New research commissioned by travel insurance technology specialist, Aquarium Software, reveals that 24 per cent of us sometimes or always travel with no form of insurance cover whatsoever, leaving the majority of us at risk of more than being tripped up, should the worst happen. As winter approaches, the YouGov poll identifies an alarming trend, given the relatively low cost of travel insurance combined with the potentially terrible consequences of not having insurance in place. While 21 per cent do have annual cover, even this will not necessarily provide protection for the variety of trips undertaken, with the potential to leave thousands of holidaymakers out of pocket - or worse.
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For a quarter of the public, exclusions remain the most annoying aspect of travel insurance, and it is not hard to see why. In October, a man with ‘comprehensive cover while cycling’ found his claim rejected, as the small print excluded damage to bikes. In November, a family launched a Just Giving page for Mr Adam Teale, who fell ill abroad without insurance, with £100,000 needed to fly him back to the UK.
Aquarium Software says travel insurance technology could make these sorts of issues a thing of the past, by making tomorrow’s travel policy choices and costs more transparent all round: “Almost a quarter of us potentially taking holidays with no insurance is truly astonishing,” said Aquarium Director, Mark Colonnese. “The news is full of horror stories of people falling seriously ill or injured - with either no insurance, or who felt misled by the exclusions and other devil in the small print detail,” he added. “The challenge for the industry is to positively encourage us to take out insurance in the first place and better explain the benefits and exclusions; insurers adopting the latest in mobile and web based technology is going to be key in ensuring the process is much more consumer-friendly,” concluded Colonnese.
While created partly as a powerful customer service tool for the industry, consumers will benefit hugely from the next generation of technology that makes policy small print a thing of the past. This will be delivered by allowing insurance to be tailored and paid for ‘on the fly’, ensuring the individual customer’s specific needs and requirements are met in full.
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