According to the article “EHIC is not travel insurance” it is a risk for EHIC cardholders to not possess travel insurance when visiting the European continent. Many people travelled about Europe last year believing their EHIC cards would be all the protection they would need. Some of these people found out the hard way, that travel insurance was needed as well as their EHIC cards.
Three and a half million people from the British Isles travelled to Europe last year without travel insurance. They believed their EHIC card would be all they needed in the event of an emergency! The limitations of the card are such that it will only provide access to basic medical assistance and care within another country. Private medical attention and other assistance relating to a trip such as flights, lost luggage etc are not covered.
The insurance companies are particularly keen to stress that skiers heading off to the slopes for the winter should ensure they have travel insurance as well as their EHIC cards. Imagine if you needed to be airlifted off a mountain, who would pay for that if you have no travel insurance?
Aside from additional costs in the event of something going terribly wrong when visiting another country, there is the fact that even when you do have an EHIC card, it may not cover all your medical expenses. Fifty one per cent of cardholders, throughout last year found their medical costs abroad were not entirely covered. The average cost of medical expenses these people were required to find amounted to just under four hundred pounds each. If only these people had been able to realise before they set off the necessity for travel insurance also.