Changes for travellers from 1 January, post Brexit

[jeanlyon]

Yes OK I can see that.  I did a quote for insurance recently just out of interest and although it had gone up, I don't think it was to do with the EHIC, more likely to do with Covid cover.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

I am not sure why people are so worried about the EHIC card for cruising.  You have to have full insurance cover anyway, so what use would you make of the EHIC?  Most people are treated on the ship if they fall ill, which is not covered by EHIC?  Am I missing something?

We have held EHIC cards since they started and have never needed to use them. 

[terrierjohn]

31 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We have held EHIC cards since they started and have never needed to use them. 

We have only ever needed to use them once, back in the 90s I think, when my wife developed pneumonia in Lanzarote. The hospital asked if we had them and were surprised when I said yes, but of course we also had travel insurance. In hindsight I think that the ease in which the insurer covered all our subsequent claims, might have been helped  by them not having to cover the hospital costs.

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

We have only ever needed to use them once, back in the 90s I think, when my wife developed pneumonia in Lanzarote. The hospital asked if we had them and were surprised when I said yes, but of course we also had travel insurance. In hindsight I think that the ease in which the insurer covered all our subsequent claims, might have been helped  by them not having to cover the hospital costs.

Good to have them, especially as they are free. Folks need to remember to carry them with you. We have had travel insurance for donkeys years and only used it twice. Our travel insurance now covers Covid and travel against FCO advice as long as that wasn't because of Covid. If so then excluded. Do you remember a few months ago posters saying nobody would ever travel again, ever as Covid wouldn't be covered?. Got that one wrong as well.🤣

[pete14]

3 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes OK I can see that.  I did a quote for insurance recently just out of interest and although it had gone up, I don't think it was to do with the EHIC, more likely to do with Covid cover.

Probably both.

[Roger88]

These days it would be safe to purchase a maximum insurance with the Covid wording in it just in case. I dont feel like staying in a foreign country if I get sick. I would rather be transported back home and enjoy the medical system of my home country 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

Probably both.

Ours renews mid January. Same cover, same price ,but for 15 months instead of 12. I seem to recall folk saying Travel Insurance would be unaffordable. 

[Snow Hill]

2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Ours renews mid January. Same cover, same price ,but for 15 months instead of 12. I seem to recall folk saying Travel Insurance would be unaffordable. 

Ours lapsed in June, won’t renew until we decide to book a holiday. Out of interest I got a quote from the same company price had risen by just over £100.

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

Ours lapsed in June, won’t renew until we decide to book a holiday. Out of interest I got a quote from the same company price had risen by just over £100.

We always have insurance cover as we always have holidays booked. 4 for 2021.

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, Roger88 said:

These days it would be safe to purchase a maximum insurance with the Covid wording in it just in case. I dont feel like staying in a foreign country if I get sick. I would rather be transported back home and enjoy the medical system of my home country 

I suppose that depends in which country you live😉

Avril

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

We always have insurance cover as we always have holidays booked. 4 for 2021.

I discussed this issue with my insurance broker, and he agreed that there was no benefit in renewing the insurance until we were going to pay the final balance. The worst case scenario is that you forfeit the deposit if you decide not to pay the final balance of a cruise that ultimately goes ahead.

Currently P&O are cancelling before the final balance is due, so if they don't we will assume the cruise is going ahead, and at that point renew our insurance.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I discussed this issue with my insurance broker, and he agreed that there was no benefit in renewing the insurance until we were going to pay the final balance. The worst case scenario is that you forfeit the deposit if you decide not to pay the final balance of a cruise that ultimately goes ahead.

Currently P&O are cancelling before the final balance is due, so if they don't we will assume the cruise is going ahead, and at that point renew our insurance.

I'm sure that is a valid point. Our annual worldwide comprehensive cover with cruise + cover is about £600 with medical screening and Covid Cover ,It renews automatically, without additional screening. If we cancel and take out cover at a later date, who knows if we will get cover and at what cost. Not being blasé, but that amount is small fry what with all the other stuff going on. We have 2 cruises and 2 land holidays booked. All covered. Peace of mind is quite important to us. Roger recons it's a good idea as well.

Edited December 26, 2020 by zap99
Added

[terrierjohn]

59 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I'm sure that is a valid point. Our annual worldwide comprehensive cover with cruise + cover is about £600 with medical screening and Covid Cover ,It renews automatically, without additional screening. If we cancel and take out cover at a later date, who knows if we will get cover and at what cost. Not being blasé, but that amount is small fry what with all the other stuff going on. We have 2 cruises and 2 land holidays booked. All covered. Peace of mind is quite important to us. Roger recons it's a good idea as well.

You're lucky if your rollover maintains the original terms, my broker reports that all companies have amended their terms, and the old continuation terms have been abandoned and the renewal terms would be available to all, even if you cancel and only renew when needed.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

Our annual worldwide comprehensive cover with cruise + cover is about £600 with medical screening and Covid Cover ,It renews automatically, without additional screening.

I'm amazed at that.  How does the insurance company know if either of you have developed any new medical conditions prior to renewal? I assume they expect you to advise them, but that seems a risky strategy, as it puts the onus completely on you to inform them of any change.

We have had an annual policy with the same company for the last 10 years or so, but they always required that at each renewal I went through a detailed medical questionnaire for me and my wife, prior to issuing a new policy.

[zap99]

14 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I'm amazed at that.  How does the insurance company know if either of you have developed any new medical conditions prior to renewal? I assume they expect you to advise them, but that seems a risky strategy, as it puts the onus completely on you to inform them of any change.

We have had an annual policy with the same company for the last 10 years or so, but they always required that at each renewal I went through a detailed medical questionnaire for me and my wife, prior to issuing a new policy.

They say on the rental documents that they assume no changes. If something has changed the onus is on you to tell them. If you don't, watch out if you claim.

[ann141]

2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

They say on the rental documents that they assume no changes. If something has changed the onus is on you to tell them. If you don't, watch out if you claim.

Its similar with our bank travel insurance.The onus is on us to notify them of any changes in medical history.Its not worth the risk of not declaring something in case you need to make a claim  

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, ann141 said:

Its similar with our bank travel insurance.The onus is on us to notify them of any changes in medical history.Its not worth the risk of not declaring something in case you need to make a claim  

Absolutely. Must double check, we don't have rental documents like spell check said. Renewal is what I meant. Spellcheck urined another post 🤣

[ann141]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

Absolutely. Must double check, we don't have rental documents like spell check said. Renewal is what I meant. Spellcheck urined another post 🤣

I hadn't even noticed the 'error' Must book my appointment with Specsavers!!

[Adawn47]

2 minutes ago, ann141 said:

I hadn't even noticed the 'error' Must book my appointment with Specsavers!!

No, not saying it, because zap tells me off😇

Avril

[ann141]

9 minutes ago, ann141 said:

Its similar with our bank travel insurance.The onus is on us to notify them of any changes in medical history.Its not worth the risk of not declaring something in case you need to make a claim  

Had a panic last January when we had to cancel a cruise at the last minute.When the doctor completed my medical claim form I discovered that apparently I had  been diagnosed with a long term condition at the age of 11 whilst in hospital that was now 'stable'It was news to me as I never went to the doctors as a child, let alone a hospital!! All the GP s were relatively new at the practice and I had a bit of a job convincing them that it must have been an admin error or childhood notes had got muddled with someone elses but eventually they accepted it must be an error and removed the diagnoses from my notes.My main concern was that although the present claim was nothing to do with the wrong diagnosis that it would be disallowed because I had not previously declared it!

[zap99]

15 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

No, not saying it, because zap tells me off😇

Avril

Not me Avril. You must be thinking about some other annoying bloke.🤣

[Adawn47]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

Not me Avril. You must be thinking about some other annoying bloke.🤣

There's only one zap, they broke the mould when they made you my friend😉

Can't think why🤣

Avril

[tring]

14 hours ago, ann141 said:

Had a panic last January when we had to cancel a cruise at the last minute.When the doctor completed my medical claim form I discovered that apparently I had  been diagnosed with a long term condition at the age of 11 whilst in hospital that was now 'stable'It was news to me as I never went to the doctors as a child, let alone a hospital!! All the GP s were relatively new at the practice and I had a bit of a job convincing them that it must have been an admin error or childhood notes had got muddled with someone elses but eventually they accepted it must be an error and removed the diagnoses from my notes.My main concern was that although the present claim was nothing to do with the wrong diagnosis that it would be disallowed because I had not previously declared it!

 

Our insurance, (AXA acting as an insurance provided by our bank), only ask about conditions for which we have had any treatment, tests etc. within 6 months prior to insurance renewal or booking any holiday which is yet to happen.

 

That also works in reverse, so if we book a holiday before a condition occurs, we would remain fully covered for that holiday even if a future renewal will not cover that condition, (or other things like COVID).  Hence holidays booked prior to last March will remain covered for COVID, even after our renewal date next April, so worth maintaining insurance if holidays have been booked before last March.  Need to check your own insurance to see what is covered or not, as all policies can vary. I think ours has pretty widely used criteria though.

 

The gateposts on COVID protection or not seem to be changing at times as well, so need to check the most up to date version of the travel insurance policy.

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by tring

[Denarius]

On 12/26/2020 at 3:53 PM, Snow Hill said:

Ours lapsed in June, won’t renew until we decide to book a holiday. Out of interest I got a quote from the same company price had risen by just over £100.

You will not be able to renew your UHIC after the transitional arrangements expire at 11pm on Thursday 31 December 2020. But if you renew before then it will be valid until its expiry date in 2025.

[yorkshirephil]

A bit more detail

Can I get free healthcare? 

Holidaymakers will still be able to access free healthcare after the end of the Brexit transition period.

Those issued with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before the end of 2020 can use it before its expiry date, the deal states.

However, it is important to check your card's expiry date before you travel, and to consider taking out travel insurance regardless to cover all eventualities.  

Next year Britain will issue the UK Global Health Insurance Card.

Similar to the EHIC, it will allow state-provided medical treatment if people fall ill or have an accident in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

It will cover chronic or existing illnesses, routine maternity care and emergencies.

Specialised treatment, such as dialysis, will require ‘a prior agreement’ to make sure it is available.