Journey insurance coverage prices have soared by as a lot as 50pc this summer time in an additional blow to vacationers already going through an costly and chaotic vacation season.
The typical premium for a single holidaymaker in Turkey – one of many least expensive summer time locations in Europe – has jumped by 53pc since 2019 to £30.45 based on the value comparability web site Confused. America was shut behind, the place the typical journey insurance coverage value has surged 48pc to £81.18. Spain ranked third, with a 46pc enhance to £27.
In France, journey insurance coverage premiums had been up 29pc to a median of £25.67. That in contrast with simply an 8pc rise in Italy, the place the typical was £26.47.
Insurance coverage premiums have climbed considerably because the pandemic, when governments around the globe banned worldwide journey.
Total, the typical premium for journey insurance coverage has jumped 24pc to £34.89 in contrast with the final summer time of restriction free journey in 2019, based on worth comparability web site GoCompare.
Ceri McMillan, of the agency, stated that the lingering results of the pandemic had distorted the insurance coverage market. “In the course of the pandemic a lot of key insurance coverage underwriters left the market, and a few insurance coverage manufacturers additionally left,” she stated. “There may be now much less competitors, which has led to larger premium costs.
“The pandemic additionally introduced with it a concentrate on ‘Covid cowl’, which additionally inevitably added to premium costs.” she added.
Rising insurance coverage prices come as holidaymakers are going through a summer time of journey chaos, with flight cancellations and delays at main airports.
British Airways has suspended ticket gross sales on short-haul flights from Heathrow, after the airport launched a restrict of 100,000 departing passengers.
In the meantime, holidaymakers are going through chaos on the Port of Dover as officers fought to handle visitors movement, with queues constructing as much as longer than an hour.