Two out of five UK holidaymakers travel either without adequate insurance, or none at all according to recent research. The number of holidaymakers not taking out travel insurance has increased considerably since the introduction of low cost airlines.

So are the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) right to be worried about the number of people organising their own holidays? Or is this a case of ABTA putting pressure on the CAA because of the increased competition for travel agents?

In my opinion any holidaymaker that travels outside of the UK without travel insurance is asking for trouble. You only have to remember the story last year of the family that had to pay £16,000 towards hospital treatment costs in Turkey because they didn’t take out any insurance.

Before even thinking about booking your next holiday apply for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) this will mean that within the ECC you will be covered for free or discounted medical care whilst abroad. You have no excuse because it’s free, and the form can be completed online and takes minutes.

Then take out travel insurance - it doesn’t cost much to be covered, but make sure you take out adequate travel insurance, for example if your going to be going surfing or hot air ballooning then make sure your insurance shows that you are covered for such activities.

Book your holiday - to be honest, travel agents will try and sell you insurance, shop around before you go because you’ll probably find cheaper insurance elsewhere, as most travel agents add on commission to the fee’s.

Personally, I’ll never visit a travel agent again - I book my flight direct with the airline, and then browse the internet for hotels that meet my price range and are near to the locations where I would like to stay.

The good thing about booking yourself, is that you can read reviews from other holidaymakers about the hotel on sites like Trip Advisor.com which means your getting reviews direct from the “horses mouth” rather than a travel agent who probably hasn’t been to the destination before.

Most importantly be Safe but have an enjoyable holiday!

• UK holidaymakers pay double for travel insurance
• Why Do I Need Travel Insurance?
• Don’t ruin your Weekend Break and Buy Insurance
• Travel Agents Face Mis-selling Clampdown

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