What’s going on… just how many warnings do people need? Take out travel insurance if you are going on a trip!
ABTA has, yet again, revealed that holidaymakers are risking sky high medical bills by not taking out travel insurance – and those aged 18-34 are the worst culprits.
The Travel Association says in the past year, 31% of that age group took a trip abroad and worryingly only 16% thought it was important.
The top reason for them not buying it was they think they don’t need it while one in five said they just forgot.
There is still confusion about European Health Insurance Cards with a quarter thinking they don’t need insurance in Europe compared to 22% in a similar survey last year. They think the UK Government will pay for their treatment if they become ill abroad – with one in ten wrongly expecting it would do so.
Figures show that more than one in five people who have travelled abroad in the past year did so without travel insurance.
ABTA is encouraging all consumers to take out insurance at the time of booking their holiday. This means they are covered should they need to cancel before they travel, (for reasons such as family bereavement, pregnancy or jury service) avoiding costly cancellation fees.
Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive, said, “As we head into the summer season, it is worrying to see younger people continuing to travel abroad without appropriate insurance, as well as a growing lack of awareness about the function of an EHIC card.
“Every year, we see cases of young people falling into difficulty after travelling without insurance. The risks being undertaken are great, and the costs of not being insured could be many thousands of pounds.”
