Brexit and Travel Insurance

Brexit and travel insurance

As you surely know, on January 31, 2020, the UK voted to leave the European Union.

Initially, the cut off of commercial negotiations was set for the end of July 2020, subsequently it was extended until 31 December.

Along with a number of commercial agreements, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is at risk unless an agreement is agreed.

What is the European health card?

The EHIC is valid until 31 December and offers EU residents state-provided healthcare when they travel to any EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. If no agreement is reached by 1 January 2020, these provisions will no longer apply to UK residents.

Why are you interested in this?

If no agreement is reached regarding the EHIC, UK residents will no longer have access to free or reduced cost healthcare when traveling to Europe. Consequently, the UK government advises UK residents to seek adequate travel insurance coverage when traveling to Europe.

It is important to note that even if an agreement is reached with individual European countries, UK residents may be required to make a co-payment for medical treatment. In addition, the EHIC is designed to cover medical care only and does not cover repatriation and other benefits offered by a travel insurance policy.

With parts of the UK moving out of their second block, allowing UK residents to travel once again, we see weary travelers taking to the web to understand the impact of Brexit on their upcoming travel plans, as supported. by Google Trends.

For UK retirees, now is the perfect time to be aware of post-Brexit travel, the potential implications and, of course, the importance of travel insurance.