Is travel Insurance in Spain necesacery for visitors from the UK?
I know a lot of people who travel to Spain without proper travel insurance and rely solely on the E111 form as their passport to the Spanish Medical system.
This article was written before the introduction of the EHIC, a replacement for the E111 form which is due to commence in September 2005. The EHIC is a new European Health Insurance Card that entitles you to free or reduced costs on medical assistance in any European Country.
Unfortunately, although you will receive Emergency treatment for any injuries or accidents you have whilst in Spain the E111 form offers fairly limited cover compared to the most basic Spanish Travel Insurance Policy.
If you are tempted to rely on the EHIC or E111 then please go through to the following page which is the UK Governments Health Advice on Travel to Spain.
The other point to bear in mind is the cost of Spanish Travel Insurance. Its generally cheap, offers good cover and of course covers many other things such as loss of baggage, flight delays and theft.
Over the past few years I have always elected to go for Annual Travel Insurance and this option is definitely one you should consider if you are likely to travel abroad more than twice per year.
One other point to bear in mind is what activities are NOT covered by your travel insurance. Many things like mountain biking, jet skiing etc can often be excluded from the basic policies. It is best to check the small print first!
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