For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By Rob P
#1819555
johnm wrote:... get international driving permits


That one is patchy, not required for France.

Allowances :


42 litres of beer
18 litres of still wine
4 litres of spirits OR 9 litres of sparkling wine, fortified wine or any alcoholic beverage less than 22% ABV

Rob P
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By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1819559
PeteSpencer wrote:So once again the doom mongers and naysayers are being contradicted one by one.....


To be fair to the naysayers, HMG itself has been saying that the EHIC would not be valid anymore post 1/1/2021 and people needed additional travel insurance as EHIC cover would not exist anymore.

Other than the change of the E to a G there is little to differentiate between the two at the moment.

Any HIC specialists care to point out the/any differences? (genuine question)
Smaragd liked this
By GAFlyer4Fun
#1819576
It is often misunderstood what what the EHIC provides and even with EHIC, people have always needed travel insurance for Europe.

I am not a HIC specialist, just been through the system further than most as needed to use it.

Many years ago I went to Europe on a long weekend, just with an EHIC as I thought my complimentary credit card travel insurance would be enough as I paid for the ferry with it.
However, following a serious accident requiring hospitalisation and eventual medevac flight back to UK, the EHIC only covered the emergency treatment at the hospital.
Credit card company weasled out as the small print says it is not a substitute for travel insurance (so whats the point of it then if it is not claimable....).
I had to pay for an ambulance to the airport, the medevac flight to the UK, another ambulance to the UK hospital.
That is a lot of money compared to the price of full travel insurance for a week (or an annual policy).
When the EU country eventually claimed their costs covered by EHIC from the UK, the Gov wrote to me asking for confirmation of the treatment. I confirmed it and I assume the UK paid the EU country.

On that basis, even with a EHIC/GHIC I would strongly recommend proper travel insurance.


Since then I have had one other occasion where EHIC might have been useful.
Was in a French ski resort and injured a knee. The local medical centre refused to accept my proper travel insurance - they pointed to a sign on the wall stating only travel insurance policies issued by company X would be accepted (I guess they have a lot of hassle getting UK insurance companies to pay out quickly). So I produced the EHIC. They told me that is only accepted in the emergency hospital and the nearest one was in Grenoble, the medical centres in resort are private. You can imagine how much it was going to cost to get to Grenoble hospital from Alpe D'H. So I paid for the local clinical assessment (includes Xrays) and then the prescribed knee brace. The clinic didnt have any knee braces left so I had to get one from the pharmacy and the clinic then showed me how to fit it for my specific injury.
(In a ski resort a knee brace from the pharmacy costs 3x or 4x more than in the UK... but its a captive market when its needed).
Flyin'Dutch' liked this
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By eltonioni
#1819589
GAFlyer4Fun wrote: (In a ski resort a knee brace from the pharmacy costs 3x or 4x more than in the UK... but its a captive market when its needed).

Wonder if it's the same now there's Amazon Prime next day delivery. :?
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1819600
Good points about EHIC because they basically provide for you to be treated like a native and healthcare models vary widely and none include repatriation as far as I’m aware.
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By Flying_john
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1819604
Other than the change of the E to a G there is little to differentiate between the two at the moment.

Any HIC specialists care to point out the/any differences? (genuine question)


The GHIC won't include Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland.

But to be fair the EHIC ( and probably GHIC) was nothing more than a scrape you off the road and take you to a state hospital type of cover.

I have needed help twice in Europe and it wasn't worth the plastic it was printed on !

So the advice seems to be , continue to take travel insurance just as you used to - no change.
Colonel Panic liked this
By GAFlyer4Fun
#1819718
eltonioni wrote:
GAFlyer4Fun wrote: (In a ski resort a knee brace from the pharmacy costs 3x or 4x more than in the UK... but its a captive market when its needed).

Wonder if it's the same now there's Amazon Prime next day delivery. :?


Well I don't intend to repeat the injury to find out as might not be so lucky next time. :wink:
As it was they were amazed I was able to ski myself down the mountain, although I had not realised quite what I had done otherwise I would not have! Was glad to have the brace.

Drone delivery might have been a useful option to reduce the amount of walking around, although next day might have been a blizzard!