Holidaymakers planning a quick weekend break must ensure they have adequate travel insurance, urges an insurance provider.
The need for travel insurance is often being ignored by people jetting off for long weekends to European destinations. With many taking advantage of cheap flights to holiday hotspots, travellers often fail to take out any insurance, thinking nothing is likely to go wrong on such a short trip.
In fact, Tesco Travel Insurance conducted a survey revealing that more than 2.5 million travellers don’t take out any travel health insurance.
A number of holidaymakers believe the new European health insurance card, which replaced the old E111 in January, will be adequate for any incurred medical expenses.
Yet, the card does not cover all treatments and in? certain countries won’t cover for some services.
The insurance provider’s study also showed that the majority of people were relatively ignorant of the costs of medical care abroad.
According to the survey, 75 per cent of those questioned had no idea how much air ambulance repatriation would cost, which can often amount to £20,000.
“Most people think that because a mini break is short, they don’t need to insure themselves against accidents, thefts or cancellations. But our survey has shown that it is wise to do so,” warns Allan Burns, head of insurance at Tesco.
“The cost of insurance is not high, but the cost of travelling uninsured could very well turn out to be.”
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