Holidaymakers are being urged to buy travel insurance before any big trips – especially to the US, where medical claims average £15,000 and can easily snowball into a monster £90,000.
The peak holiday booking season is from December through until February, according to the ATOL traveller protection scheme.
However, should a holidaymaker be unfortunate enough to need medical help overseas then some destinations are far more expensive than others.
Travel insurance broker Multitrip.com said the average claim for medical treatment made by visitors to the US last year was £14,690 – more than twelve times the European medical claim average of £1,201.
The highest US claim Multitrip.com saw in 2022 was a femur fracture, which cost £87,629.
But even a toe fracture claim cost £8,000 to set right, as did treating a spell of dizziness.
Christian Bennett, head of travel and mobility at Multitrip, said: ‘Unfortunately, things can and do go wrong when people are away from home, and travel insurance is incredibly important.’
He adds: ‘Some people don’t think they need travel insurance when travelling, but they really do, particularly as we’ve seen a significant rise in the cost of overseas medical expenses in recent years.
‘A trip to a hospital in the US, for instance, can cost thousands a day even before additional treatment or surgery is added on.’
Meanwhile,1.5 million Britons will have taken a winter sports trip during this current season, insurer Aviva said.
Winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling carry a higher risk of injury than your typical holiday activity.