Why Brits Going Abroad Should take out Travel Insurance

Despite David Cameron urging holidaymakers to stay in the UK for their summer break this year, only a quarter of us say a ‘staycation’ is the ideal holiday. Nearly half of Brits say the ideal non-UK destination is within Europe while almost one in three say their ideal holidays are outside of Europe, according to new research by Confused.com.

When searching for the ideal getaway, the majority of UK holidaymakers are looking for a seaside break, with 45 per cent of people choosing ‘beach’ compared to just nine per cent wanting an active or sporty holiday. Less than five per cent seek snow for their break, while sightseeing is a priority for almost one in three holiday makers, rising to 45 per cent for people aged 55+.

Not surprisingly, 57 per cent of 18-25s would prefer to spend their holiday at the beach and 25-35 year-olds are most likely to choose an active or sporty holiday, compared to other age groups.

Even in these times of financial difficulties, people cannot live without a yearly holiday. The majority of people interviewed take one or two holidays per year with over 55s taking the most holidays compared to 18-24 year-olds who take the fewest holidays overall.

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Only just over half of people always buy travel insurance when they go away, despite 90 per cent of people having holidayed abroad. A surprising 15 per cent always take a risk by not purchasing any insurance even though illness abroad tops the list of holiday nightmares with 44 per cent of holidaymakers having experienced illness either themselves or among their party while away. Family travel insurance can cost as little as £9.75 for a family of four, though it can cost more depending on where you’re travelling to, so Confused.com experts would always urge holidaymakers going abroad to take out cover.

Mhairi Duffin, Head of Travel Insurance at Confused.com, said: “While it may not be the most exciting part of arranging your family holiday, travel insurance should always be one of your main priorities if you want to be able to relax and enjoy your time away.

“Hopefully your holiday will go according to plan, but if anything was to go wrong having the right travel insurance in place can help make sure you’re protected in the event of baggage being lost, your holiday being cancelled or someone in your party falling ill.

“Family travel policies can be very reasonable and getting the whole family covered on one policy tends to be much more convenient than taking out separate policies, leaving you more time to concentrate on the more enjoyable aspects of planning your holiday!” Mhairi added.

Benefits travel insurance can bring: