A massive 16.5 million travel insurance policies could be invalid causing any subsequent claims to be rejected every year. Unsuspecting holidaymakers may not realise that many common activities - such as cycling, quad biking and water sports - aren’t always covered by insurers.
New research by GoCompare Travel Insurance found that almost half of the UK’s holidaymakers do something during their breaks that isn’t protected by their travel insurance. Therefore, travellers would be unable to claim if something goes wrong while enjoying the activity, such as being injured while out on a bike ride.
This means there is an eye-watering £17.2billion worth of travel insurance claims at risk of being rejected due to uncovered activities. Surprisingly, a large proportion of travellers don’t realise they may be doing this.
Some 42 per cent said they had no idea that they aren’t always covered. A further 61 per cent of those who may be taking part in an uninsured activity said that they wouldn’t have done so if they’d realised their provider may not offer protection.
The list of activities that can be uncovered includes a number of summertime favourites, such as beach water sports like riding a banana boat or a jet ski, or land activities like hiring a quad bike. Winter sports like skiing can also be uninsured if the wrong level of protection is purchased, and even simple, carefree activities - including cycling - can be exempt from coverage by some providers.
Cycling is the most popular pastime that can be uninsured, with 26 per cent of those polled saying they took a two-wheeled trip during their break. This was closely followed by water sports (23 per cent), horse-riding (16 per cent) and winter sports activities (13 per cent).
Ceri McMillan, travel insurance expert at GoCompare, said: “It’s alarming to see that so many holidaymakers could be doing an uninsured activity, as it means they may be unable to claim if something goes wrong. Our research found that a large chunk of those who do these activities don’t realise they may not be covered for them, highlighting that more needs to be done to help travellers understand their insurance better.
