GHIC

Hi SteveL 

We are still awaiting to hear if our claim submitted in August 2022 will be paid.It was sent to France by EHIC in August,still no news.

Hopefully soon. I suppose getting the card is only part of it. Unfortunately from  my BinL’s dealings with French bureaucracy, it’s about as bad as ours.

Evenin

We ordered our GHIC cards in September '21 after virus and work commitments allowed us to travel. They too arrived in 4 days back then. 

JK

 

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Some travel insurances insist that you have the GHIC card or they won't pay up to cover medical expenses not covered by it.

peedee

This is very true, but be careful what you wish for, GHIC/EHIC terms and conditions vary from country to country, having just experienced a medical emergency in Spain, I have to say the Spanish medical system is excellent, however, when the paramedics arrived to pick up my wife the first think they ask for is EHIC/GHIC, passport or proof of full travel insurance, the paramedics were a little vague as to what would happen if you did not have some sort of medical cover, also the EHIC/GHIC does not cover any form of repatriation, so if the person being treated is unable to use public transport etc to return home EHIC/GHIC does not cover this. My wife had to be repatriated using an air ambulance, fortunately we had fully comprehensive insurance, the cost was in excess of £50k.

I should add that Spanish hospitals are full as in the UK, so they were very keen to move my wife out asap, or they would have to move her to a private facility in Spain, which of course your GHIC/EHIC is unlikely to cover.  

Geez, the last time this was discussed the cost was £10k+. That’s good to know Rufs👍🏻. Another point is-ensure the wording is clear on the insurance doc. That level of cover ain’t cheap unless it has inbuilt wriggle room for the insurer🤷🏻‍♂️

I did some quick calculations if you were to do it yourself the cost of a jet would be in the region ofr £20k, we needed 2 pilots, this is standard, 1 doctor, 1 nurse, private ambulance in Spain and again in the UK, some of these costs are dependant upon the severity and needs of the patients injuries etc. For years, when we were younger, we just used to wing it and not bother with travel insurance, thank goodnes we became a little wiser in our dotage. 

P.S if you take out this type of insurance, be sure to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, the insurance companies do reserve the right to view your medical record, if they find anything you have not declared that might be relevant to your claim , they will not pay out.

Out of interest I hope people have read the latest news about using bank insurance for travel and the time limits imposed for stays abroad.

As said everything needs a read through.

To be fair to the NHS they do make it very clear on the application website, that you also need health insurance.

Your EHIC or GHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance. It may not cover all health costs and never covers repatriation costs. Make sure you have travel insurance as well as your card.