Millions of holidaymakers are putting themselves at risk by taking out the wrong travel insurance. While packing the wrong pair of shorts can be a nuisance, taking the wrong travel insurance could be a holiday disaster.
Britons travel with an estimated £32 billion worth of luggage, yet only a fifth of them are protected by the correct level of travel insurance. New figures reveal that four in five people travel with insufficient insurance, while a worrying four million travellers fail to take out any insurance at all.
A recent survey found that the average value of suitcase contents, including hand luggage, is £1,440 per person as laptops and other gadgets increasingly becoming holiday ‘essentials’. Those living in London and the South West are more affluent travellers, with their suitcase contents valued at £1,621 and £1,735 respectively.
Despite this, some four million people fail to take out any travel insurance at all, leaving them at risk of losing their luggage or facing medical emergencies without any financial protection.The study highlighted that two million UK holidaymakers have had their luggage lost or stolen or items from it, in the past.
Only one in five of those who did take out travel insurance had the right level of protection for their items. The MoneySupermarket research found that a third of people were underinsured and half were over insured.
Bob Atkinson, travel expert at MoneySupermarket, said: “When taking out a travel insurance policy to ensure your possessions are covered to an adequate level, you need to bear in mind any single item limits that might be listed and whether you have anything you intend to take with you that exceeds that.” It would be advisable to review your travel insurance policy to ensure that potentially expensive items such as mobile phones, cameras and jewellery are covered.
Date Created: 09/08/2012
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