Importance of travel insurance highlighted by foreign office report

The importance of adequate travel insurance was highlighted this week following the foreign office’s annual British Behaviour Abroad report. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) reported a high number of elderly British nationals encountering problems while abroad as a result of being hit by enormous medical bills because they had failed to declare any pre-existing medical conditions to their insurance provider before travelling. Failure to make this known can cause your travel insurance policy to be deemed invalid. Other medical issues faced by UK travellers arose as a result of forgetting to pack their medication. The volcanic ash situation emphasised again the importance of a good travel insurance policy. Those with cover were able to gain help from their policy in paying for extra accommodation and expenses while their flights were delayed. Issues relating to drink and drugs were high on the list of situations encountered by British holiday makers aboard, according to the report. The countries where Brits required the most assistance from the FCO was found to be in Spain, although as a proportion of UK visitors the country where the most help was needed was Thailand, followed by Pakistan and Cyprus. Despite the dangers of travelling outside of the UK without appropriate cover, 1 in 5 Brits are still holidaying abroad without travel insurance a survey found.