Travel News > August 2011 > MP calls for travel insurance to be mandatory

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MP calls for travel insurance to be mandatory

10/08/2011

Last month a man from Kent who was seriously ill in a hospital in Indonesia following a motorbike accident; as he did not have travel insurance his parents were facing a bill of tens of thousands of pounds to fly him home.

Following a similar incident, involving a man from Leicestershire, who was also involved in a motorcycle accident and also uninsured, Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, has called for a change in the law to make travel insurance compulsory. The man’s family are facing costs of over £120,000 for medical treatment after the motorcycle accident in Bali, and they need to raise another £110,000 to fly him back to the UK by air ambulance.

Andrew Bridgen MP said: "At the request of the family, I will be raising this issue with the Government in the coming months to see what more can be done to highlight the importance of travel and medical insurance abroad and the feasibility of operating the same procedures as when you take a car out of the country."

These two recent cases highlight the need for travel insurance whenever you go away and reminds us how high medical costs can be overseas.

If you have a pre existing medical condition it is vital to ensure that you have appropriate travel insurance with your medical conditions covered, in case you fall ill abroad. You should declare any medical conditions when you purchase your policy to make sure they are covered. It doesn’t take long to buy appropriate travel insurance cover and it could save you hundreds of thousands.

Our thoughts go out to these two men and their families at this extremely difficult time.

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