People, who are planning to travel over the Christmas period this year, have been advised to make sure that travel insurance is at the top of their list. The expected one million holiday goers, who plan on visiting family and friends overseas, were told by the insurance provider, M&S Money to make sure that they are covered for all incidents that they could face while away.

Covered for Christmas

A number of independent travellers – who are people that will be making arrangements for the journeys by themselves – will be prone to experiencing holiday drama, such as a flight cancellation or delay during the course of their trip. Having a travel insurance policy can be helpful in these situations.

However M&S Money also found that 21 per cent of travellers will not be covered by their travel policies, should the experience the above incidents. The company has urged holiday goers to check the small print on their policies, to be sure of what they are covered for. Travel insurance has become more important than ever, but the research found that almost half of consumers do not actually know what cover is provided by their travel insurance policy.

Independent travellers

Further research also stated that the recent increase in DIY holidays – these are holidays that are arranged without a travel agency – due to the internet has risen by six million in the past five years. However less than half of these independent travellers, who will be going abroad over this Christmas period will be booked as a complete package according to M&S Money.

Despite the rise in independent travellers, the recent economic turmoil has been the downfall of travel companies. An obvious casualty to the economic crisis is the XL travel firm, which filed for administration in September this year, leaving more than 80,000 travellers stranded abroad and several out of pocket as they were either not covered by their policies or had no travel insurance cover altogether.

Most policies don't provide cover for the collapse of an airline, as thousands of people have found out in recent months. Such travellers were told about the relevance of comparing travel insurance policies to see what they are covered for.

Judith Roberts, M&S Money Insurance Manager, commented: "For most people Christmas is all about spending time with friends and family, even if that means making a trip abroad. Travel insurance was originally designed for the package holiday market and we felt it was time to improve our policy as so many people now book independently.

She added: “For example, if your flight is cancelled you may be unable to claim for subsequent connections, and face the cost of new flights or accommodation. M&S Premier Travel Insurance is one of only a few policies that cover these types of situations that are often not included in traditional policies."

Economic effects on travel agents

Recent news has also indicated that due to the economic downturn, two of the country’s biggest travel agencies, Thomas Cook and Tui Travel are both planning to reduce capacity over the next two years by 20 per cent and 27 per cent respectively. This policy could lead to more expensive holiday breaks for British holidaymakers.