Thailand tops the list of for most claims
InsureandGo (www.insureandgo.com), the leading online travel insurance provider, estimates that British backpackers receive over £6 million a year in travel insurance claims.
Analysis* of InsureandGo’s backpacking travel insurance claims reveals that around 22% of them are related to incidents in Thailand, followed by 7.5% in Australia and 6.2% in India.
Top five countries for backpacking travel insurance claims |
Percentage of overall backpacking travel insurance claims received by InsureandGo that are linked to this country |
Thailand |
22% |
Australia |
7.5% |
India |
6.2% |
USA |
5% |
Brazil |
3.8% |
Perry Wilson, founder of InsureandGo, said: “Given the uncertain economic situation and the decline in the number of university places, more people are taking extended travel breaks. Our research** shows that an incredible 3.3 million Britons have recently been or intend to go travelling abroad specifically to escape the misery of the UK recession. This, plus the fact that we believe crime around the world is generally increasing because of the global economic crisis, means we are seeing a big increase in claims under our backpacker travel insurance cover. If you are going on an extended trip overseas, it is imperative to have adequate travel insurance.”
InsureandGo says that the most common claim under its backpacker travel insurance policy is for personal luggage – it estimates that around 40.5% of claims are related to this. This is followed by medical expenses which account for 33.6% of claims.
Top five backpacker insurance claims* |
Percentage of all backpacking travel insurance claims |
Estimated value of these claims to UK travel insurance industry |
Personal luggage |
40.5% |
£2.15 million |
Medical expenses |
33.6% |
£2.3 million |
Lost documents/money |
10.5% |
£499,000 |
Curtailment |
3.4% |
£455,000 |
Cancellation |
2.7% |
£264,,000 |
InsureandGo’s backpacking policies offer a range of benefits such as a 24-hour worldwide emergency medical helpline, available 365 days a year, and automatically cover a wide range of adventure sports and activities including bungee jumping, white water rafting and jet skiing.
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Notes to editors
*Based on analysis of InsureandGo’s backpacker travel insurance claims data between May 2008 and May 2009
** Research was conducted online by independent research company TNS between 18th-29th June 2009. 1203 GB adults aged 16-34 were interviewed.
** Defined as travel for one month or more in the past six months or planned to take place in the next year.