Travel Insurance Cut Back – What Manner of Economy?

Travel insurance companies will no doubt be put under further pressure as a new study recently revealed that many people in the UK are planning to axe travel insurance from their priority list. The move, which the research from American Express said was a necessary belt-tightening as the credit crunch aggressively endured, would also mean more trouble for travellers who would be travelling at their own peril. Wise or unwise this decision was at the time of the survey being measured by at least one-in-four Britons.

Whereas travel insurance is the subject of this discourse it is also interesting to note that other strands of insurance, like life and pet covers, were being considered for possible removal from the monthly costs of many Britons.

Cutting back of expenses in order to survive the credit crunch is the right move for anyone wishing not to be consumed by the crisis. But axing essential needs as ‘unnecessary services’ is what must be carefully weighed before it is done.

Pondering travel insurance for instance, one is a forced to ask what option does a traveller that is unprotected at a time like this leave for himself? The trouble is there is almost none. This is because one cannot accurately predict when an unfortunate event will occur or when it will not. In the end one is endlessly and needlessly under pressure from the fear of the unknown.

Commenting this development AmEx’s Chris Rolland said: “Life may be getting more expensive, but it is worrying that 48 per cent of Brits are planning to cut back on the policies that are designed to protect them during hard times.”

And knowing the sort of risk this could mean, the expert concluded that it was a false economy, even as he reminded that people could end up paying a lot more if things were to suddenly go wrong.

There are several recent events that should make people think twice about cutting travel insurance, but the urge to save some money, sometimes, wins the battle as people would rather pretend to be safe even when facing the most unstable situation. For example, the AmEx’s study also discovered that the three commonest sources of travel insurance claims were medical issues, flight cancellations and the loss or damage of bags.

What travellers must not fail to recall is that any of these problems could happen at any time without warning and they might suffer much more than they ordinarily would if they leave themselves uninsured.

Earlier in the month it was discovered that one of the dishonourable habits the credit crisis is helping people imbibe is the etermination to be untruthful to their insurers and to themselves. The Association of British Insurers said there is a rise in the number fraudulent claims its members are facing. The rise is by about 80 per cent as customers cook up lies to make claims for stolen possessions.

This is not only unwise by equally fraudulent and dishonourable. While making sure one is essentially covered is as basic as every other travel arrangement, resorting to fraud is unheard of. It’s a bad plot that is bound to boomerang. And for those who cut back in order to save cost, it is only wise to wise up to the fact you could lose more by not being insured.