Every time I have travelled I have brought travel insurance. I have even brought some cover for UK stays. It is something I consider a priority. The best practise is getting travel insurance in place before you part with any money. As you never know what might happen at home that could possibly stop any future travel plans. I must admit when I was younger there were times I questioned why I paid out for this extra expense. Our past two family trips to Florida certainty did highlight the importance of travel insurance on family holidays.
Illness On Holiday
No one expects or wants to be ill on their holidays. Unfortunately we have needed to call out a doctor for Ethan both times we have visited Walt Disney World. On our first visit when Ethan was two, he managed to come down with croup. I remember lying in our hotel room wondering why Ethan’s breathing was so laboured. We had to call out a doctor who confirmed his condition. As this was so close to the end of our holiday there was the chance that Ethan wouldn’t be able to fly home. This would mean one of us would have to stay in Florida with him. New flights would have had to be found and even extra accommodation.
On our recent trip to Florida Ethan became ill on the second night of our trip. We were on the Disney Cruise so there was access to doctors and a medical centre on hand. It turns out he had tonsillitis and he was very quickly prescribed the medicine he needed.
Paying For Any Medical Assistance Needed On Holiday
The importance of travel insurance is that it helps to pay for any medical assistance needed when away. Our experience of needing to see doctors in America is that you need to produce a form of payment before they take one look at you.
On our first trip with Ethan in 2012 we paid a call out charge for the doctor to come and see us. Then when she arrived she pulled out her card reader for us to also pay her fee. As Ethan needed to see her twice this was what happened both times.
On our Disney Cruise Ethan was being ill but he wasn’t aloud in a medical room until a form of payment was acquired. It feels very cold and calculated but we are used to the fabulous NHS service we have here.
How Did Our Travel Insurance Help?
If we hadn’t have had travel insurance for our trips we would have left America with very big medical bills. The worst-case scenario could have easily seen us out-of-pocket for extra flights and accommodation. Both times we had to pay for the medical assistance Ethan required. This is one reason we always take an emergency credit card with us. On returning home I then sent Ethan’s medical bills off to the insurance companies we had our insurance with. They reimbursed us for all the costs we acquired except for the agreed excess.
On our last trip to Orlando the travel insurance also paid us compensation for our delayed flight home.
Buying the Right Travel Insurance For Our Needs
Whenever you take out an insurance policy you must always declare any medical conditions. As Ethan has autism and as a family we have a few other medical needs we have to look into medical travel insurance. It is better to declare any needs than not be covered for any medical emergencies when you are abroad. With children I have learnt to expect the unexpected. It feels like our travelling isn’t complete without a trip to the doctors.
DISCLOSURE – This post is in collaboration with Medical Travel Insurance.