Call for an instant quote 0345 90 80 161
Open Mon to Fri 09:00 - 17:30 | Sat 09:00 - 16:00 (GMT)
12 August 2014 10:11
A third of people travel overseas without medical travel insurance, research shows.
Around one in three British people travel overseas lacking the right level of travel insurance, a survey shows.
And this is despite the average cost of medical treatment overseas totalling £747.
Some 34% of people who have been abroad on holiday, for business or for any other reason say they have travelled without insurance on at least one occasion.
Of these, 37% say they required medical treatment during their trips. The two most frequent health complaints among these people are broken bones and sickness bugs.
Most common health complaints abroad:
broken limbs and bones sickness bugs viral infections alcohol-related conditions/accidents dehydration
The remainder of the top five is made up of infections, accidents or conditions relating to alcohol and dehydration, according to the research by vouchercloud.com.
People who already suffer from an existing health condition can arrange medical travel insurance before jetting off. Policies are available for a wide range of conditions ranging from cancer to heart disease.
More than two-thirds (67%) of those surveyed who sought treatment while overseas while uninsured had broken limbs and 56% suffered a sickness bug. More than a third (34%) had a viral infection, 28% suffered alcohol-related conditions or accidents and 21% had dehydration.
The average amount paid out by these uninsured travellers was £747.
Matthew Wood of vouchercloud.com, says there needs to be more education and awareness around the cost of travel insurance.
He says that with some single-trip insurance costing as little as £15, this is a price worth paying for the peace of mind that can be provided by medical travel insurance.
He adds that the unexpected can happen at any time to anyone, so travelling without insurance in order to save just a few pounds is not worth the risk.
The survey was made up of 1,700 adults who had been on holiday at least once in the last year.
15 August 2018
A simple blood test could help GPs detect a rare form of bone marrow cancer much earlier, a new study suggests.
[more...]
14 August 2018
Passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport last month faced queues of over two and a half hours at passport control, new figures have revealed.
11 August 2018
Hundreds of Ryanair flights will not take off as planned on Friday due to pilot strikes in five countries.
10 August 2018
Fad diets that cut out carbs while increasing fat consumption could lead to an increased risk of diabetes, according to new research.
09 August 2018
HIV testing has become even more accessible after a self-testing kit was made available from a High Street retailer.
08 August 2018
Women patients are more likely to survive a heart attack if they are treated by a female doctor, a new US study has revealed.
07 August 2018
The head of British Airways has branded two-hour queues facing travellers at Heathrow's passport control as a "border farce."
04 August 2018
Simple factors such as gender and body mass can help doctors to personalise care for patients with type 2 diabetes and avoid harmful side effects, according to a study.
03 August 2018
Gatwick Express must no longer claim it runs "non-stop to Victoria station in half an hour" and "in just 30 minutes" unless it can achieve the time in most cases, a watchdog has ruled.
02 August 2018
A charity is calling for greater access to respite support after it emerged that 72% of Britain's 700,000 young carers feel lonely and isolated during the summer holidays.
01 August 2018
A plan to build new rail links with Heathrow Airport and connect Windsor's two train stations have been submitted to the Government.
31 July 2018
The head of International Airlines Group (IAG), the company that owns British Airways, is 'optimistic' about a legal challenge to end crippling strikes.