Geo-political tensions have changed the way UK holidaymakers view travel insurance – with people putting safety abroad before the hunt for cheaply-priced travel policies. The new research conducted by AllClear Travel Insurance, conducted after the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East, reveals that 68% of people going on holiday this summer say they will look for travel insurance that is either top quality or has good cover features – compared to just 15% of people that say they will shop around for the cheapest available policy.
These findings come at a time when UK adults remain resilient about travelling abroad this summer – with Southern Europe and the Med remaining the top choice summer holiday region (30%) for the fifth consecutive summer.
What has changed is the perceived importance attached to safety when abroad. Nationally, 38% of survey respondents said their health and safety on holiday is now of prime importance abroad this summer, up from 25% this time last year.
The AllClear data also revealed a three-year peak in the percentage of adults with medical conditions that now say they would be happy to pay a higher premium for their travel cover if they could be sure their medical conditions would be covered – rising from 23% to 35% over the last 12-months.
This upweighted consumer focus on safety and quality travel insurance products comes at a time when AllClear products have been recognised as a Which? Best Buy for the 3rd year running! All 3 products Gold, Gold Plus and Platinum have been recognised as Which? Best Buy for 2026.
Commenting on the new research findings, Garry Nelson, Head of Corporate Affairs at AllClear Travel Insurance comments: “We see from our latest data that people still very much want to travel abroad this summer. That said, the conflict and tensions in various parts of the world have understandably triggered a mindset-change with many holidaymakers now placing far greater emphasis on being safe abroad. For some, this may mean spending more time researching safe holiday destinations, for others it may mean focusing more on premium resorts – but, for everyone, now is a time to focus on making sure they have quality, comprehensive travel cover before they travel abroad.
“For some years, we’ve noticed a worrying rise in the percentage of people with medical conditions that are not disclosing all their medical conditions when buying travel cover. Despite the current focus on safety, our research tells us that there are still 31% of people who say they would be tempted to not fully disclose medical information to save money on their travel insurance policy. Some people admit to being economic with the truth on how long they plan to travel for, whilst others say they knowingly under-estimate the value of the belongings in their suitcase. Of greatest concern, 26% of people with medical conditions say they knowingly fail to declare medical information in order to get a cheaper policy premium. But in the current climate of consumers putting safety first, we encourage all holiday makers, especially those with medical conditions, to declare all their medical conditions when choosing the travel cover that best meets their needs.”
Reflecting on the Best Buy awards, Chris Rolland, CEO of AllClear Travel Insurance adds: “On behalf of the team, I am delighted that AllClear has been awarded Best Buys by Which? for the 3rd year in a row. In a travel insurance market so often driven by price, the quality of product we offer and our empathetic customer service are important – especially at times of uncertainty when more people are giving more thought to the travel insurance products they can trust.”
The AllClear research also asked people about the holiday destinations they thought would be the safest to visit this summer. For many of the destinations listed, a significant percentage of respondents thought they would be able to pay the medical bills themselves if they were to have an accident or fall ill while on holiday in that country.
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Given current conflicts in some parts of the world, the safest place to go on holiday this summer (single choice) |
Places where people think they could pay the medical bills themselves (multi choice) |
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Spain |
16% |
21% |
|
Canada |
15% |
11% |
|
Italy |
13% |
15% |
|
Portugal |
12% |
13% |
|
Sweden |
11% |
11% |
|
Germany |
7% |
16% |
|
USA |
6% |
12% |
For 25 years, award-winning AllClear Travel Insurance has helped cover more than 3.5m people, with customers across the UK and Australia. AllClear is passionate about enabling people to obtain specialist travel insurance whatever their pre-existing medical conditions or age. Discover more at: www.allcleartravel.co.uk
