Travel insurance - Why The European Health Insurance Card is no Substitute.   by Chris Rowlands

Before we begin to discuss the problem in its entirety, I feel it prudent to explain what exactly the European health insurance card (otherwise know as the EHIC) is and how it benefits you the holiday maker.

The EHIC was originally created and introduced around two years ago. The card was to be slowly phased in to replace the E111 form seen as outdated by many. The concept of the card is that it provides access to initial emergency treatment, usually deemed life saving or unavoidable. Under the scheme you will be treated as would any other insured person in the member country. Currently some 30 countries subscribe to the agreement, of which 4 are non EU-member states, namely; Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland (prescribes to the E112, whereby patients awaiting treatment in the UK can be sent abroad if it reduces waiting time).

The scheme covers only this initial treatment and the cost of further treatment in the aid of convalescing will not under usual circumstances be covered. It is important to note that in many countries it is literally just the emergency treatment itself that is covered and not the journey to the hospital in the ambulance, or the hospital bed you will occupy. As you can imagine you could very quickly find yourself amassing a rather large bill. Due to this, travel insurance can be deemed essential. If you are to travel to the United States (where there is no emergency health agreement) you will be charged privately from the word go and could literally find yourself bankrupted by the massive treatment costs. I would normally recommend medical cover in the region of £2 million when traveling to the USA and a still sizeable sum of £1 million when traveling in Europe.

Research carried out by moneysupermarket.com shows that 59% of people interviewed still think the E111 form is in place. This is perhaps worrying when you consider that the new card has been in place for a little over 2 years now, meaning potentially millions have traveled without any form of cover. Those of you who have the EHIC should consider some form of travel insurance if you have not already done so as the two aspects work in synergy with each other. Without the EHIC you will have to pay privately for the emergency treatment you require and even with it you will still have to pay for any treatment over and above this.

It is important to remember that holiday insurance also covers you for eventualities such as; theft (holiday money and personal items), cancellation, personal liability and varying other eventualities. It is my hope that after reading this article you will at least consider taking out some form of protection for your next holiday, after all peace of mind is priceless.

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Comment by phero Dec. 04,2007 nice1+

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