Research from AllClear Travel Insurance reveals Brits spending habits

New research from AllClear Travel Insurance asked a representative sample of 2,212 adults which countries they thought would be the most expensive for medical costs if they were to fall ill abroad. This was matched against a further question on travel insurance – which asked people if they were happy to pay a little more for travel cover with the best medical cover, or whether the overall cost pressures of a holiday would force people to look to pay less for their policy.

Key findings

Whilst more than three in four (78%) correctly identified the US as being expensive for medical costs (78%), a smaller percentage (71%) would be prepared to pay more for a policy with the best medical cover. Further, 29% would look to spend less on travel cover (29%) when visiting the US.

For other long haul holiday destinations – such as Thailand, Australia, and Jamaica – around three in five people said they would pay more for travel insurance with the best possible medical cover, even if they didn’t view some of the countries as particularly expensive for medical costs.

For short haul European destinations – such as Portugal and Italy – cheap cover was more important than a quality insurance product, with 68% saying they wouldn’t prioritise quality medical cover. Instead, they would look to economise on travel insurance costs – even though, for many, the overall cost of a European holiday would usually be a lot less than long haul trips. 

People with medical conditions putting themselves at risk

AllClear’s research suggested that the very people that need good medical cover – those travelling with medical conditions – were less likely to pay extra for travel insurance with the best medical cover. This trend was common for holidays to a range of long haul destinations. For example, 73% of people with medical conditions consider the US to be the most expensive destination to fall ill abroad, yet three in 10 (30%) would choose to cut corners on their travel insurance because of the general cost of going on holiday there. 

When comparing how men and women choose to spend their money on travel insurance, AllClear’s research revealed that women are more likely than men to pay more for a premium travel policy that had the best possible medical cover. For example, women are 11% more likely than men to pay for the best medical cover possible when visiting Thailand (66% vs 53%) – and are 10% more likely when travelling to India (65% vs 55%).

Regional highlights

Looking across the UK regions, people from Yorkshire were most likely to pay more money for medical cover when visiting the US (76%). However, people from the East Midlands were the happiest to pay more for travel insurance when going to India (69%), Australia (66%), and Canada (65%). In contrast, Scottish holidaymakers were the most likely to cut corners on the cost of their travel insurance when visiting countries such as Portugal (71%), Italy (70%), India (47%), and the US (34%). 

AllClear recently partnered with Age Co – the commercial arm of charity Age UK, to launch a new travel insurance offer aimed at older travellers and people with medical conditions.