The majority of UK holidaymakers (51%) believe they would be able to personally cover medical bills abroad with their own money, if they fall ill or have an accident on holiday, according to new research from AllClear Travel Insurance.
Furthermore, people with medical conditions were more likely than the national average to believe they could personally cover medical costs abroad (59%). This comes at a time when there has been a significant upturn in the percentage of people with medical conditions planning a holiday abroad – rising from 64% in 2024 to 89% this year.
With the true cost of medical treatment and hospitalisation soaring in many overseas countries, the new AllClear research suggests UK holidaymakers could be sleepwalking into financial disaster – by travelling abroad under the misconception that they could personally fund medical treatment abroad. Spain, Italy and Germany emerged as the countries where people were most likely to believe they could personally fund medical costs on holiday – but significant numbers also believed they could also cover medical costs if they fall ill in places such as the USA, Thailand, Jamaica and Mexico.
Percentage of people that say they could pay medical bills themselves should they be hospitalised abroad and not have adequate medical insurance cover in place.
|
National average % that could pay medical bills themselves |
People with medical conditions % that could pay medical bills themselves |
|
|
Spain |
24% |
23% |
|
Italy |
19% |
18% |
|
Germany |
17% |
15% |
|
Portugal |
17% |
17% |
|
USA |
12% |
15% |
|
Sweden |
11% |
11% |
|
Thailand |
11% |
12% |
|
Australia |
11% |
12% |
|
India |
10% |
9% |
|
Canada |
9% |
10% |
|
Jamaica |
7% |
7% |
|
Mexico |
7% |
7% |
Garry Nelson, Head of Corporate Affairs at AllClear Travel Insurance comments: “We are concerned at the proportion of people who think that they could pay their medical bills if they fall ill abroad without comprehensive cover. A medical emergency in some countries could cost a person their home and easily reach 6 figures.
With rising treatment costs, combined with unfavourable exchange rates, the true costs of UK holidaymakers being hospitalised abroad are eye-watering. The message for holidaymakers – and especially those with medical conditions is clear; get travel insurance with good medical cover before you fly abroad. Too many British adults are buying travel insurance simply on price. This, combined with a lack of consumer knowledge on medical costs abroad, makes this a seismic industry issue that needs to be tackled – and urgently.”
For people with medical conditions, price (53%) has overtaken safety (30%) as the key driver behind their holiday planning for 2025 – and29% of people say they will be shopping around for the cheapest cover they can find, aware their medical condition(s) could possibly be excluded.
AllClear Travel Insurance has also launched an annual travel trends report which explores the reasons why people fail to declare medical information when looking for their Travel Insurance.
· Education is a key issue: 24% of respondents said they weren’t sure how much information needed to be declared when buying travel cover, and this made it easy for them to feel confused. In addition to this, 13% of people with medical conditions said they presumed their insurance provider would already have all the necessary information from a previous year’s policy. This assumption fails to acknowledge that medical histories can change year-on-year.
· Conscious concealment: For a proportion of those surveyed, there was evidence of wilful concealment. Nationally, 22% of respondents were worried about being turned down for travel cover, so said they would control the amount of information they shared to get a policy before travelling. Further, 16% of people had the express intention of securing a cheaper price for their policy – and believed they could achieve this if they limited the amount of medical information they provided at point of sale. From both these instances, there can be understanding and sympathy over the pressures that drive behaviours – but the consequences can be profound, including invalidation of a claim.
· Assessing risks accurately: Beyond a lack of general awareness of Travel Insurance, some people did not calculate personal risks accurately when making decisions on the cover they thought they needed. Around one in seven people (14%) believed they could cover the medical costs abroad if they were to be hospitalised when, in truth, medical bills in places like the USA can easy run into six or seven figures. Added to this, 14% of respondents felt the risk of falling ill abroad was low. While few people go on holiday expecting to fall ill (or to have an accident), it’s vital for people with medical conditions to declare their medical information that falls within the medical warranty when buying cover – and to let the insurer assess the actual level of risk.
· Proximity of foreign resort: Nationally 11% of people implied travel cover was less important if they weren’t travelling far – and could easily get on a plane home if something went wrong. AllClear’s study over the summer revealed a growing number of older travellers (and those with medical conditions) cite proximity of destination as reason not to get travel cover at all. Once again, this can prove to be a dangerous assumption. If serious illness strikes, or a person has an accident on holiday, getting a flight for medical care back home will often not even be an option.
· Privacy: This was an issue for one in 10 respondents. At a time when online scams and identity theft is at a record high, it is understandable that people are concerned about the amount of information they declare – but, for those with medical conditions, it is essential to declare the information that is needed to get comprehensive cover.
· Time: Other respondents commented on being busy and getting confused by online forms.