Important for tourists to have appropriate insurance
Holidaymakers are urged to ensure they are insured before jetting off. So make sure you get good travel insurance
As the summer months approach and millions of Brits prepare to book their annual getaways holidaymakers are being reminded of the importance of travel insurance.
Whether jetting off for a fortnight of frolicking on the ski slopes or taking time off to backpack around South America, holidaymakers need to ensure they are insured.
Chris Price, head of Direct Line Travel Insurance, said: "It is very important that travellers take out appropriate insurance to cover them should an incident occur while they're on holiday.
"The best way to ensure you have the appropriate policy is to contact your insurer and discuss the cover you need for the activities and equipment you are likely to use."
His comments follow the release of official figures by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office earlier this year, which revealed that a fifth of Brits now take winter sports holidays annually.
This means that a growing number of holidaymakers are enjoying high-risk activities whilst abroad, potentially, without the right insurance.
Highlighting that the risk for those undertaking sports on holiday is not a negligible one, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office notes that one in ten British skiers incur an injury on the slopes.
For those who do decide to roll the dice and holiday uninsured, it could prove to be an expensive gamble.
According to financial advice website moneysupermarket.com treatment for a hip fracture in the US could set a holidaymaker back £22,531.
Furthermore, a heart attack in Spain will cost £35,000 compared to £25 a week for a decent travel insurance policy.
However, for the jet-setting types who take multiple trips per year to far-flung destinations forking out separate fees each time they book a break may not be the smartest option.
The way around this type of bureaucratic inconvenience, which can put a dampener on a break, is to take out an annual travel insurance policy.
Annual travel insurance covers holidaymakers for several holidays over the course of a year and gives tourists the security of knowing if they decide to jet off somewhere at the last minute, they will be covered.
Financial benefits are also on offer for those who take out such policies, as according to moneysupermarket.com single-trip policies can cost as much as two-and-a-half times the price of a week's cover.
Other types of policies available to travellers are family travel insurance and business cover.
Family travel insurance is a money-saving option for those who want to cover their entire clan in one fell swoop.
Premiums may vary in price in accordance with how many offspring the parents have spawned, although some simply offer a flat rate, which tends to benefit larger families.
Business insurance policies are, generally speaking, only available as annual cover products, but are ideal for high fliers who have to leave the country frequently for meetings.
This insurance covers their laptops, PDAs and office-related equipment.
With such a range of tailor-made travel insurance policies available to the consumer there is no excuse to dwell in the short-sighted 31 per cent of Brits who holiday uninsured.
These holidaymakers may be laughing all the way to the bank but on the plane home, when the price of their bargain break has rocketed by £10,000 and they have a broken knee to boot, they won't look so smug.
