Insurer Warns on 'Adventure Holidays'

As many as one in six Britons would not know if they were covered for injuries sustained on holiday by their travel insurance policy.

This is the main finding of a new poll from travel insurance provider esure, which focused on potentially dangerous adventure holidays. The firm said that around 25 per cent of UK holidaymakers pick their destination based on its access to activities such as scuba diving and bungee jumping. Around nine in ten people were also shown to have previously taken an adventure holiday.

However, travellers were found to exhibit much less vigour when it came to checking up on the small print of their travel insurance: as well as the one in six who were uncertain about injury cover, ten per cent of poll respondents (wrongly) thought that "all" travel cover policies automatically cover adventurous activities as standard.

This lackadaisical attitude could lead to trouble if an accident occurs, and holidaymakers are left to pay for medical treatment out of their own pockets. Mike Pickard at esure advised: "It's crucial for holidaymakers to take out travel insurance and check they're covered before they try out the likes of white water rafting in Australia or shark-feeding in the Bahamas. Get injured and the medical bills could turn a paradise trip into a nightmare."

He added: "Brits want more from their holidays nowadays and appear to be swapping the sun lounger for the bungee cord. It's not where they've been on holiday but what they've done that seems to be important."

The esure poll also found that the three most popular adventure activities among UK holidaymakers are off-road mountain biking, scuba diving and jet skiing, in that order.