Holidays can typically be among our biggest purchases each year, and if you're budget conscious, you might be thinking about skipping the travel insurance in favour of a few extra beers by the beach. Before you do, here's a few things to consider.

The cost of medical insurance abroad

Whilst in the UK we're lucky enough to have access to free healthcare under the NHS, other countries don't always provide the same level of free care for their citizens or visitors to their shores. If for example, you're hiking in Yosemite National Park in Northern California and you take a tumble down a hill and break a leg, your medical bills and transport home could be very expensive.

Just having a GHIC is not enough

A GHIC allows UK travellers to access state-provided healthcare in eligible European countries on the same basis as local residents.

This is obviously valuable, and travellers should always carry their cards when visiting eligible countries. However, depending on where you're travelling, you may still need to contribute towards the cost of treatment. It also won't usually cover expenses such as medical repatriation to the UK, which is why travel insurance remains important.

And don't forget, it's not all about medical expenses. Travel insurance may also help with certain costs if your trip is cancelled or delayed, or if your belongings are lost or stolen while on your holiday.

Having to deal with a medical emergency

You're on a family holiday and your mother, who's with you on holiday, falls ill. You're trying to get medical care for her but don't speak the language. It turns out that she's going to need a long stay in hospital and repatriation home.

Having an appropriate travel insurance policy in place would give you and Mum the financial support needed to deal with this stressful situation, so you can concentrate on helping your mum get better rather than worry about the increasing costs of the healthcare.

Many insurers have a 24-hour helpline which you can use to find out where to take her for treatment.

As long as everything had been declared correctly at the time of purchasing the policy, and you've chosen a policy with enough cover, your mother's medical expenses would be covered, and the insurance company would arrange for your mum to be flown back to the UK if medically necessary.

Remember to declare your medical conditions

If you have a pre-existing medical condition, this will need to be declared. Should your health change or you develop a medical condition after you've taken out the policy, you should notify the insurer and you may or may not be covered, depending on their terms. This can often be overlooked and should be considered should any changes to your health occur.

Don't forget also, that for family cover, this declaration is likely to be required for each of those covered by the policy.

Compare travel insurance quotes

At Holiday Ready we've made finding and comparing travel insurance quotes quick and easy.

Our online quote form aims to be simple to use, and our travel guides are full of helpful facts and information to answer questions you may have about choosing a travel insurance policy that meets your needs.