Annueal Multi-Trip Insuranc

[Benjamin]

I know this has been discussed before but we (UK resident)are struggling to find an insurer for durations of up to 120 days in any single trip. Ages 67 and 64. We will also, reluctantly, look at single trip insurance. Any help much appreciated.

[NickP]

I have to pose the question Benjamin, why? we are all Europeans and your EHIC is perfectly adequate. The only reason I can think that a UK resident would need travel insurance in France; is for  repatriation, and to be quite truthful if I die in France I wont be worried about getting back to the UK. Before anybody starts shouting about travel delays etc. when your retired does it matter? Also if you lose your camera or wallet etc. surely you have personal insurance on your holiday home or main residence anyway. [I]

[Gardengirl]

If you're a member of the Caravan Club, you can get long stay travel insurance for 185 days per year. people we know no longer have a caravan, but pay their annual membership fee so that they can have CC travel insurance. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for, and the CC cover is very good. I imagine that other groups like CC might offer similar cover.

We always have annual travel insurance, have cover for up to 66 days per trip, and wouldn't want to be without it.

[idun]

I suppose it boils down to health problems doesn't it and getting it all reimbursed if ill in France.

As far as I can tell a very grey area as the UK is only obliged to treat the bills as the french would, how long they will continue to reimburse 'all', well, I do not know.  And personally I wouldn't want a bill of several thousand euros if I ended up in hospital in France. I know my 10days cost approx 7000€ with very few actually tests, and the mutualist forked out approx 3000€, which, if we hadn't had the mutalist would have been 'our' bill.

Gardengirl's insurance sounds good and certainly to be looked into.

[Russethouse]

Not everyone would want to be cremated in France. Recently a friend died while they were en route for their second home, the average price I saw quoted for repatriation of the body was £5000......That could be a very unwelcome payment at a bad time.

[Benjamin]

Thanks for the input.

To get the right balance of cost and cover we'll probably go with the Caravan Club, membership of which I cancelled three weeks ago. We can always rejoin!

However there's a bizarre pricing structure; 120 days medical cover for the two of us costs just over £500. 120 days medical cover plus European breakdown cover ( very comprehensive) costs...................wait for it.................£260.

Don't ask me but i've got the quote in an email. I already have UK and European cover as part of my specialist motor home insurance policy so, if I need assistance whilst abroad , I can choose which policy to use.

NickP

I'm struggling to find the point of your post. If you're saying that you personally are prepared to pick up the costs of any treatment which are not covered in France then good luck. I note you're a second home owner. Unless you've lived in France and received a financial statement from a body such as CPAM in can be a little difficult to imagine how costs pile up. In the UK we're never shown the cost of the treatments we receive. In my mind the whole reason for taking out insurance is to know what my costs are before I set off.

[NickP]

[quote user="Benjamin"]NickP

I'm struggling to find the point of your post. If you're saying that you personally are prepared to pick up the costs of any treatment which are not covered in France then good luck. I note you're a second home owner. Unless you've lived in France and received a financial statement from a body such as CPAM in can be a little difficult to imagine how costs pile up. In the UK we're never shown the cost of the treatments we receive. In my mind the whole reason for taking out insurance is to know what my costs are before I set off.



[/quote]

 

My wife was taken ill a couple of years back in France with peritonitis, she was in hospital for over a week, received wonderful treatment and superb care. After everything had settled we received a bill for around €100 which I was very happy to pay, why not I would have spent that much in the UK on hospital car park charges.  The fact that I'm a second home owner is immaterial, or maybe you think that relegates me to the realms of the ignorant. If so I would respectfully suggest you ignore my advice which was offered with the best intent.[:D]

[Gardengirl]

Benjamin, as you note, breakdown cover with CC is very comprehensive. A few years ago our car broke down just as we entered the Sommesous services. I phoned the CC, who arranged to have us towed to a nearby garage and us to a hotel in Chalons, which I'd found in our Routard guide, although they would have found us one otherwise.

As the Saab factory was closed for holidays, we decided to opt for repatriation after a couple of days. We had a hire car supplied from Chalons to the Tunnel, then an English hire car to our home, which we could have kept if we hadn't had another car available at home. The Saab was then driven back from Sommesous to our home by a CC volunteer driver, at no cost to us at all, apart from the sandwiches I made for the volunteer driver before taking him to the station for a train back to his home. Amazing service!

[Benjamin]

NickP

I'm glad that your wife is recovered and you were pleased with the level of treatment and care that you received. This treatment was performed as an emergency whereby the hospital may or may not ask if you have insurance cover. If the answer to their question is in the negative then the foreign patient is treated free of all charges.

If you had needed  further treatment, not at the original hospital (GP, nurse, dressings etc.) then the cost would have been down to you and if you had EHIC's then you would have received a refund equal to that which a French national would receive. The €100 that you were charged would have been for "bed and board" at the hospital. Likewise, if a non-emergency crops up, you would follow the procedure outlined above and be left with approximately 30-35% of the cost to either pay yourself or be refunded by an insurer.

The point about being a second home owner is that French residents, unlike those in the UK, are used to knowing the cost of their healthcare and, believe me, this can be pretty scary. If you feel my explanation in any way denigrates you then just take a look at my profile. I no longer own any property in France.

The point for other non-residents is to be aware that, emergency treatment apart, the French system does not pick up all of the tab.

[NickP]

[quote user="Benjamin"]NickP

I'm glad that your wife is recovered and you were pleased with the level of treatment and care that you received. This treatment was performed as an emergency whereby the hospital may or may not ask if you have insurance cover. If the answer to their question is in the negative then the foreign patient is treated free of all charges.

We were never asked if we had any insurance at all. If fact nobody mentioned money at any time. They Photo copied the EHIC nearly to death as is the way in France, asked  if we had a French address; and sent a bill months and months later, as appears to be normal French practise

If you had needed  further treatment, not at the original hospital (GP, nurse, dressings etc.) then the cost would have been down to you and if you had EHIC's then you would have received a refund equal to that which a French national would receive. The €100 that you were charged would have been for "bed and board" at the hospital. Likewise, if a non-emergency crops up, you would follow the procedure outlined above and be left with approximately 30-35% of the cost to either pay yourself or be refunded by an insurer

.
My wife received follow up treatment from the local nurse, and yes we had an EHIC that is what they are for, and suprise suprise, that is why we carry them at all times in France, and we always ask for a feuille de soins and we take it to the local CPAM and get reimbursed into our French Bank account. As for emergencies that is what the EHIC is for, I'm not a health tourist, I'm perfectly happy with the NHS in the UK and would only go to the Doctor in France in an emergency. So if I do go to the doctor for medical advice on a very rare occasion I'm quite happy to pay the small % to get advice, it's still a lot cheaper than paying for an insurance that I don't feel is necessary.

The point about being a second home owner is that French residents, unlike those in the UK, are used to knowing the cost of their healthcare and, believe me, this can be pretty scary. If you feel my explanation in any way denigrates you then just take a look at my profile. I no longer own any property in France.
 You implied that because I'm a second home owner that I wouldn't understand the rules about French health charges, well I find that outrageous and I can assure you that as someone who has owned a second home in France for some ten years, and spends six months less one day a year in France every year I'm well aware of the intricacies of the French system.

The point for other non-residents is to be aware that, emergency treatment apart, the French system does not pick up all of the tab.

As I've already said who is going to go to the quacks unless it is an emergency. Or maybe you save up your ailments and use your holiday insurance to get your treatments in France? [:D]
[/quote]

[mint]

Forgive me for pointing out the bleedin' obvious but NickP is right to emphasise the bit about carrying your EHIC card at all times.

I have a little story to relate about that.

A couple of years ago, I went on a walking holiday to the Mont Blanc area with a British company and the leader (bless his well-intentioned-ness) told us to keep all our valuables, passports, insurance documents, etc in the safe in our bedrooms.  If we lost anything on the mountains, we'd never find it again!

Sure enough, on the very first day's walk, one of the group fell and broke an arm.  When they taxiied her to hospital, what did they ask for?  That's right EHIC amongst other things.

As she'd nothing on her with which to pay, not even a credit card, it was a good thing the leader was able to pay for her!

Thinking about it afterwards, it was of course stupid to leave such an important item behind and a fall off some of those slippery peaks was never something you could rule out.

Thought I'd just mention this in case it is of help....mind you, all of you are probably much more savvy than I am![:P]

 

[Russethouse]

Well I'm little Miss Cautious, even for short trips I take out insurance.

Just imagine if I was involved in an accident such as poor Coops was, possibly months and months in hospital before I was fit to travel and being treated in a foreign language ......the expense involved in not only getting back but to my family visiting......nightmare......

[Frederick]

[quote user="Benjamin"]I know this has been discussed before but we (UK resident)are struggling to find an insurer for durations of up to 120 days in any single trip. Ages 67 and 64. We will also, reluctantly, look at single trip insurance. Any help much appreciated.

[/quote]

You could have a word with Liverpool Victoria Benjamin 0845 640 5190

I pay £106 for 90 days per trip for my annual cover. They may be willing to extend to the number of days you need... My age also puts me in the hard to find cover bracket ... Good luck hope you find cover that fits the bill for you

[Gardengirl]

If you should ever be unable to find your UK EHIC card, or find it's out of date, you or a family member can ring up and have your EHIC card faxed to the hospital or other medical facility where it is needed. I discovered this when our son was away skiing with friends, and one friend was badly injured. Our son went with him to hospital, and the friend produced his EHIC, but on checking his own EHIC, our son found his was out of date. He phoned me, I phoned up about it, and was told one would be sent out to my address immediately, but could have been faxed to the hospital if it had been our son who was injured, so avoiding paying hospital costs. His friend's injury was pretty serious, but he had his complete costs covered by his travel insurance because he had used his EHIC card.

Many insurers won't pay the full amount if your EHIC card isn't used. I had to practically force my EHIC card on a hospital following treatment after a fall, as they didn't seem to know what it was - nor what to do with it. Finally, somebody was brought from another department who knew she had to take a copy of it, which is what I'd been trying to get the others to do.