Some parents fail to insure family trips
According to a new study from Co-Op Insurance in the UK, while 37 per cent of parents have experienced a child falling ill or being injured while on a holiday, 48 per cent don’t take out a travel insurance policy for family holidays.
The study, which was undertaken by Atomik Research on Co-Op’s behalf and took in results from 2,000 UK parents, also found that 26 per cent of parents have either cancelled or thought about cancelling a trip because of a child becoming ill or injured. The average travel insurance claim for a sick or injured child, according to Co-Op, is £606, although some claims can total several thousand pounds. Despite this, nearly 50 per cent of parents do not insure their families for holidays (although 52 per cent do, which is something).
Of those parents who have had this experience while travelling, 33 per cent had to pay for their child’s treatment using a credit card, while 32 per cent had to use their savings to cover costs.
The top five injuries children tend to suffer on holiday, according to parents, are cuts, insect bites, bruises, sprained wrists and bumped heads. The top five illnesses are stomach bugs, flu, chicken pox, food poisoning and ear infection.
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