A survey carried out at the beginning of June found that nearly half of holidaymakers admitted to travelling without insurance. Over 16% had been on a long holiday in Europe without travel insurance and a shocking 7% had travelled to worldwide destinations without it.The general consensus is that when travelling in Europe travel insurance is not needed as the European Heath Insurance Card (EHIC) provides free medical treatment if it is needed. This is true in some cases but many of the clinics in Europe are private and the EHIC won’t cover you for private treatment.

19% of those who travel without insurances have the attitude of “it’ll never happen to me” and 15% believe the policies are too expensive. These people probably don’t realise that more than 1 in 10 people fall ill or have an accident on holiday each year, making travel insurance very important. With regards to the cost of the travel insurance, policies can be bought relatively cheaply compared to the overall cost of the holiday. Shopping around for policies is the best way to ensure a good deal. With many insurers an emergency contact number will be provided, which can give advice if the policyholder runs into difficulty.

Booking a holiday and taking out insurance should go hand in hand. Having insurance can remove the financial implications and the stress experienced when abroad, if the worst happens and medical treatment is needed. Depending on the type of policy taken out travel insurance can cover, missed or delayed flights, lost luggage as well as medical expenses. Proving it is very worth while having travel insurance.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 18th, 2007 at 9:02 am and is filed under Travel Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.