Travel insurance should be compulsory, says MP

Last month we reported about a man from Kent who was seriously ill in a hospital in Indonesia following a motorbike accident; as he did not have travel insurance, his parents were facing a bill of tens of thousands of pounds to fly him home.

Following a similar incident, involving a man from Leicestershire, who was also involved in a motorcycle accident and also uninsured, Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, has called for a change in the law to make travel insurance compulsory.The man's family are facing costs of over £120,000 for medical treatment after the motorcycle accident in Bali, and they need to raise another £110,000 to fly him back to the UK by air ambulance.

Andrew Bridgen MP said: "At the request of the family, I will be raising this issue with the Government in the coming months to see what more can be done to highlight the importance of travel and medical insurance abroad and the feasibility of operating the same procedures as when you take a car out of the country."

These cases highlight the importance of buying travel insurance every time you go on holiday and reminds us how high medical costs can be overseas. We may complain about our National Health Service, but the fact that we have it means that we have little idea of the actual cost of emergency medical treatment.

Travel insurance can cost as little a few pounds and it could save you hundreds of thousands if you have an accident or fall ill when you're on holiday.

Our thoughts go out to these two men and their families at this extremely difficult time.

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