Just like in any divorce, there are costs to be had in the UK’s split from the European Union. In terms of coverage, the majority of insurance professionals believe a particular type of policy will likely cost more once Britain goes solo.
A Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) poll of 114 insurance professionals found that 76% expect an increase in the amount consumers pay for travel insurance post-Brexit. It is believed that the nature of the departure deal will dictate the changes, if any, to the cost of travel insurance in Europe.
“The Brexit withdrawal agreement means that unaltered transitional arrangements stay in place until at least December 31, 2020 and, following that, it depends what is negotiated in terms of reciprocal medical arrangements between the UK and the EU member states,” noted Kevin Hancock, chair of the CII’s Society of Insurance Broking.
“The general consensus though is the cost of European travel insurance will eventually increase.”
Meanwhile Martin Ashfield, board member of the Society of Claims Professionals, pointed to the potential impact on the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
Ashfield explained: “The current position means that the withdrawal agreement sets out a transition period to allow more time for negotiations on the future UK-EU relationship meaning that the EHIC would still be valid until the end of 2020.
“If the UK leaves without a deal, UK citizens can’t rely on the EHIC being valid. While this may not directly affect customers (providing the policy covers their pre-existing medical conditions), it does affect insurers for the obvious reasons of increased medical claims costs.”
Other implications include possible claims for missed departures and delay compensation amid the prospect of extra security checks at airports and terminals as a result of Brexit.
