ABTA advises think twice

ABTA – The Travel Association is strongly advising holidaymakers and other travellers to think twice before hiring mopeds whilst overseas, and to only ride quad bikes as part of an organised excursion.  Every year many people have dangerous accidents while on holiday after driving quad bikes on the road and hiring mopeds – causing serious injuries and some accidents have been fatal.

ABTA Members reported 36 quad bike accidents and seven moped accidents in 2017. So far in 2018, seven people have been involved in quad bike accidents on the road. These figures represent just those cases reported by ABTA Members – and ABTA believes the total number of accidents to be much higher.

New figures from ABTA reveal as many as 4.5 million Britons have hired a moped or quad bike whilst overseas – the equivalent of one in ten British holidaymakers. Younger adults are most likely to put themselves at risk - one in seven (16%) British 18-24 year olds who have taken an overseas holiday in the last 12 months said they had hired either a quad bike or a moped.

In recent years, quad bikes have become increasingly popular, particularly in places like Greece, Cape Verde & Turkey. Hiring mopeds has also become common among British travellers in countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. Whether in Europe or further afield, these vehicles give little protection in an accident, and riders are particularly vulnerable on the open roads.

ABTA is advising anyone travelling abroad that there are always safer alternatives to hiring mopeds and quad bikes, including hiring a car, taking a taxi or using public transport, and to only ride quad bikes as part of an organised excursion. It is also reminding holidaymakers of the limitations and exclusions of standard travel insurance policies – many of which will not cover accidents from quad bikes and mopeds, leaving seriously injured holidaymakers facing unaffordable medical bills.


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Personal injury claims set to fall

UK TRAVEL companies will face fewer claims for personal injury and reduced costs after a clampdown on ‘compensation culture’.

Chancellor George Osborne has announced a rise from £1,000 to £5,000 in the limit on small claims for personal injury. The change will mean more cases will be handled by small claims courts, where most claimants cannot expect to claim legal fees, even if they win.

Industry lawyer Stephen Mason, senior partner at Travlaw, said: ‘Life-changing injuries will continue to go to a full court process, but the vast majority of injury claims, such as for a broken wrist or food poisoning, will be dealt with in the small-claims court.

‘The loser won’t pay the legal costs of the winner. It’s unlikely to be economic for claimants to instruct a lawyer. Many claims will not be brought at all, as it is quite daunting and quite technical to bring an injury or illness claim without a lawyer. So the industry will face fewer claims.’

Mr Mason added: ‘Even where a claim is successful, there will be no consumer’s legal costs to pay. It is quite common currently for a claim to be settled for, say, £3,000 and for a claimant to seek legal costs in excess of £20,000. This should help to reduce insurance premiums. Any of us could be the victim of an accident and find our access to justice weakened. But for the travel industry, this sounds good news.’

The Forum of Insurance Lawyers noted the new limit was ‘aimed at tackling the so-called compensation culture’ related to traffic accidents. It could be introduced as early as next spring.

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FCO urges Brits to upgrade travel insurance

WITH recent data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) revealing that the average travel insurance medical claim rose by nearly 10% last year, Britain’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is highlighting the risk of taking the Getaway Gamble of travelling overseas without adequate insurance. 

Travelling abroad with inadequate cover can cost thousands of pounds if things go wrong – the average cost of a claim for medical expenses rose to £1,022 in 2014 (from £930 in 2013). This contrasts sharply with the average cost of an annual travel insurance policy, which is £32.

‘Rolling the dice, not hedging your bets and being left with a £1,022 bill is no way to start or end a holiday,’ the FCO said.

The FCO is encouraging British nationals to make travel insurance an essential part of their holiday preparation. It is advising travellers to:

· Ensure they have the level of insurance cover required for their needs and the activities they have planned

· Answer questions about their medical history fully and honestly with the insurer; they might not be covered if they need to make a claim

· Bear in mind that travel insurance policies might not cover accidents that occur when someone has not taken reasonable care or had excessive amounts of alcohol

· Carry an up-to-date European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) if travelling in the European Economic Area, in addition to valid insurance cover

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Post Office survey reveals cost of accidents abroad

AN ESTIMATED 4.4 million UK holidaymakers suffered injuries on trips abroad over the last three years at a cost of more than £1 billion, according to research by Post Office Travel Insurance.

More than a third (38%) of people who holidayed abroad in that period had an accident and 37.5% of them suffered injuries that cost an average of more than £252 each.

Animal bites and insect, jellyfish, or stingray stings were the most frequent incidents, suffered by a quarter of holidaymakers polled by the Post Office. Potentially serious problems such as food poisoning (14%) and sunstroke or severe sunburn requiring medical treatment (8%) were also commonplace.

One in 20 holidaymakers slipped or fell around swimming pools. The same proportion of people tripped or fell downstairs, suffered cuts from broken glass and other sharp objects or sustained injuries while swimming, snorkelling, or diving. Cuts and bruises together with broken or fractured limbs, shoulders and ankles were among the more common injuries.

Most injuries cost holidaymakers relatively small amounts of money. These ranged from an average of £47 for bites and stings to £118 for sunstroke or sunburn, £121 for a rental motorbike or scooter accident and £150 for a bathroom fall. But tourists not covered by travel insurance could find themselves paying much more than the average bills uncovered by the research.

It found individual injuries caused by bicycle accidents costing around £850 and of a sunburn victim paying around £1,500 for treatment. Some suffered multiple accidents costing them up to £7,500.

More accidents happened to UK holidaymakers in Spain than anywhere else, according to the poll of more than 2,000 people. Ten percent of food poisoning incidents were in Turkey.

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