Bunnyboileravoider
Member
Ladies & gents - just a quick note to share what I learned from one of my travel insurers yesterday (in this case, Axa).
Medical & travel insurance isn't a scintillating conversation I know, but just as an example: a 20-minute consultation with a GP in Switzerland starts anywhere between CHF100 to CHF200 (£80-160), depending on the Canton, after which you're then billed per additional 5-minute period. A Swiss friend of mine is registered with a GP in France because it's cheaper to pay full whack over the border, versus the 'subsidised' charges in Geneva.
What I learned then, is that the industry is broadly (sweeping statement) using FCDO guidelines https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus to determine whether or not a policy is valid at any given moment in time. My 'advisor' was quick to tell me that because the UK's traffic light system is determined and governed by the Dept. for Transport "...we don't restrict or penalise you for entering Amber countries so you're covered...[almost under her breath]...as long as there's no FCDO advice against travelling there".
Well guess what? Most of Europe is being blanket-covered by an FCDO statement (you can check by country, here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.
Short version then: even though France will let vaccinated people in, and even though you can legally drive through Italy in <36hrs without mandatory self-isolation, your travel insurance will quite possibly be invalidated by the above. Mine was, so I'm going nowhere for now :x .
Medical & travel insurance isn't a scintillating conversation I know, but just as an example: a 20-minute consultation with a GP in Switzerland starts anywhere between CHF100 to CHF200 (£80-160), depending on the Canton, after which you're then billed per additional 5-minute period. A Swiss friend of mine is registered with a GP in France because it's cheaper to pay full whack over the border, versus the 'subsidised' charges in Geneva.
What I learned then, is that the industry is broadly (sweeping statement) using FCDO guidelines https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus to determine whether or not a policy is valid at any given moment in time. My 'advisor' was quick to tell me that because the UK's traffic light system is determined and governed by the Dept. for Transport "...we don't restrict or penalise you for entering Amber countries so you're covered...[almost under her breath]...as long as there's no FCDO advice against travelling there".
Well guess what? Most of Europe is being blanket-covered by an FCDO statement (you can check by country, here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.
Short version then: even though France will let vaccinated people in, and even though you can legally drive through Italy in <36hrs without mandatory self-isolation, your travel insurance will quite possibly be invalidated by the above. Mine was, so I'm going nowhere for now :x .
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