As the British summer gets off to a disappointing start, people turn their thoughts to beaches and sunshine, with Spain still being a top destination for British holidaymakers.

According to an independent survey, British travellers’ greatest fear when venturing abroad is falling ill and having to go to a foreign hospital. The report, from telephone interpreter service, i-interpret4u, asked 2,000 holidaymakers what they were most concerned about when going abroad writes Bryony Ashcroft of expathealth.org.

The results showed the majority (83%) of respondents worry about going abroad, leaving only a small proportion seemingly at ease with the idea. While being ill and having to make use of foreign health facilities was people’s biggest worry, the second most cited fear is a lost passport, followed by losing luggage.

Thousands of pieces of luggage are lost or misplaced every year, with numbers peaking in the summer months. Always follow procedure and report a missing suitcase before you leave the airport to avoid delays with any compensation later.

No excuse for travelling without insurance

The results also showed women are almost twice as likely as men to worry about travelling abroad. The third biggest fear for women is getting mugged or attacked on holiday.

A large proportion (85%) of people don’t worry about being able to speak the language when they go abroad. This does make us wonder, if more people knew the language basics when they went abroad, would some of the fear go out of having to use foreign hospitals?

i-interpret4u Director Michael French told Wanderlust magazine, “Travellers will often think that it can’t happen to them; sadly it does and ensuring you have taken out adequate, not the cheapest travel insurance is of course important – and for less than the cost of a bottle of good wine, there’s no real excuse for travelling uncovered.”

Reproduced with kind permission of expathealth.org

As many people plan winter getaways, they’re dreaming of leaving the hectic day-to-day existence behind and doing some serious chilling out. A break from their frenetic lives is just what the doctor ordered. And yet, the reality is that they’ll go away and will do very little relaxing, staying just connected enough to their life “back home” that the potential recuperative power of the vacation will be lost writes John Miller of the healthtravelblog.com

Has this ever happened to you? Of course it has. We all do it. Sometimes we just flat out fail to ramp down our desire to accomplish stuff.

As always, we’re here to help. Here are some ideas that you need to leave behind in order to replenish your mind, body and soul when you’re on vacation:

• (Do not) Maintain contact with the office. Staying up to speed with your entire workload is going to be very difficult; to do it well will require you to put in pretty much a full workday. So what’s the point of doing that? Either your colleagues will handle it, or it can wait. And don’t freak out about the email backlog that’s building. It’ll be fine. So leave the office behind.
• (Do not) Stay indoors. If you’re like most people, you spend a lot of time indoors – in the office, at home in front of the TV, etc., tethered to electronic devices. Vacation is a chance to break away and soak up some vitamin D from the sun.
• (Do not) Over-plan so that you squeeze in more must-see stuff. This is a big problem for a lot of folks – over-planning and cramming too much into each day. Obviously, if you’re headed to Rome for the first time there’s a lot to see, and you need to check off some of those boxes. But you’re not going to see it all, so don’t make yourself frantic. Don’t be afraid to spend the entire week without a schedule. Really. Just try it.
• (Do not) Go with family. A family vacation is nice; an extended family vacation can be even better. Or it can be psychological warfare. It depends on your family. But even the most united of families can get on each other’s nerves over the course of a week or two. If the goal is to truly relax, think about keeping your traveling party a little more intimate.
• (Do not) Stay home instead. Fewer vacations mean that the holidays you do take have a lot of pressure to be perfect, which in turn makes it far less likely that they’ll be perfect. Putting that kind of pressure on your vacation creates stress. So use those vacation days. It’ll make you perform better at work – happier and more productive.

Reproduced with kind permission of the healthytravelblog.com

An Expat who paid taxes in the UK for 40 years was handed a whopping €1,180 bill for a one-night stay at a Bristol hospital. Read more at the Olive Press Spain’s No1 English daily news website

http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2013/04/04/expat-hit-with-e1180-bill-for-one-night-in-nhs-hospital/

ALC Health (à la carte healthcare) today reported a 40% growth on individual and 35% growth on group business for 2012.

Andrew Apps, Director commented “Over the past three years we have seen a steady growth across all our target markets and with 2012 continuing to break yet more records for the company. Our boutique approach to customer service and competitive pricing structure has enabled our members to get the cover they need at an affordable price whilst enjoying the very highest level of personal service and support that has become the hallmark of ALC Health’s continued success.

2012 has been another leap forward for ALC Health and during this summer we will be adding further product options to our already flexible Prima brand of international medical insurance plans, offering even greater cover choice to both individuals and group scheme members. The past year was an exciting one for ALC Health and we are looking forward to pushing forward the boundaries even further”.