Results Of Post Office Travel Insurance Survey Are Concerning

Many of us look forward to a summer holiday in some far off exotic location where we can enjoy relaxing on a sandy beach, sunbathing under a pure blue sky sipping on a champagne cocktail. Prior to getting on the plane to start our holiday we will have made sure that we have brought our passports, flight and hotel details, sun cream, clothes and sunglasses.

That is fine but do we all sort out travel insurance before departing to ensure that if we are taken ill whilst on holiday, have an accident whilst water-skiing, suffer flight delays or something else untoward? Unfortunately not, according to a survey carried out by Post Office Travel Insurance.

The survey involved 1,224 adults in the UK agreeing to take part and makes for interesting reading. In the past 5 years, all those participating had been on long-haul holidays.

Interestingly, there was a high % of people that had encountered problems whilst travelling to certain places overseas but what is even more alarming is that the survey found that a lot of people going to those same destinations did not bother to take out travel insurance. These problems covered a range of things such as flight delays, having an accident or illness as well as having something stolen.

For instance, let’s look at India. The survey found that around 18% of people from the UK travelling on holiday to that country in the last 5 years had some form of problem during their stay. Rather surprisingly, 29% of those people did not bother to take out travel insurance to cover their visit.

Mauritius is a honeymooners paradise. Well, a huge 20% of adults from the UK had some issues during their holiday and the same percentage of people did not arrange travel insurance.

Of those taking a well-earned rest in Sri Lanka, the survey found that 23% encountered some problems and 21% did not have the forethought to sort out travel insurance.

It probably does not come as a surprise to read that around a third of those aged 18 to 34 did not arrange travel insurance for their most recent long-haul flight yet only 6% of those at least 55 years of age did likewise. The main reason for this was possibly because the younger traveller felt that they were less likely to have a serious illness.

There was some interesting data from those that did bother to take out travel insurance. The main reason (35%) why someone claimed was because they needed medical attention due to illness closely followed by 31% suffering an accident and requiring medical treatment.

A staggering 15% of people taking part in the survey had had to be brought back to the UK in an air ambulance. Did you know that for such patients needing to be airlifted from India this could cost between £80,000 to £100,000? The survey found that the average amount claimed on a travel insurance policy for long-haul holidays was £4,859.

So, it really is not worth taking the risk of not bothering to arrange suitable travel insurance when going on holiday abroad. In this respect, why not pick up the phone to us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 so that we can do our best to help you arrange affordable cover to provide you with peace of mind.