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Ill or injured on a charter: who pays for the doctor and the trip home?
Short answer
State-provided cards such as the GHIC or EHIC cover treatment abroad only on local terms,
and they never pay to fly you home.
The base rarely refunds lost charter days.
Travel insurance with medical repatriation and cover for cutting a trip short closes those gaps.
On a charter something happens quickly: a fall on a wet deck in a swell, a hand caught between a sheet and a winch, a cut while mooring, a bug in the second week. Then three questions arrive at once, and each has a different answer. Who pays the doctor or the hospital abroad? Who pays if someone has to be flown home? And what happens to the money for the charter if the crew stops early because of it?
For treatment, the first port of call is the state card. UK residents use the GHIC, Irish and Dutch residents the EHIC, and both give access to state healthcare in EU countries on the same terms as locals, which can still mean paying part of the bill and nothing at all for private clinics. Outside the EU, in Turkey for example, it depends on agreements and on your own cover. None of these cards pays for repatriation. The base will rarely refund days you could not use, because it handed over the boat. And the boat's own insurance is there for the boat, not for the health of the crew.
So make sure everyone aboard has travel insurance that includes medical expenses and repatriation, and check that sailing on a chartered yacht is not excluded as a hazardous activity. If you book early, look for cancellation and curtailment cover that explicitly includes boat charter. Pack a properly stocked first aid kit, note medical conditions and emergency contacts for every crew member, and agree who takes over if the skipper is out of action. In an emergency at sea, call on VHF channel 16 or dial 112.
Worth remembering
GHIC/EHIC
state treatment on local terms, no repatriation
Travel cover
repatriation and a trip cut short
Make sure everyone aboard has travel insurance with medical repatriation.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Does my GHIC or EHIC cover me on a charter?
In EU countries it gives access to state healthcare on local terms, which can still leave part of the bill with you. Private treatment and repatriation are not included. Travel insurance fills that gap.
Who pays to fly an injured crew member home?
Not the state card. Repatriation needs travel insurance with medical repatriation, and the policy should not exclude sailing on a chartered yacht.
Do I get money back for a charter we had to cut short?
Rarely from the base. Curtailment cover in a travel policy can refund unused days if it includes boat charter and the reason is listed in its terms.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Ill or injured on a charter: who pays for the doctor and the trip home?” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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