LONDON, Sept. 30,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- More than two-thirds (69%)
of people with medical conditions say they would not be able to
afford the medical bills of popular holiday destinations without
travel insurance – yet a smaller percentage would pay for
comprehensive travel cover before they fly off – according to
research from AllClear Travel Insurance.
AllClear asked a representative sample of over 2,000 British
people what were the countries where they knew they would not be
able to afford the medical bills if they fell ill or were
hospitalised – and didn't have travel cover in place.
The countries where people with medical conditions say they
would be unable to afford medical bills if they didn't have travel
insurance that would cover the bills included: USA (53%), Canada (35%), Australia (34%), Thailand (31%), Jamaica (31%) and India (29%)
This research comes at a time when a growing number of people
with medical conditions say they would travel abroad with no
insurance cover. Nationally, 49% of people with medical conditions
said they would happily travel to European countries with no cover,
thinking it would be easy to get home if they were to fall ill.
Looking at longer haul destinations, the need to prune costs for
holidays resulted in 17% saying they felt pressured financially to
buy the cheapest cover, with 10% travelling without any cover at
all.
While a large percentage know medical costs are high in various
countries, only between a fifth and half of survey respondents said
they would pay more for travel insurance to get the best possible
medical cover.
Garry Nelson, Head of
Corporate Affairs at AllClear Travel Insurance comments: "For
older travellers – and many with medical conditions – autumn is a
great time to head off on holiday: the resorts are less crowded,
holidays are cheaper and there's still plenty of sunshine.
"Our latest data suggests that many people travelling abroad
with medical conditions could be putting themselves at risk by not
having the best medical cover for their trip. The costs of medical
treatment abroad are widely understood, but some people still opt
for budget travel policies.
The concern here is compounded by the fact that one in four
British holidaymakers (25%) that have or will holiday abroad this
year have a pre-existing medical condition. Failure to declare
relevant medical information when buying travel insurance can
invalidate the policy – and falling ill in some countries without
travel cover could potentially cost a person their home. This is a
seismic industry issue that needs to be tackled – and
urgently."
Discover more about AllClear
at: www.allcleartravel.co.uk
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