kevandali Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Hi Everyone, the van is checked out and packed up apart from food and we are virtualy ready for the off, a week on Monday.We both have the EHIC card but I am unsure about additional insurance should one of us become ill and needs flying home, or worse still, some kind of operation. What extra insurance do you take out that will get you and the van back in an emergency?CheersKev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 We always use Caravan Club Red Pennant, as it seems to be the most comprehensive for us. Having used it in the distant past in southern Germany and more recently in Calais, after tyre failure, we know it works effectively. Not the cheapest but VFM. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Assuming you are going abroad and that your van insurers know and have confirmed cover for the countries that you might visit - we would not go without proper health insurance or breakdown repair and/or recovery. The EHIC covers emergency treatment but my understanding is that it may not always cover on going treatment and it certainly does not cover repatriation if needed after say a major operation or severe accident derived injuries. It's your choice and many people choose to carry the risks of cost and inconvenience themselves but we feel that should we ever need help a reassuring English speaking voice on the phone could be worth it's cost - even if the English voice is in Mumbai! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Check out Rias or Saga for an insurance quote, if your on any meds you will need to answer a health questionare. Dont be tempted to go without as you could end up having to sell your house if the unexpected happens! I know of at least one person that died at the age of 55 if he hadnt been insured his wife would have had to sort all the arrangements and I do know that she couldnt do anything untill insurance was cleared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Do RIAS or SAGA cover the vehicle for breakdown, damage or repatriation though? Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I dont know our van is insured with SafeGuard and that covers breakdown damage and repatreation ie; bringing us and the van home but we are insured for cancellation and health with Saga we didnt need luggage insurence, just ring for a quote and find out what they will insure you for and what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Hi You have 2 issues - Vehicle & personal medical re Vehicle - you may well find this is covered in your vehicle insurance - check policy re personal - adviseable to take cover but wtch for restrictions eg 1) max time away any one trip 2) countries you are visiting 3) exclusion - care - some are weird like no mountain walking over so many metres - in some countries you may be camped higher than that restriction 4) sports that may be excluded - eg boating on moving water even if it is a placid river 5) have you had an overnight stay in hospital in last 6 or 12 months (depends on policy)? even if it was only for elective like varicose veins - you may not have cover - different policies have different rules. For personal insurance the STA is worth a look - they cover a lot of outdoor actives and its not just for students! I usually spend a couple of hours looking at small print online - its surprising what some policies exclude. The good news is that you can arrange online and get instant cover - you just print off policy document. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I would never go without additional health insurance (we rely on the cover thrown in with our bank account it appears to be very good underwritten be AXA). Only in a few countries your EHIC will give you full cover. I believe in France you have to pay the first 20% if you ended up in hospital & had an operation your 20% could amount to a few grand. There was incident about 10 years ago a woman on a day trip to Boulogne was knocked down by a car, no insurance air ambulance bill £2500. Breakdown cover is essential very few faults on modern vehicles can be fixed at the side of the road & with a Motorhome it can cost a few hundred quid just to get it off the motorway. We broke down a few years ago with car & caravan at the time we were on our way back from the south of France, it was a Friday evening, car needed a new rad (you could repair them in old day not so easy with these ½ plastic ones) they could not get the part until the following Thursday and by the time it was fitted it would have been 1½ weeks there was a bank holiday to contend with. Breakdown company paid for a night on campsite, taxi to car hire firm next day, car hire, next night in hotel, we got home as planned caravan was delivered back home a week later & car to local dealer who fixed it within a day, hate to think what it would have cost if I had to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 We have European breakdown/vehicle recovery, and health/personal repatriation insurance, all via our motorhome and/or house/contents insurances, all annual, all covering 90 day duration trips, all with Aviva, and all via Comfort.Overall, when compared with the cost of buying bits here and there, the premiums are quite competitive, and as the policies are a coherent suite, the potential omissions and overlaps between separate insurances from various firms are eliminated.However, with only a week to go, I don't think you will have the time to re-jig your policies to take advantage of the full scope on offer. Something to bear in mind for your next trip, perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Momma Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 maggyd - 2009-07-24 1:11 PM I dont know our van is insured with SafeGuard and that covers breakdown damage and repatreation ie; bringing us and the van home but we are insured for cancellation and health with Saga we didnt need luggage insurence, just ring for a quote and find out what they will insure you for and what you want. I am insured with safeguard and this provides European breakdown/recovery/repatriation. I took out a separate Annual Multi Trip Personal Accident and Medical Emergency policy with them as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Ill ask about that for next year B.M. I didnt think they did medical insurance! it would probably be cheaper as well getting all from the same place we took an anuall as it was £249 single trip and 304 annuall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Hi Kev I would NOT be tempted to go abroad without both breakdown and health insurance. We spoke to one English chap whilst we were recently on holiday and he was telling us the woes of his Swift Kontiki (54 plate) ... don't ask what they were, it'll take toooooo long! Anyway, he had a problem with the Fiat base vehicle when one of the red warning lights came on, upon checking the handbook it said not to drive it at all ... problem was, he was up a mountain! He rang a Fiat garage and they were willing to recover it for him for the equivalent of £1000!!!! In the end he thought sod it, if it's damaged, it won't make much difference, so he drove it down the mountain to them instead, when they checked it they found it was a fault with the light, the vehicle was fine, but what a risk to take. We have cover with Safeguard as part of our insurance package. As for health insurance, in France you pay for a lot of stuff, like visiting the doctors etc, so it doesn't even have to be an emergency for you to run up quite a bill. We usually take out annual insurance but this time, as we don't know when we will be going abroad again, we decided just to do single trip cover, it cost us £15.50 (give or take a few pence), for 24 days cover which also covers the dogs for emergency treatment too up to £300 ... seeing as Romy decided to badly break one of her dew claws on the day before we came home we got a vet's bill for 68.85 euros, we were quite happy that we chose this policy (no excess for Romy either!). It was with Primary insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Mel can I ask do you are your other half have any ongoing med ical problems? that you need to take tablets for? as that makes a huge difference to your premiums! I dont want to know what they are but if you have anything you have to declare and that is when it shoots up. We were quoted £245 for 30 days but decided to opt for the year as that was £300+ something! without pulling docs out I cant remember exactly off the top of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Ive just had a look at Primary Insurance Mel and they only offer insurance up to the age of 70!! as one is over we wouldn be able to get it! thats the trouble everything shoots up as you get older I remember a couple of years ago only paying about £20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Mel B - 2009-07-25 5:48 PM As for health insurance, in France you pay for a lot of stuff, like visiting the doctors etc, so it doesn't even have to be an emergency for you to run up quite a bill. Read the EHIC sticky post for a detailed guide to what you are already covered for. In France you only have to pay 20% of the doctors and pharmacists bill (as a broad generalisation) and if you are admitted to hospital with a life threatening condition the treatment is free. Otherwise the 20% rule applies in general. but as i said, read the sticky pst for the details as this also gives the details on how to obtain refunds in each country. As to which policy for emergency medical costs insurance is best for you, it all depends on how long you are travelling for, whether you need a an annual policy or just a single trip policy and your ages. probably too late to do the research now, but well worth doing ready for next time. One other point to look into is whether your personal possesions are covered in your house insurance when you are away from home. If they are, opt out of this cover in your motorcaravan insurance, or you pay twice. If you get a combined UK and Continental Europe cover with your motorcaravan policy this will be far far cheaper than getting a UK motorhome only policy and then taking out Red Pennant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hymer C 9. Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Reiterating what has been said in most of the above posts we would not go abroad without health and travel cover . I would give Comfort a ring they are Motorhome insures who them selves are motorhomers call them tell them where you are going ask their advice that costs nothing but what it could save you could be well worth the effort. Carol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Maggy No, we don't have anything 'to declare' with regards to health insurance thankfully. Not sure what difference making a claim for Romy will make to our next policy though! 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Well Im glad you are both of good health Mel :-D you will see a big jump if you needed tabs for B.P. or even a slight heart prob (mild angina) for instance!and I have been told that at some time (Ive had no indication) Ive had a mini stroke!!! still Id rather pay up and have peace of mind than to have something happen and not be covered. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 kevandali - 2009-07-24 10:45 AMHi Everyone, the van is checked out and packed up apart from food and we are virtualy ready for the off, a week on Monday.We both have the EHIC card but I am unsure about additional insurance should one of us become ill and needs flying home, or worse still, some kind of operation.What extra insurance do you take out that will get you and the van back in an emergency?CheersKevYou would be completely mad to take of for Europe with just EHIC cards, you need breakdown cover and medical cover. You can, as Brian has said, take them all with one company, never tried this personally. I have a slightly complicated insurance because I spend at least eight weeks sking and most multitrip only covers for two weeks if at all. I once broke my left femur very badly and had two helicopters then three weeks in a French hospital and full repatriation, plus a driver to bring my car home. I saw all the bills but thank goodness did not have to pay them. No good trying to tell you where to buy, we are all differant, but suggest you try one of the comparison web sites. I never take insurance for money and personal items, this is covered in my normal houshold policy and if you have an all risks policy at home you can save a little by opting out of this section of holiday insurance. DO IT NOW IT IS NOT WORTH THE RISK TO LEAVE IT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 Thanks for all the information. Just been on an insurance comparison site and we are now sorted, no ongoing medical conditions. (touch wood) Thanks again for all the advice, really appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.