Holidaymakers risk invalidating their Travel Insurance as they shop around for cheap cover

Almost three in 10 British holidaymakers (29%) could be invalidating their Travel Insurance cover this year by being economical with the truth when buying their policy. And this issue is most prevalent among the very people that need good medical cover the most, according to our newest research.

Nationally, 35% of people with pre-existing medical conditions said they would consider concealing information to get cheaper travel cover – a rise among this group from 31% a year ago, and a higher figure than both the national average (29%) and for the over 50s age group (10%).

We polled 2,223 adults to discover if the rising cost of living had impacted behaviour when trying to reduce costs for planned holidays. The new data reveals that, for people with medical conditions, there has been a significant rise in the percentage of people that have started 2024 shopping around for travel cover (doubling in a year from 24% to 48%) – but with this shopping around has come a far greater focus on headline price.

Compared to a year ago, there has been a sharp fall in the percentage of people with medical conditions that prioritise their safety when organising an overseas holiday (down from 37% to 22%) – while the focus on price now stands at 49%.

As a consequence of this focus on saving money, people with medical conditions were asked what they would cut corners on this year to get a cheaper Travel Insurance policy:

• 13% said they would be economical with the truth on how long they planned to travel for;
• 12% said they would under-value the belongings they would take on holiday;
• 10% said they would not be honest about the reasons why they were travelling;
• 7% said they would not declare all details of pre-existing medical conditions;
• 4% said they would lie about their age.

The type of information that people with pre-existing medical conditions would not disclose when buying Travel Insurance included: details on surgery more than a year ago (16%), diabetes (11%), respiratory conditions (9%), high blood pressure (9%), history of strokes (7%), past cases of cancer (7%) and terminal illness (6%).

The emerging trend of people cutting corners to get a cheaper travel policy is of particular concern given many have ambitious plans for overseas adventures in 2024. Of those people with medical conditions planning a holiday, 11% want to visit North America, 11% want to go to East Asia or the Pacific and 10% are planning a trip to Australia and New Zealand.

Garry Nelson, Head of Corporate Affairs at AllClear comments: “At AllClear, we fully understand the cost-of-living pressures that have impacted holidaymakers in recent years, and the need to trim the cost of holidays abroad. That said, people need to think very carefully about where they make these cutbacks. With Travel Insurance, it is vital that people – and particularly those that have pre-existing medical conditions – declare ALL the medical conditions that fall within their Travel Insurance warranty, to be sure their cover offers them the fullest protection possible.”

“Our research also indicates that this category of traveller is more likely to be having a holiday early in the year – with 29% of people jetting off on holiday before June. Everyone wants cover for a good price, but if a policy is based on inaccurate medical information, it could be invalidated, making the hunt for cheap cover a complete false economy.

“Our priority at AllClear is to look after our customers on holiday and the value we deliver our customers is based on a commitment to providing the best quality product and best-in-class service for the fairest possible price.”

The online research was conducted for AllClear by Sago research in January 2023 among a representative sample for 2,233 adults.