Notification from the Royal Yachting Association Southern Region
Richard Brown, Southern Region Secretary 02380 667 508 secretarysouthern@rya.orguk

Travel insurance alert for yachts travelling to the Channel Islands

From 1st April 2009, all Brits going to the Channel Islands will need to have their own health cover. If you are planning a trip to the Channel Islands make sure you pack some travel insurance, because a change to the healthcare rules applying to UK visitors means you could be hit with a big bill if you are injured or fall ill. In what seems to be a costcutting exercise by the UK government, an agreement in place since the mid-70s allowing UK travellers to get some free medical treatment is being scrapped on Tuesday 1st April 2009.

Anyone travelling to Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark or Herm after this date will be required to pay for any medical treatment, even though the islands are crown dependencies, the UK Department of Health says. As a result, UK residents visiting the islands ‘must ensure they have adequate travel insurance."

A spokeswoman for the department says it has always recommended that Brits going to the islands take out travel cover, as even with the agreement in place, UK tourists have always been charged for some healthcare services, including GP treatment, dental care and prescribed medicines (in Jersey), A&E hospital treatment, emergency dental treatment, GP and other medical care, ambulance travel and prescribed medicines (in Guernsey).

At the moment, if someone falls ill on holiday in Jersey they would have to pay to see a GP or to get prescribed medicine - but would get free in-pa­tient and outpatient treatment and free ambulance travel. From 1 April, the things that are currently free will have to be paid for, though if you have travel insurance cover, the insurer will pick up the tab.

Travellers cannot rely on cover from the European Health Insurance Card scheme, as the islands are not part of the EU. These cards should be checked, by anyone sailing to France or other countries in the EU, to make sure that they are still in date as a lot of the early ones were only valid for 3 years and ran out at the end of last year.

For further enquiries please contact: Richard Brown, Southern Region Secretary 02380 667 508 secretarysouthern@rya.orguk.