Taking out travel insurance is as vital as packing your passport. You never know what might go wrong. But a vast amount of British holidaymakers still do not take out travel insurance before heading off to the sun. Last year alone Brits abroad spent £65 million sorting out holiday mishaps not covered by insurance.

According to InsureandGo, 14% of British holiday makers had inadequate insurance when they travelled abroad during 2007. The company estimates that 284,000 incidents took place that could have been covered by insurance. Around 82,774 of these missed claim opportunities involved medical problems, 70,017 lost or stolen baggage, and 31,794 flight cancellations. Other problems included travel delays (19,990) and lost or stolen money (18,777).

“Most people thankfully get adequate travel insurance before they go on holiday, but there are still a significant proportion of us going abroad without being insured,” comments Perry Wilson, Managing Director at InsureandGo.  “Issues like medical problems and lost baggage affect so many holidaymakers nowadays which can ruin people’s trips, and can be very costly. It’s as important to have adequate insurance when travelling abroad as it is your passport or toothbrush!”