Travel Insurance warning: ‘No-fly’ doesn’t mean ‘no insurance’

• 37% of holidaymakers have made a conscious decision to take a no-fly holiday in the last three years;
• Endless queueing, more delays and cramped seats have made flying too much hassle for many holidaymakers.
• Only 73% of holidaymakers going overseas say they always have travel insurance.

In the last three years 37% of holidaymakers have made a conscious decision to take a no-fly holiday, with many (39%) saying they are now put-off by the hassle of flying. 

New research* commissioned by GoCompare Travel Insurance reveals that a third of people who’ve opted for a no-fly holiday have done so because they hate having to check-in at the airport up to three hours before their flight, while 31% are put-off by cramped airline seats. 

Airport queues, check-in queues, security queues, boarding queues, disembarking queues, baggage reclaim queues – were all cited as a reason for not to taking to the air for 28% of holidaymakers.

Other reasons why people avoided travelling by air included restrictions on hold and hand luggage (23%), the hassle and expense of airport parking (22%), the expense of flying, even with budget airlines (21%) and flight delays (18%).  Just over one in ten (11%) holidaymakers avoided air travel on environmental grounds, 9% for fear of air terrorism and 8% were worried about plane safety.    

While 51% of people choosing a no-fly vacation holidayed in the UK, others travelled abroad by road, rail or sea.  Nearly a fifth (19%) took a car ferry, 18% booked a cruise from a UK port, 16% travelled by train, 12% used the Channel Tunnel and 8% went by coach.

Commenting on the research, Martyn John at GoCompare said, “Over the years, flying has become cheaper and more accessible enabling an increasing number of people to travel around the world.  But, busier airports, longer queues at security, the prospect of cancellations or delays, and shrinking legroom in planes have combined to make passengers’ experience of flying more stressful, leading many people to avoid airports altogether.       

“Regardless of your means of travel, if you’re heading abroad on holiday, you need travel insurance.  However, we know that only 73% of holidaymakers going overseas always buy cover.  Having an accident or falling seriously ill abroad can quickly lead to a substantial medical bill if you don’t have insurance.  Travel insurance also gives you financial protection against the inconveniences of holiday cancellations and the loss or theft of your luggage or other personal possessions. There are a wide range of options and levels of cover available depending on your needs and destination. So, it’s important to shop around to make sure that you get the product you need, at the right price.”

For more information on travel insurance visit: https://www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/travel-insurance-explained/

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For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson or Martyn John at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare

Notes to editors

*On the 5 June 2018, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 1,445 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panellists.  The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About GoCompare

GoCompare 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.

GoCompare does not charge people to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Gocompare 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.

GoCompare does not sell its customers’ data.

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. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up 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.

GoCompare is the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com