Almost one in three travel insurance claims was due to cancelled trips

Almost a third of travel insurance claims processed by one of the leading providers in the State were made before trips were due to take place.

According to data from Multitrip.com, 29 per cent of claims were made as a result of sickness, death or other circumstances that meant that people could not take trips as planned. The figure points to the need for people to take out travel insurance as soon as they book their trip rather than waiting until close to the time of departure before taking out cover.

“If you wait until closer to the date of departure to arrange your travel insurance and then find yourself in the unfortunate position of not being able to travel – because you or your travel companion or a close relative is diagnosed with a serious illness, for example – you may not be able to recover the cost of your trip, said company spokesman Jason Whelan.

He noted that the cost of travel insurance “doesn’t get any cheaper if you leave it to the last minute so there really is no benefit to delaying the purchase of cover. Travel insurance is too important to be an afterthought.”

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A significant percentage of Irish people travel without insurance, particularly for short trips and European breaks, despite the high cost of cancelling or curtailing a holiday.

A serious heart attack in the US will easily cost €200,000, while a hip replacement in a private UK hospital will cost €30,000. Even minor surgery done privately in many EU countries can cost €20,000.