Travel Insurance As Well As Ehic Card?

[smurfchops]

Travelling around Southern Ireland soon, haven’t booked yet. I will be booking flights, hotel, car etc independently. beforehand, we have done this numerous times and booked travel insurance. We are both over 70. But why do we need travel insurance as well as our EHIC Cards? Neither of us have had any serious illnesses. What would one insurance cover that the other wouldn’t? Thanks all.

[bednobs]

repatriation

[bednobs]

also when does your ehic run out?

[calmck]

In today's world I would take out travel insurance

[barry1010]

Get travel insurance because the EHIC only provides free treatment that Irish citizens are entitled to and not all healthcare is free.

If you have an accident or an illness that prevents you from travelling home on the date you intended, travel insurance will be invaluable.

[bednobs]

ps your ehic only gives you the same service residents get. i have no idea what the residents of eire have to pay

[bednobs]

snap barry

[Arrods]

OH broke her leg in Portugal. 3 weeks in hospital and treatment free (under EHIC). Travel insurance paid for nurse and specialised air transport home (thankfully).

[Buenchico]

EHIC and GHIC cards provide you with the same level of health cover as residents of the EU country that you're visiting get. The only real benefit of travel insurance (with regard to health cover) is that it includes repatriation costs. (e.g. if you needed an air ambulance to get you home from, say, Greece, travel insurance would normally cover it).

An existing EHIC remains valid until the expiry date printed on it. Thereafter you'll need a GHIC:
https://www.gov.uk/global-health-insurance-card

I wouldn't bother with travel insurance for a trip to Ireland unless I felt that I needed cover for any high-value belongings that I might be taking with me. I'd be prepared to trust that I could get free, or cheap, treatment if I fell ill or became injured, and that I could get home from Ireland under my own steam (or with the help of friends or family), without the need of an air ambulance or other specialist transport.

[smurfchops]

Thank you all for your helpful replies. But we are not going now …. Cork Airport is CLOSING for ten weeks believe it or not from mid September, so we would not have been able to get a flight home anyway! And we like the South of Ireland, Kinsale etc. Your answers will come in handy for our trip next year !

[gness]

Kerry Airport? Cork's lovely but Kerry's better. ;-)

[Arrods]

Wouldn’t travel insurance also pay for the expenses you incurred (flights, hotels, travel costs) if you had to cancel the holiday say due to illness, etc ahead of the trip?

[smurfchops]

Going to Wales instead …. Thanks everyone.