Faster and smarter in the app... Download now

Remember insurance, travellers warned

Holidaymakers who book themselves a trip at the last minute have been warned of the danger of forgetting to pay for travel insurance.

According to a study by Sainsbury's Travel Insurance, 8.8 million people who took a summer holiday this year booked their trip within two weeks of departure.

Nearly a fifth of these people will have forgotten to purchase travel cover, according to the survey, and more than one in ten people who went on holiday in the year to June 2007 will have done so without insurance.

Sainsbury's estimates that around three million people travel abroad every year without insurance but claims that this number will rise if the popularity of last-minute deals increases further.

Steve Johnson, head of travel insurance at Sainsbury's Bank, said: "Greater use of the internet and growing competition in the travel industry means that there are many holiday bargains to be had.

"This is great for holidaymakers, but without appropriate insurance in place a holiday can soon turn into a nightmare if disaster strikes. The stress and cost involved in sorting out any potential problems could run into hundreds or thousands of pounds, surely cancelling out any money saved on a late deal."

Travel Insurance - Holiday Extras insured over 750,000 people last year and were voted BEST Insurance provider and BEST website by the travel trade.