Traveling — with or without Insurance?

Just a couple of days ago, I read this news story about how more than 14 million British holidaymakers (that’s like 20 per cent of them) will travel abroad without travel insurance. What could be the issue here? Surely that it’s so hard to get a travel insurance quote these days?

Agreed there’s a recession on, and a depression looming over our heads, but traveling without insurance is not the way cut costs. On the other hand, it may just mean you end up spending more than you bargained for. And during a global turndown like the one we’re currently facing, you don’t want to take any kind of risk. At a time like that this a travel policy will be a real asset.

The news story goes on to say that hundreds of British holidaymakers are hospitalized abroad each year — with 2007 figures at 695 in Spain, 602 in Greece, and about 325 in Thailand, according to the Foreign Office’s ‘British Behavior Abroad’ 2007 report.

“It’s not expensive and you’ve got peace of mind for if anything goes wrong and that’s the main thing,” a spokeswoman for the Association of British Travel Agents told the BBC. “If anything goes wrong it’s going to cost you. You could have your house up for sale to try and raise extra money. Anything could happen.”