It’s been quite a few years since I left the UK. In fact, it was in the middle of another recession, the mild recession of 1992 when I finally left the UK for greener and more Asian pastures. I’ve been back quite a few times since then, but I still remember that fateful January day, just over 17 years ago when I stepped onto the airline headed for HongKong with a bag in one hand, a few hundred pounds in the other and not much else.
I can’t even remember buying such a mundane thing as international travel insurance. Perhaps I did. Who knows? I don’t particularly bother with it these days either though I travel more than once or twice a year. I figure the money I save on insurance is pretty significant versus the number of times I’ve gotten into trouble. There is another difference: transport strikes in Asia are far less frequent than in any European country I know. That’s the reason flights are delayed in the UK most often, in my experience.
If you’re traveling to Europe, buy travel insurance. You’ll likely need it if you visit the UK, France, Germany or Italy. The unions are most militant there, and will most likely disrupt your travel plans in the height of the travel season! At least that’s been my experience!