Irish travelers exposed abroad

Half of Irish travelers do not travel insured

Travel Insurance News - 29/05/2008

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A recent survey of Irish travelers found that nearly half of them have travelled abroad without any form of travel insurance.

The TNS-MRBI survey was conducted on behalf of VHI Healthcare.

The survey also found that a quarter of those surveyed did not chose their insurance policy based on the coverage it offered, but rather on the price of the policy. Convenience was the reason behind the travel insurance choice for 17 per cent of respondents. Just eight per cent of travelers chose their policy based on the level of coverage the policy offered.

The survey found that travel insurance was tremendously important to many Irish travelers. Last year, insurance companies paid out 11 million euro to Irish tourists just for emergency medical treatment abroad. Not only does the number represent a 30 per cent increase over the previous year, but emergency medical treatment represents just one element of most comprehensive travel insurance policies.

The survey found that 180,000 bags belonging to Irish tourists were lost last year, which means that 48 per cent of Irish tourists who travelled without insurance got no compensation for their lost bags.

VHI sells multi-trip travel insurance. According to the company, 30 per cent of its claims are medically related and 21 per cent were for trip or flight cancellations.

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