Travel insurance for holidaying in the uk - do I need it?

After the crackers have been pulled and the turkey eaten, many families start to turn their thoughts to their 2019 holiday dreams, weddings, and honeymoon destinations.
Whether it's walking in the Cumbria hills or lazing on the Norfolk coast, the UK appears to has fallen in love with holidaying at home.

Last year, British residents took a whopping 47.2 million holidays in England alone, an increase of 6% on the previous year, contributing an incredible £14.1bn to the UK economy. But are they leaving themselves at risk by not taking out travel insurance?

While most people wouldn't consider travelling abroad without it, when it comes to staying in the UK travel insurance is often an afterthought which could leave many holiday makers exposed. We spoke to Tommy Lloyd, managing director of specialist travel insurance comparison website Medical Travel Compared, about what insurance should be considered for a 'staycation'.
“When you think about travel insurance, the first thing that comes to mind is cover for accidents and emergencies,” said Tommy, “and the NHS will cover any medical costs if you're ill or injured, unlike travelling in other countries where an injury could land you with an enormous medical bill.
“But that's only part of the picture. Issues may still arise when it comes to the location of your treatment, for example, if you were admitted to hospital you would be taken for treatment at the one closest to your holiday location rather than where you live. Travel insurance can cover the cost of transferring you to a hospital closer to home, as well as for the travel costs for your friends or family to accompany you there.”

Accidents and health emergencies, however, are not the only things that could be a problem when holidaying in the UK. Additional protection may be needed for other aspects of the holiday such as cover for lost or stolen luggage, travel delays, or cancellations.
“If you find you have to cancel your trip, you could find yourself losing out on thousands of pounds for accommodation, transport, and other holiday activities especially if this involves travelling by ferry, coach, train or air,” said Tommy. “So if you, or a family member, became ill or injured when you were away you could claim back any money you might lose, as long as you have declared any pre-existing medical condition when you took out the policy.”

Whether travel insurance is necessary will depend on the cost of the holiday as well as the risk of something going wrong. The main consideration being how much you are likely to lose if the your holiday is cancelled and what the excess under the policy will be – a weekend away in a Welsh cottage may not require insurance whilst a fortnight trekking in Scotland may make it worthwhile.

Although policies for UK travel insurance vary, most also provide cover for your personal possessions should they be lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed, and whilst home contents insurance policy may cover belongings away from the home, this is not always the case.
Tommy explained further: “Personal possessions cover under household insurance may be designed to protect portable belongings, but expensive items like a bike, mobile phone, tablet or even jewellery might fall outside of the limits of your policy. “We would recommend checking the wording of your home insurance policy carefully before relying on it and also consider any no claims bonus you may lose if you have to make a claim, which would increase the cost of the insurance in the future.”

Medical Travel Compared is a specialist travel insurance comparison website created specifically for those with pre-existing medical conditions to find appropriate and affordable travel insurance cover and offers easy and convenient access to a large choice of over 40 specialist travel insurance providers.

So, if you want to find a travel insurance policy to suit your 2019 staycation needs, visit www.medicaltravelcompared.co.uk to get a personalised quote and make sure the only thing you need to worry about is where to go!