World First Travel Insurance Blog

That’s a bit of a mouthful isn’t it? E111 forms were obtained from the Post Office, you got them to cover medical expenses when you went to Europe. Or so you thought anyway. I can only ever remember getting one for school trips like when my daughter went to Italy. But let’s face it, they were an inconvenience and even though everyone knew about them, nobody bothered to get them.

Well now, they are no more, they’ve been replaced by the European Health Insurance Card. This entitles you to medical treatment at reduced cost or sometimes free when you visit a European Union (EU) country* or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland temporarily. In practical terms, you get the same public health service treatment as locals would get. And there’s the rub. Not all public health coverage is the same and just because it says Health Insurance doesn’t make it the same as a Health Insurance policy you’d buy from an insurer.

What the EHIC does cover

The card covers most care you could need during your holiday when you have an accident or when you get sick, for example, if you have to go to hospital for food poisoning or if you are particularly badly stung by a jellyfish. It’ll also cover any medication you need as a result of that accident or illness. However, it will only cover you in the same conditions it covers the residents of the country in which you find yourself. For example, in France you will need to find anything between 25% and 60% of the cost of medication (the French have complementary insurance that covers this) or in Switzerland you will pay half the cost of an ambulance.

It also covers pre-existing conditions, maternity care, unless you went to that country particularly for the purpose of giving birth and regular treatment such as dialysis, oxygen and routine medical care. But the EHIC isn’t a substitute for proper medical insurance, some treatments and no emergency recovery are covered.

What the EHIC does not cover

Private medical treatment

There are many areas across Europe where public health care is sketchy to say the least. This is where the private sector steps in and you get to pay

English-speaking intermediary

When you get sick, the last thing you want to do is try to explain symptoms in your pidgen French or worse, use sign language. It would be very nice to have someone do the negotiating for you.

A point of contact

When you get seriously ill, it’s always good to have a point of contact between you and your family either in the country or back home.

It won’t get you home

If you break a leg halfway up a mountain, your EHIC may well cover a lot of the treatment, but if you have complications or if you break anything more than your leg (yes, it can happen), it won’t pay for a medicalised flight home or taxi from Heathrow, especially if you live in Penzance.

What’s more, the EHIC has an expiry date, it’d be just your luck to turn up at A&E in Madrid and find your card had run out!

So remember, get proper travel insurance!

* EU countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom

Related posts:

1. 7 ways to get into trouble abroad
2. What’s stopping you travelling until you’re 100?
3. Insurers, risk and pre-existing medical conditions
4. Have a check list – the sensible guide to travelling
5. Extreme travel – are you insured?

Tags: cover, health, holiday, medical conditions, Travel

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 6:20 pm and is filed under Europe, Travel, Travel insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.