AllClear research: Brits cutting corners on medical travel cover

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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