Understanding the European Health Insurance Card

If you’re travelling abroad to a European Union country, it’s probably a very sensible idea to make sure you obtain a European Health Insurance Card first.

It’s entirely free and available by application through the NHS’ own website. It provides you with access to emergency medical treatment in the country you’re visiting, on the same basis as a local citizen. So, any urgent medical care they would get for free will also be available to you free of charge too.

However, great as this scheme is, it’s important not to make the mistake of assuming that the European Health Insurance Card will cover every medical eventuality. That’s because there are certain things the EHIC typically won’t cover including:

• Medical treatment defined as ‘non-urgent’ by the local health services of the country concerned.

• Your medical repatriation costs by air ambulance, should that be necessary.

• The costs of additional accommodation should one of your family need to stay on with you while you recover.

• Flights for a family member between the UK and the country you’re hospitalised in.

• The cost of any medical treatment in the country where that treatment is not normally provided to local citizens on a free-of-charge basis. Remember on this important point that not all EU countries are identical in terms of the health services they provide freely to their citizens. Some things that are free in the UK may be chargeable in other EU countries.

• Elective treatments where you have opted to voluntarily undergo a medical procedure that was not deemed to be justified by an urgent medical requirement. Perhaps the most obvious example might be cosmetic procedures, but it might also include routine pregnancy checks, minor muscular aches and so on.

It also shouldn’t be overlooked that the European Health Insurance Card is not holiday insurance. So, it won’t cover things such as: loss or theft of your possessions; flight and other travel delays; third party liability claims against you – and by the way, don’t think this is only a motor insurance issue because it isn’t. Third party liability can apply in any situation where somebody takes legal action for damages against you due to them having suffered injury or material loss that they hold you responsible for. If they win their case and a court awards damages against you, the sums could be significant.

Of course, it shouldn’t be assumed that holiday insurance would automatically cover all of the above-mentioned things either. It’s important to carefully read the detail of the cover provided by any travel insurance policy before purchasing it.

Nothing in the above is meant to devalue the importance of the European Health Insurance Card system. It’s an excellent way of protecting your financial interests in certain health-related areas – but you should not see it as complete protection.