Imagine this...
You’re in Thailand, Marrakesh, Shimla, Bali, Djibouti or even the beautiful Seychelles.
Then you become ill.
A doctor tells you that you have:
Meningococcal disease — meningitis, septicaemia, shock and rapid deterioration.
Cholera — severe diarrhoea and dangerous dehydration.
Dengue — high fever and, in severe cases, bleeding, shock or organ problems.
Chikungunya — fever and severe joint pain that can sometimes last for months.
Yellow fever — jaundice, bleeding, organ failure and potentially death.
Japanese encephalitis — brain inflammation, seizures, coma or permanent neurological damage.
Polio — in rare cases, permanent paralysis.
Tick-borne encephalitis — inflammation of the brain or nervous system with possible long-term problems.
Malaria — severe illness that can become life-threatening very quickly.
Rabies — once symptoms develop, it is almost always fatal.
Suddenly, your holiday becomes hospital treatment, changed flights and potentially a very large medical bill.
Then you call your travel insurer...
Some travel insurance policies contain exclusions where a traveller develops an illness after failing to have recommended vaccinations or preventative medication, such as malaria tablets.
For example, Staysure’s current policy wording includes exclusions where recommended inoculations or medication have not been taken.
So imagine:
You travel to a malaria-risk area, don't take the recommended malaria tablets, develop malaria and need hospital treatment. Depending on your policy wording, your insurer may refuse some or all of the claim.
Or:
You are advised to have a travel vaccination, decline it, then contract that disease abroad and need emergency treatment or repatriation. Again, some or all of the costs may not be covered.
That does not mean being unvaccinated automatically invalidates your travel insurance. Every policy is different.
Before travelling, check:
What vaccinations are recommended?
Do I need malaria protection?
What does my insurance policy require?
A few minutes checking before you travel could prevent a very expensive problem later.