With up to 3.8 million individuals expected to be travelling this half term, have you ever really considered the total value of the belongings you bring along with you when travelling as a family? Research from Gigasure has highlighted that the average cost of the belongings a child travels with for a week abroad equates to an average of £3,911.79.

The average family travel insurance policy only covers items up to the value of £2,000 per person on the policy. This leaves a shortfall of £1,911.79 of items that will be uninsured. If we assume that 1.9m of those travelling this half term are children, that leaves more than £3.6 billion worth of items flying up in the sky, potentially uninsured.

Being underinsured is a huge risk when you consider that the value of items when travelling with two children could be more than £7,823.58. Perhaps even more alarmingly, 31% of travellers admit to travelling without any travel insurance leaving them exposed to potentially significant medical expense if their child is unwell, cancellation claims, as well as loss of their children's baggage and gadgets. leaving them exposed to potentially significant medical expense if their child is unwell, cancellation claims, as well as loss of their children's baggage and gadgets.

As half term approaches, Gigasure is urging travellers to check their policies carefully to make sure they are covered for everything they are travelling with. In the event of needing to make a claim, travellers may find that they don't have cover to help replace the cost of the items they have lost. 

Gary Murphy, Head of Travel, Gigasure said: “Travel insurance tends to be something we buy to tick a box, but generally individuals don't tend to pay too much attention to the detail. That is, until they need to make a claim. Should the worst happen, and your belongings become lost or stolen while travelling, the discrepancy between what the value of those items will cost to replace, and what the insurer will be able to pay out could be quite a difference.

“As we go through life, the value of the items we travel with tends to go up. Even more so when travelling with children. If you look at the replacement costs for buggies, car seats and other paraphernalia they need, along with their toys and gadgets including games consoles and iPads, then the cost of the belongings we have with us rises exponentially.

“It is also important to remember that if the worst does happen to your belongings, most standard policies will take into consideration the age of your items. This means that if your pram, which you have had for the last year and a half, is lost whilst you are away, a deduction will be made based on its age, only giving you back a percentage of what you paid for it.

“Some travellers may wrongly assume that they already have insurance cover for their items under other policies, like their home insurance or as part of their bank account

tech package. However, these policies will not always provide cover for your items when you are away from home.

“Including additional baggage and personal item cover to your travel insurance policy goes a long way towards covering the costs of replacing items that go missing. We encourage customers to check their policy wording and make sure the full value of their items are covered before they travel. Flexible travel policies will allow you to create a policy that's right for you, and your family.”

Gigasure shares its top tips for keeping your personal items and belongings safe while on holiday:

1. Use a safety deposit box in your hotel room for the more valuable items such as phones, computers, games consoles and iPads. Never leave them lying around in the room, or by the pool as you may not be covered by your insurance. Take more than one form of payment with you abroad (if you lose your phone you may need to use a card!).
2. Keep valuable items on your person while travelling on an aeroplane. Items are far safer when they are with you, rather than going in the aeroplane hold where they may not be covered by your insurance. Only travel with the tech you need and buy a travel policy gadget extension where available.
3. Where possible, consider travelling with a less expensive pram or buggy. Individual items are only usually covered up to the value of £500 or less. With the cost of the most popular buggy systems far exceeding this, along with any depreciation deduction, you may find you are unable to claim enough to replace this.
4. Of course, people are more important than possessions. Ensure you buy travel insurance that covers any pre-existing medical conditions as well as adequate care for the country you are in. In addition, ensure your children know what to do if they become separated from you.  
5. Ensure your travel insurance policy is fit for purpose. Buy a level of cover that fits your needs, taking into account the value of the items you're travelling with and if you are looking for replacement as new cover, consider extending your household policy to cover items outside of your home.

Ends

Methodology

Cost of child's belongings based on basic items required when travelling with children:

Calculating number of travellers during October half term:

1.4m flew out of Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands airport in October 2023 (5.6m in October 2023, divided by four weeks) https://mediacentre.magairports.com/mag-surpasses-pre-pandemic-passenger-figures-in-october/ /  https://mediacentre.stanstedairport.com/400000-expected-to-fly-out-over-half-term/

• million flying from London Heathrow during half term (2.2million divided by 2 to allow for passengers flying out of and then returning) https://simpleflying.com/london-heathrow-airport-october-2023-passenger-numbers/

450,000 flying from London Luton 2022: https://mediahub.london-luton.co.uk/news/10112022/busy-half-term-getaway-for-london-luton-airport

852,000 flying out of Gatwick - 40.9m passengers out of Gatwick per year / divided by 12 for months of the year = 3.4m per month / divided by four weeks = 852,000 for October half term

https://www.gatwickairport.com/company/about-us/key-facts.html#:~:text=Over%20the%20past%2060%20years,to%20over%2040%20million%20passengers.&text=We're%20the%20busiest%20single,time%20due%20to%20their%20proximity.

Total: 3.8m (3,802,000)

1,901,000 of these are likely to be children (3.8m / divided by 2 / based on a family of four travelling as two adults and two children)

Amount left uninsured

Amount left uninsured £1,911.79 x 1,901,000 (number of children flying out of the UK)

Equals: £3,634,312,790