Brits spent £2,644 on holidays in 2025 – but one in five travel insurance policies may not fully cover cancellations
- Brits spent an average of £2,644.46 holidaying in 2025*
- One in five single-trip travel insurance policies only offer cancellation between £1,000 and £1,999**
- Travel insurance experts predict holiday spending to rise in 2026
As Brits lock in their 2026 summer holidays, new research from Go.Compare travel insurance reveals the average Brit spent £2,644.46 on holidays in 2025.* But experts are warning that many travellers could be underinsured if their trip is cancelled.
Analysis of 928 single-trip travel insurance policies, based on Defaqto data, reveals a wide variation in the minimum level of cancellation cover available.** While the majority of policies offer high levels of protection, 2% (23 policies) provide no cancellation cover at all, 6% (57 policies) offer cover as an optional add-on, and one in five (20%) only cover between £1,000 and £1,999.
As the average holiday spend now exceeds £2,600, travellers with lower cancellation limits could be left significantly out of pocket if they’re forced to abandon their trip.
Cancellation cover is the amount your insurer will pay if you need to call off your trip for an insured reason, such as illness or bereavement. If your holiday costs more than your cancellation limit, you may only be able to claim back part of what you paid, leaving you out of pocket even if you have insurance in place.
The study also revealed that the average holiday spend sits just above £2,500, men spent more than women on their travels, coming in at £2,926.24 compared to £2,375.53.
The breakdown of cancellation cover levels (per person) in single trip policies is as follows:
- £3,000 or more: 450 policies
- £2,000–£2,999: 156 policies
- £1,000–£1,999: 188 policies
- Less than £1,000: 54 policies
- Optional cover: 57 policies
- No cancellation cover: 23 policies
With thousands of pounds often tied up in flights, accommodation and spending money, Go.Compare is urging holidaymakers to review their travel insurance policies and double-check their cancellation cover before heading to the airport.
Rhys Jones, expert at Go.Compare travel insurance said: “Many people don’t realise how much they’ve actually spent on a holiday until it’s too late. With the average trip now costing over £2,600, having insufficient cancellation cover could mean losing thousands of pounds. Just like with other types of insurance, it’s important not to assume you’re fully protected. It’s vital to check both the cover limits and the specific scenarios a policy will, and won’t, pay out for before you travel.”
Heading into the 2026 holiday season, it’s likely that holiday spends will continue to rise, as Rhys explains:
“It is likely that your holiday in 2026 will cost more than it did in 2025. A growing number of cities and countries are introducing or increasing their tourist taxes*** and from April 2026, air passenger duty rates are also expected to rise.****
“With so much money now tied up in travel plans, it’s understandable that people want to get the best value wherever they can. While we can’t change the cost of a holiday, customers who purchase a home or car insurance through Go.Compare can receive £50 off their next flight or hotel stay, taking some of the pressure off rising travel costs.”*****
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To find out more about cancellation cover and travel insurance visit: https://www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/cancellation-cover/
Contact Information
Alex McCormick
Notes to editors
*The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,001 UK Nationally Representative Consumers aged 18+. The data was collected between 04.11.2025 and 07.11.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
**Analysis of Defaqto data of single-trip travel insurance policies of 187 providers, 928 policies on January 5th 2026.
***https://www.businessinsider.com/2026-tourism-tax-norway-barcelona-thailand-travel-more-expensive-2025-12
****https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-air-passenger-duty-rates-from-1-april-2026/air-passenger-duty-rates-from-1-april-2026-to-31-march-2027
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About Go.Compare
Go.Compare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
It does not charge people to use its services and does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Go.Compare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. It is this approach to comparing products that secured the company an invitation to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) in 2008, and it is still the only comparison site to be a member of this organisation.
Go.Compare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest and works with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
Go.Compare is part of Future Plc and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).More information can be found here www.gocompare.com or here https://www.futureplc.com/brands/.