40% of people say they won’t be buying travel insurance for their holiday this summer

New research from GoCompare travel insurance has revealed that 40% of people aren’t planning on buying travel insurance this summer.

As part of the research, over 2000 people were asked about their plans to buy travel insurance ahead of the summer holidays, and of those who took part, just 23% said that they would be purchasing travel cover. 22% said they wouldn’t be needing it as they have no plans to travel, 14% said they didn’t know if they’d be buying a policy and the remaining 40% said they wouldn’t be buying any.

Across the age groups, those aged between 55-64 were the least likely to buy a travel insurance policy, with just 18% saying they had plans to buy this type of cover. In contrast, those aged between 25-34 were most likely to buy it, with just under a third (31%) saying they’ll be buying a policy.

Ceri McMillan, travel insurance spokesperson for GoCompare said on the findings: “This is a really worrying number of people who could potentially go on holiday this summer without the right cover in place.

“There’s no doubt that everyone deserves a holiday this summer – we’re now coming out of global lockdowns and getting used to new/ old freedoms, but we’re also being hit by a cost-of-living crisis on the other side. I don’t think anyone can say that the British public doesn’t deserve some time away this summer.

“But if people are thinking they’re saving money by going away without the right level of insurance, this is most definitely a false economy. If the worst should happen and you need medical care whilst away, travel insurance will cover your costs. Without it, your bill could run into £1000s.

“Likewise, if people are relying on the Global Healthcare Card (GHIC), this won’t cover you for any private healthcare or getting back to the UK if you need to be flown home. Many countries don’t have a free healthcare service as we do in the UK, so if private healthcare is your only option, the GHIC will not cover this.

“And it’s not just medical costs, travel insurance also covers for eventualities such as cancellations, disruptions, if your holiday is unexpectedly cut short, and if anything happens to your luggage or personal belongings.”

Ceri explained: “If your flight is delayed, it is likely that your airline will compensate you. Similarly, when it comes to travelling by sea it is your ferry company that would be first port of call for compensation. Some ferry companies offer a 25% or 50% refund on your ticket for the part of the trip that was affected depending on the length of the journey you were going to take and the delay you experienced. If your ferry was cancelled, then you should be offered an alternative sailing or refund on the ticket price. ABTA can help if your ferry company does not respond to your compensation claim.

“When it comes to travel insurance, most policies will offer some cover for delayed outbound or inbound journeys, however the requirements for the length of the delay and what compensation is available may differ. That’s why it’s important that you read your policy, so you know what you’re covered for.

“We all buy travel insurance in the hope that we’ll never have to use it, but going away without it just doesn’t make sense – unless you have enough money in savings to cover you if anything happens and you need to be flown back to the UK.”

As well as cover for medical care, cancellations, personal liability and lost of stolen baggage, most travel insurance policies now have a level of cover for Covid-19 which will pay for emergency care and repatriation. When you are looking at travel insurance policies, it’s important that you look at the levels of cover and make sure it’s fit for purpose as the levels of cover can vary significantly from policy to policy.

Ceri added: “People may not be buying travel insurance this summer for a number of reasons, but if the last couple of years has taught us anything, it’s that you don’t know what’s around the corner so being covered for unplanned eventualities has to be a good call doesn’t it?”

For more information on buying a travel insurance policy, you can visit here: https://www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/. 

-Ends- 

For further information please contact: 

Lynsey Walden on lynsey.walden@gocompare.com, or Kath Chadwick on Kathryn.chadwick@gocompare.com. 

Notes to editors 

^*1On 20^th – 22^nd May, 2022, 2,023 randomly selected Great British adults was executed by Maru/Blue. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 2.1%. The results have been weighted by age, gender, region and social grade to match the population, according to Census data. This is to ensure the sample is representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.