Hi all,

Re the E111 and insurers, I have used the post Office`s travel insurance in recent years as I am too lazy to shop around and it seems reasonably priced anyway!

They are quite specific that you need the E111 and that they payout for medical treatment is conditional on you getting what you can under that agreement with them paying for things over and above that cover.

Therefore, if your treatment came to say £4,000 and the E111 covered £1500 they would cover the (hang on, let me take my shoes and socks off.......ermmmm.......) ......£2,500 difference!

(Figures just off the top of mey head to show the principle)

Do not know if this is standard, but I cannot see a cheap travel insurance giving an open cheque when a chunk of the bill could be claimed through the E111 system. From memory, I think it says that you must present the E111 BEFORE treatment for it to be claimable and that they will not pay anything which would have been covered by it if you fail to do that.

I read that as the claimant getting a big bill if they don`t play by the rules, so it is something to get straight with the conditions of your insurer before you go.

Let`s hope none of us actually need to find out during the cruise!

Tony

Thanks for that Tony! I have printed off the form and it's all filled in now ready to take to the Post Office. Better to be safe than sorry!

David,so sorry to hear your news,what bad luck to get so near and now having to cancel.I do hope the insurance come through for you,i think its heartless of our friendly agent not to offer you another one,after all its not your fault its a force majeur[have i got that right?]
It is making all of us look at our policies,i just pay and probably like a lot of other people dont read it.
I hope you are as fit as a fiddle soon.carol

Hi All , with refferance to E111's I always take mine, about 4 years ago in Palma I tore ligaments in my shoulder, I had my E111 form and was sent to Palma hospital for treatment, no charge at all as I had my form, sitting in the hotel 2 nights later I was speaking to another chap with a similar injury, no E111 form and had to pay just over £500, so yes they are vital, I never travel without one, and before anyone asks, no I am not accident prone, just thought I would share that with you.

With regards to recent accident, as a few people have asked, a bus was on the wrong side of the road, and out of control when it hit me on a country road, Driver has been charged with wreckless driving, I was in hospital for 4 wks with multiple leg fractures, I now have rods pins and plates, and a new pet name of Metal Mickey, so thats the story in brief, and now i just have to wait and see what happens next.
Thanks again to all for thier concerns and advice it is really appreciated.

Dave

Hi Smokey,

I think you will find that the "Force Majeur" clause is a one-way `get-out` for the provider/agent side of the agreement and is not relevant to cancellation by the customer.

(Being hit by a bus certainly sounds like it should be a Force Majeur, but it means unforseen major disruptions which cause the whole cruise to be abandoned, such as the infamous `hurricains`)

This is why Rise/MKM were so quick to cite the Caribbean/ Sth American hurricains as a `reason` for the delay in allocations. (Shame nobody there had done GCSE Geography as they appear unaware that the Med is not near the Caribbean!)

Rise did actually quote at one point that they "could have withdrawn from the entire offer" under this FM clause........but they are so concerned with our wellbeing that they have stuck with it!!

Nothing to do with fear of the Legal powers of a large newspaper group at all then!

Tony

The more I learn about the infamous 'elastic' Terms & Conditions', why does the vision of a certain travel company staff singing the good old Frank Sinatra song " I did it my way" spring to mind?

Hi agian,
In light of all the advice to contact the DE, I have at this time done an e-mail to EP of the DE, will advise you all of the response.
Tony as per usual is correct E111 must be presented at time of requiring attention, failure to do so, entitles hospital or medical center to bill you accordingly.
Thanks All

Dave

If you've had an E111 for years as I've had, you should know that owing to some rule changes in the EU, your old E111 ceased to be valid at the end of last year. I've recently had to get a new E111 from the Post Office. As somebody rightly pointed out in a previous posting, any new E111 that you get is valid until the end of this year when a new card scheme will be introduced. If you put a tick in the relevant box on the form they will send you a card automatically when they are introduced.

Andy

hi everybody
today I should have been flying off to houston for my cruise in the caribbean :cry:. never mind at least I don't have to have any injections for the med. ah well back to the gardening. vivien

Be thankful for small mercies Vivien, but it would have been lovely I am sure!

David,

Tony as per usual is correct

Try telling that to my ex-wife!!!

Elaine,

I don`t actually think that Rise or their recommended insurers have any more `get out` clauses than the other companies.

Whether it is house, car, AA & RAC, pet or any other insurance, there are always conditions and clauses. The difference is how rigidly they apply them when something goes wrong.

I always pay more for my Taxi insurance than a lot of drivers who always shop for the cheapest, whatever. Nobody reads the huge list of exclusions (well I don`t anyway!) so I stick with Norwich Union. They are dearer, but in my experience are reasonable when it comes down to a claim.

To be fair to insurers (why? I can`t stand them!!) there are people out there who make a whole load of money from falsified claims, thus ripping off the company and driving up our premiums. They have to try and cover their backs with all these conditions.

But like I say, how they are applied ti genuine cases is what makes the difference and in Davids case it should be seen in the light of a genuine, unforseeable event.

Rise/MKM/DE may well be legally justified in taking the `hard line` on the condition which stated that the full price of the cruise is payable if the person does not cruise. That, as far as any reasonable person is concerned is there to stop daft people going ahead to see if they can get a cruise then just deciding not to go.

David accepted the cruise in god faith and then got hit by a lunatic bus driver........who would not expect a little understanding and compassion to be shown in a case like that?

The unavailability of disabled facilities on the specific ship is also an interesting point..........Italian ships come under the EU legislation and David may well have a case under the much abused "Human Rights" system if they cannot accommodate his (hopefully temporary) disability. They could of course rebook him for a later date on a ship which does comply with access requirements. (The QM2 perhaps, David!!!)

Tony

Hi David,
I am sorry to hear of your setback with your recovery. I am sure that if the bus driver is being charged with reckless driving then you have a case to sue him/the bus company for much more than the cost of the cruise, even at full price. I read in the Mail this week that a woman was hit by a 'water bomb' at a carnival last year. She sued the organisers and got thousands, and now the carnival is no longer taking place as the insurance premiums have rocketed. No comparison between a bag of water and a bus I would have thought. You can take us all on theQE2 with your compensation.
Hope you are fully recovered soon.
Love, Maureen

Luci and Aslemma,
Have a wonderful holiday!

Hello All,
This is Jon, Ali's boyfriend. Alison has asked me to let you all know that she is now on the boat and definitely starting her cruise! Hopefully she will have an brilliant time of it.

Cheers,
Jon.

Hi all !
Does anyone know if Gary Dodge got away today or even if he received his documents?

Gary did get his documents and made it to London last night so if all has gone according to plan he should be on his way to Venice now. He's posted in the Roll Call Armonia 17.04.05 thread.

Andy

Dave - your insurers have a good reason to claim against the bus company. Were there any witnesses to your accident? Did the police get involved at the scene? In other words, can the bus company possibly claim it wasn't their fault?

Magsy - I'll check with my insurers re Peter A's post.

Dizzy - I know the E111 is free, but a travel agent told me a few years ago not to get one as then I'd be treated by the equivalent of the NHS and she thought I'd prefer to go private. It seems all that has now changed, and it looks as though I'm better off getting an E111 after all. Thanks for all your posts on the subject

Just a tip I've tried since I started cruising: I don't throw away an empty toothpaste tube but keep it before it runs out and start using the new one. Carrying a fairly new tube in your luggage is a waste of weight, you'll only have to bring it home again. If you can work out roughly how much toothpaste you'll need for your holiday, and keep the last tube when you think you've got enough left (trial and error is the key here) you can throw the old one away at the end of your holiday. Those of us booked on the Melody will have to drag our luggage around overnight, and although a full toothpaste tube doesn't exactly weigh a ton, every little helps (as they say....).

Fay

I think you'll find you must carry an E111 or your holiday insurance will not cover you for anything within the scope of the E111.

Thanks for the info Andy.

Hi Jon (Alli's boyfriend)
Thank you so much for keeping us posted. Sounds like she has had great fun so far!

Fay, that is a great tip about the toothpaste! I'm sure a lot of people are like me and go out and buy new!
Just as a matter of interest, I weighed my toiletries and they weight an amazing 1.5kg! I bought the smallest sizes I could find! Oh well, that's more room for goodies on the way home!