London holidaymakers are most likely to book high risk activity or extreme sport holidays, but also have the lowest rates of travel insurance cover, according to a new survey.
The research found that 21% of Londoners want to do skydiving compared with a national average of 12%, and 18% would like to do mountain climbing, almost twice the national average of 10%.
But when it comes to taking out cover for trips to Europe Londoners are most likely to run the risk of travelling with no protection, reveal the findings from AllClear Travel Insurance.
Almost three quarters said they might not bother with cover if holidaying in London because they believe they can get home easily if something goes wrong.
This is much higher than the national average of 42%.
When asked about specific countries 28% of Londoners said they were likely to visit Spain with no travel insurance cover compared with a national average of 19%. For France the figures were 29% for Londoners against a national average of 17%, and for Italy 22% of Londoners said they would go unprotected, against 15% nationally.
Alarmingly only 57% of Londoners say they would always give the full information required by their Travel insurance provider, the lowest of all other UK regions, and just 52% said they always declare their medical conditions when buying travel cover –also the lowest of all UK regions.
Garry Nelson, head of corporate affairs at AllClear Travel Insurance commented: “We understand the cost of living pressures that people have lived with in recent years but it really is a false economy this time of year to cut corners on travel cover. Our recommendation to all Londoners going abroad this summer is to get the cover that best meets your needs – which includes comprehensive medical cover if you have underlying medical conditions. If you’re planning extreme of activity breaks, do also check first what your travel policy covers you for.”
