Holidays are the one time of the year that most of us really look forward to, whether it’s a trip to the French Alps for Christmas or a couple of weeks on a beautiful beach during the summer months. However, unfortunately no matter how much we’re looking forward to a holiday, this doesn’t guarantee a trip free from accidents and in recent years the Foreign Office has recorded a rise in the numbers of accidents suffered by Brits abroad during the annual vacation. Of course, you don’t have to be on holidays to find yourself caught up in accidents and emergencies abroad – any kind of travel leaves you open to a foreign administration and health system - and you don’t have to travel to a particularly exotic location for this to be an issue. In fact, many of the statistics relating to accidents abroad are drawn from ‘nearby’ holiday destinations like Spain.
There are numerous different situations in which you might find yourself being forced to make a foreign accident claim. We have all witnessed the travel delays that have been well covered in the media over the past couple of years, whether as a result of air traffic control problems or striking staff. Delays to travel, which can often cost you a day or two of your trip, cause connections to be missed and mean that additional expenses are incurred during the time in which you’re waiting around when you should already be travelling, are all typical consequents where flights are cancelled or moved back. This can be particularly irritating if you’re only making a short trip, for example to attend a business conference or meeting abroad.
As well as plane delays you might find yourself the victim of a crime - unfortunately foreigners are often the first people to be targeted by local criminals looking for easy money from stolen cameras, phones and cash. All the evidence suggests that when we’re abroad we tend to be a little more reckless when it comes to possessions and also our personal safety. You only need to look at the number of people who try an extreme sport on holiday that they wouldn’t dream of attempting back home. Accidents are par for the course with something like paragliding, or even jet skiing, and sometimes local arrangements for health and safety are not up to the kinds of standards that we might be used to in the UK and shortcuts can be taken, which can result in a personal injury.
Serious accidents abroad are fairly infrequent but they do happen and most often in situations where an activity such as skiing is involved. The cost of dealing with an accident in a situation like this can be substantial and is often not covered by the European Health Insurance Card (for those travelling in Europe). In fact, the costs can be outrageously expensive – statistics from the insurance industry indicate, for example, that a return air ambulance from Spain could be as much as £30,000 and one night in a Spanish medical centre could be up to £1,000. Although clearly these issues should never put you off from travelling, it’s worth making sure you’re aware of the process for making a successful foreign accident claim just in case you should ever need to do so.