Ensure you’re insured

UP TO one in five Britons don’t bother with travel insurance when jetting off abroad. But new research reveals the huge bills that can await them, should they fall ill. Figures collated by insurance firm AllClear show tourists without cover who suffer a stroke in the US face medical expenses of up to £350,000, while repatriation could be another £20,000. Bills in other countries can also be crippling. An air ambulance in Peru will cost uninsured travellers £120,000, a heart attack in India £30,000 and kidney failure in Thailand £25,000. ‘People don’t realise the cost of medical emergencies abroad,’ says AllClear boss Chris Rolland.