BIBA: Christmas holidaymakers should insure valuables and gifts

People planning to travel during the festive season have been urged to be extra careful to insure all of their valuables, including Christmas gifts.

According to the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), holidaymakers should ensure they have adequate cover, especially as doing so is unlikely to break the bank.

However, Graeme Trudgill, technical and corporate affairs executive for BIBA, expanded on the point saying: “What you might have already is, under your home insurance, a personal possessions extension.

“In which case, you’re going to get a much higher limit under your home insurance than you are on any travel product, but also you don’t have to then have that section of the travel insurance policy.”

Research carried out on behalf of Halifax Travel Insurance last year showed that a staggering 2.5 million people leave Britain at Christmas taking with them £727 million worth of presents.

Furthermore, it found, average personal baggage claims go up by an impressive 48 per cent from its annual average of between £560 and £830.

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Many rely on credit in lead up to Christmas

People struggling to finance their purchases in the festive season will not think twice about relying on credit, AWD Chase de Vere said yesterday.

Susan Hannums, savings manager at the independent financial advisers, explained that it is the “norm” for a lot of people at this time of year.

She said: “The spending and the mortgage rates are going up … there’s a lot happening, and it’s a very worrying time. But the message really is that you’ve got to forward plan.

“We’ve got to get into the savings habit and get away from using credit cards day to day really.”

Furthermore, she said, people with young children will want to make it the “best Christmas possible”, but it is good to try to be “imaginative” and make savings on presents for friends and other members of the family without “splashing out”.

Research from Credit Action earlier this year showed that personal debt in the UK is rising by £1 million every four minutes. The average amount owed by every adult in Britain is a staggering £27,180 (including mortgages).

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Safe packing ahead of holiday

The holiday season is fast approaching and many of us will soon be packing our bags and heading off to warmer climates.

However, travellers are being warned that they must take out insurance before setting off or potentially face a disaster.

As more and more people can afford to fly and more flights are taking to the air than ever before, Swiftcover.com says that the chances of an airline loosing your luggage have increased.

Figures from the insurer show that around 22 per cent of UK holidaymakers have arrived at their destination only to find that their luggage has not made it.

Over half of these people have had to wait over 24 hours for their bags to be returned, while six per cent did not see their possessions again during the trip.

Travellers are being warned that they should pack valuables such as travellers cheques, cash and jewellery in their hand luggage as these items are often not covered if they are checked into the hold.

“As long as you have adequate travel insurance, losing your suitcase should not hit you in the pocket, but, for the majority of people, it’s often the sentimental value of personal belongings and the lost time on holiday trying to locate your bags that cannot be replaced,” said Craig Staniland from Swiftcover.com.

Tags: cash, cent, disaster, UK holidaymakers, Business and Economy, Jewellery, Hand luggage, season