Brits 'can't be bothered' to claim travel insurance
19/11/2007
Most Brits assume that claiming for flight delays, lost or damaged baggage, accidents or medical treatment is too much hassle - according to new research by the Post Office. Which is why they are potentially missing out on over £13.5 billion.
In fact, although 62% of UK holidaymakers experience flight delays, 22% have lost or damaged luggage and 15% are involved in an accident or needed to seek medical treatment, less than one third actually made a claim on their insurance. But why? A third said that the excess on their policy - the amount the individual pays to make a claim - was set too high, but a further 23% said they simply didn’t bother trying to claim as it was too much hassle. And nearly one in eight didn’t even realise they could.
Helen Warburton from Post OfficeTravel Services, said: “Holidaymakers really must wake up to cheap policies with very high excess levels. They may seem like a great deal at the time - but if an excess is set at £250, it may make little or no financial sense to try and claim for things like lost luggage, flight delays, doctors expenses, lost cameras and so on. Ultimately that means that you end up paying twice - once for the policy and then again for anything that goes wrong.”
The Post Office itself offers a range of travel insurance policies to anyone travelling within the UK or abroad.
For more information visit www.postoffice.co.uk or call free on 0800 169 9999.