3.8 million individuals are expected to travel abroad this half term, but have you ever really considered the total value of the belongings you bring along with you when travelling as a family?
Research from Gigasure shows that the average cost of the belongings a child travels with for a week abroad equates to an average of £3,911.79. If you consider that the average family travel insurance policy only covers items up to the value of £2,000 per person on the policy, many of us are left with a shortfall of £1,911.79 worth of items that will be uninsured. With over 1.9m children expected to travel abroad over half term, that leaves more than £3.6 billion worth of items flying up in the sky, potentially uninsured.
Being underinsured is a huge risk when you consider that the value of items when travelling with two children could be more than £7,823.58. Perhaps even more alarmingly, 31% of travellers admit to travelling without any travel insurance leaving them exposed to potentially significant medical expense if their child is unwell, cancellation claims, as well as loss of their children’s baggage and gadgets. leaving them exposed to potentially significant medical expense if their child is unwell, cancellation claims, as well as loss of their children’s baggage and gadgets.
As half term approaches, Gigasure is urging travellers to check their policies carefully to make sure they are covered for everything they are travelling with. In the event of needing to make a claim, travellers may find that they don’t have cover to help replace the cost of the items they have lost.
Gary Murphy, Head of Travel, Gigasure said:
“Travel insurance tends to be something we buy to tick a box, but generally individuals don’t tend to pay too much attention to the detail. That is, until they need to make a claim. Should the worst happen, and your belongings become lost or stolen while travelling, the discrepancy between what the value of those items will cost to replace, and what the insurer will be able to pay out could be quite a difference.”
“As we go through life, the value of the items we travel with tends to go up. Even more so when travelling with children. If you look at the replacement costs for buggies, car seats and other paraphernalia they need, along with their toys and gadgets including games consoles and iPads, then the cost of the belongings we have with us rises exponentially.”
“It is also important to remember that if the worst does happen to your belongings, most standard policies will take into consideration the age of your items. This means that if your pram, which you have had for the last year and a half, is lost whilst you are away, a deduction will be made based on its age, only giving you back a percentage of what you paid for it.”
“Some travellers may wrongly assume that they already have insurance cover for their items under other policies, like their home insurance or as part of their bank account tech package. However, these policies will not always provide cover for your items when you are away from home.”
“Including additional baggage and personal item cover to your travel insurance policy goes a long way towards covering the costs of replacing items that go missing. We encourage customers to check their policy wording and make sure the full value of their items are covered before they travel. Flexible travel policies will allow you to create a policy that’s right for you, and your family.”
Feature Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
