Eu Medical Insurance Cards

Why is travel Insurance required for this type of vacation?

Why do you need ‘medical’ travel insurance when travelling to another EU country? Travel insurance is meant to cover injury, hospital fees and nursed flights home etc… BUT! We have the EU Medical Card which covers all of the above.
For the two answers already. Do you know what the Eu medical card is?

EU Medical Card – Allows a person from an EU state (country) to receive treatment or care in a fellow EU state (country) without payment or the minimum of payment (mainly for EU countries that aren’t fully integrated)

This means that, for example;

I went on holiday from the UK (country of residence) to France and hurt myself. Instead of paying for care I would present this card and the French Health Service would treat me for free and provide care for free and claim back the costs from the UK Health Service at a later date. The card was brought in to allow people to receive care or treatment for free so why do we have medical insurance when we have this card?

The only reason I can think of is depending of the legislation of the EU country where you are staying, health care is either free with the EU health card or, if you have to pay, you will be reimbursed. If you have to pay up-front, the card will guarantee that you receive money back in that country or, if you were not able complete the reimbursement procedure, soon after you return home by your local health authority. If you are in a country that requires you to pay up front you may not have the funds necessary to cover the costs (which can range into the tens of thousands depending on what treatment you received). Some less than scrupulous countries may prevent you from leaving the country if you owe money to a hospital. Many travel insurance companies will cover your costs up front so you do not have to worry about this, and they will seek reimbursement on your behalf. This scenario is not likely, but it’s really the only one I can think of. Maybe you can contact a travel insurance seller in your area and ask them.

The Insurance Company – Isaac Hayes