Best and worst places to fall ill abroad
For most holidaymakers, the possibility of falling ill or sustaining an injury is not something they particularly want to consider. Perhaps this is why many travellers either don’t bother with insurance or purchase the cheapest cover at the last minute – nobody wants to entertain the idea that their trip is going to be ruined.
But if an unlucky traveller were to fall ill or become injured abroad, where would they have the most straightforward – and least expensive – experience, and where would be the worst place for this to happen? Research from Get Going Travel Insurance has calculated the top 10 best countries for tourists to suffer a health issue, and the bottom 10.
The best destinations from a healthcare perspective, according to the specialist medical travel insurer, are Belgium, Israel, Finland, the UK, Iceland, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Austria and Portugal. For each of these countries, the average cost of a medical expenses claim on a travel insurance policy was less than £1,000; in Belgium, the cheapest, the average was £255.
The worst destinations, meanwhile, were Mexico, Poland, Estonia, the US, Spain, Turkey, South Korea, Hungary, Ireland and finally Japan, where the average claim cost £1,984.46.