Can you get travel insurance cover even if you have alcohol in your system?

-My son is off on a 'working' holiday for 2 months or so, he is bound to have a certain amount of alcohol in his system and I am considering not taking out travel insurance as, if the worst happens, the cover will be declined if alcohol is present in his system.A medical claim would only be declined by the insurers if it was proven that alcohol contributed to or actually caused the illness or injury. I recently settled a claim where a client was very drunk, but this had nothing to do with the boiling hot coffee which was spilt on her and badly burned her arm and leg. I have also seen claims for slips and trips, where the pavement/poolside tiles were loose or raised, and were classed as likely to cause an accident no matter whether the claimant was sober or not.



If he is going somewhere to work where he will be in close contact with other people during working hours, it is even more important that he has insurance - insurance covers a lot more than just medical bills - if he were to injure someone else the liability section of the policy would cover him for being sued. And if he was robbed or his baggage went missing on the flight, it would also cover him for personal belongings and money.



Working in insurance, I see lots of people who come to buy a policy purely because the last time they went away something happened while they were not insured, and it cost them a fortune.



Before you buy just any policy, make sure you check it covers him on a working holiday - lots of insurers do, but some have restrictions as to the type of work he can do.
Read the exclusions. It likely has nothing to do with it. People drink on vacation and you don't blow into a breathalyser if you need stitches in your arm from tripping over a bar stool.
no