Staycations are the top choice for a summer trip this year

New research from Go.Compare travel insurance has revealed that 43% of holidaymakers are planning to take either a staycation, camping trip or caravanning holiday in the UK this summer, making home holidays the top choice for a summer trip. However, of those who are opting to explore the UK instead of abroad, 42% aren’t currently planning to take out travel insurance for their trip. 

The research, which asked over 2,000 people about their holiday plans for summer 2023, found that a UK staycation will be the most popular type of holiday this year, with 37% planning to take one – with an additional 14% camping or caravanning on home soil. 

This means staycations are more popular this year than those going abroad for either city breaks (16%) and even beach holidays (22%). Meanwhile, only one in ten (10%) are planning a long-haul trip, 7% [GC1] are planning to take a cruise, and a significant 28% aren’t taking a holiday at all.

With staycations being the most popular type of holiday for many, Go.Compare’s travel insurance experts are reminding UK-ationers that travel insurance isn’t just for holidays abroad – it can also help cover costs if your UK holiday doesn’t go to plan, including cover for cancellations, lost or stolen luggage, damage to personal belongings and personal liability. 

Ceri McMillan, Go.Compare’s travel insurance spokesperson, said: “It’s concerning that almost half (42%) of people who are going on a staycation aren’t currently considering taking out travel insurance. 

“While you won’t need cover for medical costs in the UK, there are many other reasons to make sure you have a policy in place. For example, our research also found that, of those planning a UK trip, people will take an average of three devices away with them, which can quickly add up to a valuable amount of luggage that would be costly to replace without insurance. And if you’re also planning on taking golf equipment or bikes away with you, this can add even more value to your trip.”

“While in some cases, a home contents insurance policy might provide cover for the loss or damage of your personal possessions while you’re away from home, many policies will only provide this as a paid-for extra. Often there are also limits for single items away from home, so it’s important to check whether your policy has cover for items away from home and what the limits of your cover are.”

With regards to UK travel cover, there are some restrictions in place, for example, there may be a minimum distance from your home address for it to count as a trip away and some policies also won’t count a stay with friends or family as a trip away and therefore won’t cover any subsequent claims.

Ceri added: “Before you head off on your UK trip, it might be worth thinking about things such as the items you’re taking, activities you’ll be doing and where you’re going, which will help you decide whether or not you need additional insurance protection – for example, if you’re staying with a relative and not taking anything too valuable, you might decide that you don’t need insurance, but if you’re travelling further afield and packing lots of valuable items, it makes sense to have cover in place.”

“Going away, whether in the UK or abroad, is exciting and something we all look forward to, so the last thing you would want is for it to be ruined by not having the right insurance in place to cover you if something should go wrong.”

More information on personal possessions cover outside the home can be found here: https://www.gocompare.com/home-insurance/personal-possessions-cover-outside-the-home/. 

And more information about travel insurance for a UK holiday can be found here: https://www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/uk-cover/. 

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