my credit card but it might not cover the trip this time. I'll probably get some TI, but your points:

Flight delays - will not affect me much if at all.
lost or delayed luggage - I will only have hand luggage.
Hijacking - $2,000 here if QF9/10 gets hijacked.
Death - I have no dependants.
Medical emergency... will be coved by the NHS in the UK. I suppose something could happen on the flights/transit.

Maybe it all depends on personal circumstances. I remember when I lived in Europe, I went to the UK lots of times and only once thought about TI. It was just like domestic travel in Australia.

 

[serfty]

OTTOMH, one thing that pops to mind is you haven't covered "Repatriation Costs".

There may be others as well.

How much is insurance for a week to the UK?

I see TID giving a policy for $55.

 

[Hvr]

OTTOMH, one thing that pops to mind is you haven't covered "Repatriation Costs".

There may be others as well.

How much is insurance for a week to the UK?

I see TID giving a policy for $55.

I reckon serfty's got the big issue with repatriation costs. Also, I believe the reciprocal public health only covers the very basics, i.e. you're alive so please leave the hospital. Not something you really want to experience.

As others have said I wouldn't travel overseas without travel insurance. The last time I claimed on it in 2008 was when I flew into the occupied BKK airport. My TI covered the extra week of hotels without blinking. More than covered the cost of the insurance and the peace of mind was invaluable.

 

[Austman]

I reckon serfty's got the big issue with repatriation costs. Also, I believe the reciprocal public health only covers the very basics, i.e. you're alive so please leave the hospital. Not something you really want to experience.

Checked my CC travel insurance - provided by Zurich. They cover a lot of CC travel insurance policies. They don't specifically cover repatriation costs. What they cover are medical costs for up to 12 months and they can decide themselves if they want to repatriate you or not.

Re reciprocal health care for Australians in the UK. It looks to be quite an extensive cover. Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

Personal Liability?

 

[haydensydney]

What you are effectively doing is self insuring which isn't such an issue if you've done your own personal risk analysis and you deem yourself to be low risk.

If I were you I would tend to be a little more risk adverse and just pay the $60 for a TI policy. It's a small price to pay in case something does go wrong - and lets face it, many of us would blow much more than this at the pub on a typical Friday. Isn't being protected for the unexpected worth more than a few drinks at the pub?

 

[moa999]

The UK is probably one of the places where I would consider taking the risk due to reciprocal NHS...

but then I suspect things like Ambulance, Dental etc may not be covered.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I would never personally travel without insurance anywhere. As you mention the reciprocal health care agreement will definitely cover you in the UK neither it nor Medicare will be of any help if you become ill during transit. IMHO the $55 would be money well spent

 

[Austman]

The UK is probably one of the places where I would consider taking the risk due to reciprocal NHS...

but then I suspect things like Ambulance, Dental etc may not be covered.

Ambulance is. Dental isn't. But dental isn't covered here either. My CC TI requires a $200.00 excess for dental claims. TID only covers $500.00 for dental and you pay a $100.00 excess.

For me, medical and dental cover would not be big concerns on a trip to the UK. To other countries most definitely and maybe in transit.

Public Liability cover perhaps? But unless you have a home insurance policy (which generally includes it), how many people take out public liability insurance in Australia?

TID costs $71.00 for 9 days (to allow 7 days in the UK and 2 travel days). I've always just trusted that my free CC TI would be enough.

 

[RB]

I seem to recall that the possibility of a flight diversion may cause problems for people who have thought the way of the OP & travel without cover (ie you may end up being treated somewhere that does not have reciprocal cover)
You may also want to check on the geographical limits of your public liability that was gained via house & contents insurance

 

[Austman]

I seem to recall that the possibility of a flight diversion may cause problems for people who have thought the way of the OP & travel without cover (ie you may end up being treated somewhere that does not have reciprocal cover)

It's a good point. But even when you buy TI it's often for 1 country or zone. What happens if you need treatment in a country where you didn't buy the cover? Are you out of luck? I added Dubai on the UK trip and TID bumped up the cost to $94.00 for 9 days.

 

[v8Statesman]

TID do mention transfer counties don't need to be listed.

 

[Austman]

TID do mention transfer counties don't need to be listed.

Yes, if it's a stopover. But what if it turned into more?


And re medical cover, TID states:

We will not pay a claim that arises because of any of the following:
You received private hospital or medical treatment where public funded services or care was available in Australia or under any Reciprocal Health Care Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of any other country. Please refer to the following Australian Medicare website for further information: medicareaustralia.gov.au

So you have to use the NHS in the UK anyway.

 

[chrisb]

Aside from repatriation costs, what about the costs of being stuck overseas. A friend (Australian) was recently stuck in Melbourne. She broke her ankle, had surgery but was then banned from flying due to the surgery. Once she was well enough to leave hospital she then had to pickup the cost of a hotel, someone to fly across to help her, and then business class fares back to PER.

 

[Isochronous]

Anyone who thinks the NHS is a quality medical service is delusional. I wouldn't trust them to put a bandaid on a simply cut.

 

[DC3]

Won't the NHS just provide cover to patch you up and then you are shown out the hospital door. The waiting list to pin a broken ankle, for example, could take a year. Is that right?

 

[Austman]

Aside from repatriation costs, what about the costs of being stuck overseas. A friend (Australian) was recently stuck in Melbourne. She broke her ankle, had surgery but was then banned from flying due to the surgery. Once she was well enough to leave hospital she then had to pickup the cost of a hotel, someone to fly across to help her, and then business class fares back to PER.

Yes that seems a very good reason. And it happned on a domestic trip? I don't think I've ever taken this sort of cover for domestic trips.

 

[Austman]

Anyone who thinks the NHS is a quality medical service is delusional. I wouldn't trust them to put a bandaid on a simply cut.

Won't the NHS just provide cover to patch you up and then you are shown out the hospital door. The waiting list to pin a broken ankle, for example, could take a year. Is that right?

But take out some travel insurance policies (eg TID) and it seems you have to use the NHS.

 

[DC3]

I can't see TID paying your hotel bills forever, while you wait for the NHS non-lifesaving, non-emergency surgery that you need before travel back home. What then, I wonder?