New figures out show that the cost of annual travel cover is cheaper than ten minutes in a hospital in America.
However American Express Travel Insurance found that many British people are going abroad with no insurance cover.
Joanne Field, American Express marketing manger said, “One of our customers – who ultimately had nothing wrong – underwent 16 hours of tests in an American hospital to rule out serious illness and incurred a bill exceeding $20,000. That’s $1,250 an hour or over £12 per minute.
“In effect less than ten minutes in that American hospital costs in excess of our most popular annual policy.”
Last year approximately 2.9 million British people travelled without any insurance. From this number at least half suffered from an upset stomach while abroad and one in twenty spent time in hospital.
UK residents travelling around Europe know they can do so and have some protection but there is no protection outside of Europe.
Ms Field explained, “Apart from skiing in Europe, Britons tend to travel further afield at this time of year to find the sun. Without good travel insurance literally millions are at risk from expensive medical bills.”
According to American Express the cost of a broken leg in America can cost £25,000, whereas a short stay in a Caribbean hospital will cost £1,703.
Ms Field concluded, “Travel insurance is an essential part of holiday pricing and not a luxury extra to be ignored – we would encourage everyone to travel with comprehensive emergency medical cover which a good travel insurance policy provides.”