Thread: Brexit (Old)
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Old 11-02-2019, 16:06   #7533
Chris
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Re: Brexit

All true, but at the same time that has all been fairly widely discussed in here and in the media recently.

Having six months left on your passport is the normal rule. Only within the Schengen area is it reduced to one month or less. It is convenient if your passport happens to be coming to its end but in the context of a 10 year lifespan, for most people, most of the time, it makes little practical difference.

As far as travel insurance goes, yes, it’s true that insurers currently rely on the provisions of the EHIC to keep their costs down. When you fall ill while travelling within the EU they expect you to rely on your EHIC and for that reason they will not normally cover you for any medical expenses that are covered by the EHIC. Worth remembering, however, is that in most places state medical provision involves co-payment or pay-and-claim, and you only get the same state medical cover as a resident of the country would be entitled to. If the UK entirely withdraws from the EHIC system then yes, you will have to have travel insurance to cover any and all costs, and that is inevitably going to cost more. However, I’d argue that what you end up with, for a near-trivial increase in the overall cost of your holiday, is a far more comprehensive medical cover than you get with the EHIC.

This to me illustrates one of the central follies of the continuing remain campaign against leaving the EU (or else leaving softly, in name only). The increase in cost and inconvenience in terms of travelling within the EU is minor, and only affects those who actually travel. Most people don’t travel overseas, or do only rarely. The ones who do so regularly and face maximum inconvenience are the ones best able to afford it and most able to do the admin.

Polly Toynbee railing against Brexit because it makes it harder for her to visit Tuscany isn’t a good look when large swathes of impoverished communities in this country, who voted Leave, can only dream of that sort of luxury.
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