Immunisations crucial for overseas travel and insurance

UK travelers are placing themselves at risk by not researching thoroughly vaccination requirements. The lack of proper pre-planning could result in jeopardise travel and health insurance coverage.

A new survey by the Travel Insurance arm of the Post Office has discovered that many policies are in question if certain stipulations are not met, with vaccinations playing a crucial role. The study revealed that more than half (56%) of travelers heading abroad from the UK were simply unaware or oblivious to the recommended preventative medications or vaccinations of their destinations. By not taking the recommended precautions, such as anti-malaria medication, insurance policies may become invalid.

The findings further disclosed that some 31% of travelers had no idea exactly when they had received certain vaccinations or indeed which diseases they had been vaccinated against. It is essential that prior to travelling everybody should thoroughly research the health recommendations for their intended destinations. In particular, remote areas of Asia and Africa are ripe with infectious diseases which would not only prove financially costly but potentially deadly.

Post Office Travel Insurance chief Rachel Croft confirmed that the lack of pre-travel research and understanding was a huge concern for authorities. Overseas medical treatment can be hugely expensive, especially if hospital stays or transport home are required. Recent reports have estimated that the cost of sending a sick traveller home are around £10,000 – something that nobody wants to pay from their own pocket. Average medical claims last year for UK travellers were £800 but most of these were for mild ailments or treatments. Being incapacitated while in a foreign country can run up large bills in a very short space of time.