If you are in the UK, do you have a UK Global Health Insurance Card?
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@neil Yes. Got one last time I travelled to Germany (to replace a lost EHIC.)
I have used the EHIC in the past to claim free healthcare for my child and it's very very useful indeed.
@neil Worth saying that your travel insurance in Europe will likely not be valid (or at least make any claim very hard) if you don't have a GHIC or EHIC (although I suspect the last EHICs have now expired given their 5 year lifteime? Not sure).
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@rachel Ooh, interesting - thanks!
@neil to be honest, it is possible to get the details on a temporary card, if you actually needed it suddenly. But thatโs more effort at a time you might not want more effort.
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@neil Worth saying that your travel insurance in Europe will likely not be valid (or at least make any claim very hard) if you don't have a GHIC or EHIC (although I suspect the last EHICs have now expired given their 5 year lifteime? Not sure).
@michael I noticed the other day that my EHIC had expired (a while back); now I have sorted out a GHIC anyway!
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@neil Worth saying that your travel insurance in Europe will likely not be valid (or at least make any claim very hard) if you don't have a GHIC or EHIC (although I suspect the last EHICs have now expired given their 5 year lifteime? Not sure).
@michael @neil hmm, with the strong caveat that nobody should ever rely on this and you should get the correct paperwork ahead of travelling anywhere for any reason, my previous understanding - certainly under the ehic days - was that in practice insurers will still sort you out, they'll just expect you to fill out the paperwork and then they will get reimbursed after the fact, has this changed in ghic era?
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If you are in the UK, do you have a UK Global Health Insurance Card?
I didn't know that they were a thing until recently, and I'm not entirely sure how useful they are (but I've applied for one anyway).
@neil Used to have the EU reciprocal one, so thanks for this post, a reminder that things have changed.
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@ilmari I have an expired EHIC (which is probably the same as "not having an EHIC"), but I didn't know about the GHIC.
@neil When I got them in 2024, I first got a GHIC, believing it covered a superset of the countries covered by the EHIC. Then I read more closely and realised that it didn't (at the time) cover the EEA, so I had to get an EHIC as well.
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@neil Worth saying that your travel insurance in Europe will likely not be valid (or at least make any claim very hard) if you don't have a GHIC or EHIC (although I suspect the last EHICs have now expired given their 5 year lifteime? Not sure).
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If you are in the UK, do you have a UK Global Health Insurance Card?
I didn't know that they were a thing until recently, and I'm not entirely sure how useful they are (but I've applied for one anyway).
@neil
I had an EHIC, and as far as I can tell the GHIC is only garaunteed to work in European countries anyway. Or at least it's only Necessary in the EU.
Probably doesn't hurt to have something to flash around if you need emergency care anywhere though. -
If you are in the UK, do you have a UK Global Health Insurance Card?
I didn't know that they were a thing until recently, and I'm not entirely sure how useful they are (but I've applied for one anyway).
@neil I have both the GHIC, and the EHIC.
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If you are in the UK, do you have a UK Global Health Insurance Card?
I didn't know that they were a thing until recently, and I'm not entirely sure how useful they are (but I've applied for one anyway).
@neil Yes, although I forgot to bring it with me on the first overseas trip I made after applying - which I believe can make things more difficult than not having one at all (luckily it was not needed).
The prominent Union Jack on the card should also mean that I can prove that I'm British to skeptics, but somehow everyone already seems to know
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@neil Worth saying that your travel insurance in Europe will likely not be valid (or at least make any claim very hard) if you don't have a GHIC or EHIC (although I suspect the last EHICs have now expired given their 5 year lifteime? Not sure).
@michael @neil you can apply for a provisional replacement certificate or for a reimbursement of healthcare costs if you need treatment and don't have your card so travel insurance shouldn't be invalidated
Most insurers will put costs through the GHIC scheme rather than pay out where they can though -
If you are in the UK, do you have a UK Global Health Insurance Card?
I didn't know that they were a thing until recently, and I'm not entirely sure how useful they are (but I've applied for one anyway).
@neil i don't have a passport (that's either current or in my current name) so it'd seem to be redundant... of course, this may change, depending on how the next 3 years pan out
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@neil i don't have a passport (that's either current or in my current name) so it'd seem to be redundant... of course, this may change, depending on how the next 3 years pan out
@mewsleah Yes, I can see how it would be of limited value in that context
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If you are in the UK, do you have a UK Global Health Insurance Card?
I didn't know that they were a thing until recently, and I'm not entirely sure how useful they are (but I've applied for one anyway).
@neil if you have a medical condition which travel insurance refuses to cover, the GHIC means it may be possible to travel to the EEA when you'd otherwise be stuck in the UK.
I'm glad we managed to keep that after Brexit.
