UK travel insurance industry paid out estimated £403m in 2007, says InsureandGo
InsureandGo has identified the top five travel insurance claims for 2007 and estimates that their value totalled some £403m. InsureandGo also estimates that UK travel insurers received over 1.74m claims last year.
The greatest number of claims was for medical problems, totalling more than half a million. The next biggest area was lost or stolen baggage, with over 430,000 estimated claims. This follows the major baggage handling problems at UK airports such as Heathrow and Stansted last summer.
In terms of the value of these claims, those linked to medical treatment were estimated to be around £242.3 million, followed by £77.01 million for the cancellation of flights. The value of the average medical related claim was around £477 compared to £231 for all claims.
Perry Wilson, managing director at InsureandGo, said: “Our list of the top five most common claims shows that medical problems and lost baggage remain far and away the biggest issues for holidaymakers. These are serious problems that ruin thousands of people’s holidays every year. It is vital to have adequate travel insurance.”
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Top claim category / Estimated number of claims UK travel insurance industry received in 2007 / Estimated average cost of claim in this category / Estimated total value of claims
Medical problem / 508,47 2/ £476.57 / £242.3 million
Lost or stolen baggage / 430,109 / £81.70 / £35.14 million
Cancellation of flights / 195,309 / £394.30 / £77.01 million
Travel delay / 122,800 / £38.29 / £4.7 million
Lost or stolen money / 115,345 / £80.52 / £9.29 million
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