{"id":11304,"date":"2019-08-21T10:30:27","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T10:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/face\/?p=11304"},"modified":"2021-08-23T16:07:33","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T16:07:33","slug":"is-the-era-of-mandatory-travel-insurance-upon-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/is-the-era-of-mandatory-travel-insurance-upon-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the era of mandatory travel insurance upon us?"},"content":{"rendered":"Approx read: <\/span> 3<\/span> mins<\/span><\/span>

Consumer choice may be a thing of the past<\/h2>\n

Look, it\u2019s hardly a surprise that we recommend travel medical insurance here at battleface.<\/h4>\n

A million things can go wrong in a foreign country and having financial and logistical backing from professionals is the best way of ensuring a crisis doesn\u2019t turn into a tragedy.<\/p>\n

But, in all honesty, it\u2019s your choice.<\/p>\n

You may be happy covering the medical costs of a few scuffs and scrapes out of your own pocket. You may feel a short trip abroad is so low-risk it doesn\u2019t warrant cover.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You\u2019re an adult. You can make your own decisions.<\/h4>\n

But that consumer choice may be a thing of the past if a growing trend of countries mandating health insurance catches on around the world.<\/p>\n

These countries include Russia, which requires all visitors to provide proof of adequate coverage when applying for their visa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ecuador, meanwhile, has previously toyed with the idea of introducing compulsory insurance for tourists, but scrapped the scheme following opposition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, those visiting the Galapagos Islands, which are part of Ecuador, are still required to have adequate insurance as a condition of entry.<\/p>\n

Japan, another country where lawmakers face growing pressure from hospitals and medical providers carrying the cost of foreigners\u2019 health treatment, recently launched a nationwide campaign to urge visitors to purchase insurance.<\/p>\n

You can certainly see the reasoning. Tourists can put unnecessary strains on foreign health services and have gained a (perhaps undeserved) reputation for hopping on a plane and waving goodbye to their bills once treatment is complete.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Of course, for the more intrepid travellers, compulsory insurance is nothing new.<\/h4>\n

Those heading to Antarctica will be familiar with the need to obtain cover in case disaster strikes – and the tens of thousands required to get you home again.<\/p>\n

Mandating travel medical insurance for visitors would undoubtedly be a boom for insurance companies worldwide. Indeed, what industry wouldn\u2019t welcome absolute take up of its product?<\/p>\n

But it would also add a compulsory layer of protection to the, ahem<\/em>, less prudent travellers among us. Plenty of globetrotters strap on their backpacks without a thought of what they\u2019ll do if they suddenly require medical treatment abroad.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hospital bills can rack up quickly, especially when you don\u2019t have a professional travel medical provider at your side to ensure every assessment and treatment is strictly necessary.<\/p>\n

And when the worst happens, the cost of repatriating a traveller\u2019s mortal remains is an additional – and extremely costly – burden on their families.<\/p>\n

Personal responsibility versus the nanny state<\/h4>\n

But the trend for countries to insist on insurance also raises questions of personal responsibility and the coddling of travellers.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s remember that, up to a point, risk is acceptable. Indeed, it may be your primary reason for exploring the world. Travel is about self-reliance, about making smart choices in risky situations. More often than not, that means purchasing that insurance policy online in order to guard against worst-case eventualities.<\/p>\n

Taking that choice away from travellers is, of course, a sensible decision for a number of practical and financial reasons. But does it treat travellers like children?<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen whether more countries will go the way of Russia, Ecuador and others. If so, the age of consumer choice over travel medical insurance may become a thing of the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Of course, for the more intrepid travellers, compulsory insurance is nothing new.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":11315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[145],"class_list":["post-11304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insurance","tag-travel-insurance"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11304"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13047,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11304\/revisions\/13047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.battleface.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}