Insurance news
More Brits experience lost luggage trauma
5 May, 2007
Sorting out your travel insurance might not be number one on your list of priorities this weekend, but seeing as one in five suitcases are now going AWOL, it should definitely be a key consideration
Standing by the conveyor belt waiting for your case might be quite a nerve-wracking situation, especially when everyone else begins to leave, but for 22 per cent of travellers the ‘what if’ turns into an actuality.
Majority of these baggage-less holidaymakers had to wait over 24 hours to get their belongings back from the airline, but more than one in twenty didn’t even get as much as a change of clothes during their whole break. Of these, most were returned to travellers on arrival back in the UK although some unlucky fliers never got to see their suitcases again.
Last year alone, the 24 biggest airlines lost a total of 5.6 million bags, with one in five affected travellers forking out over £100 to replace ‘essentials’.
In a bid to avoid the distress lost luggage causes, nearly a third of families split their clothes between different bags in case one is lost during a flight, and another third pack an overnight bag into their hand luggage. More than one in five would even consider using another airline if the one they are due to travel on has a poor record with baggage.
Holidaymakers are advised to keep all valuables about their person in case their hold baggage is indeed lost, yet 8 per cent still pack a mixture of personal documents, money and valuable jewellery in their main suitcase.
Swiftcover.com’s director of underwriting, Craig Staniland, says: “Holidaymakers appear to face increasing stress when jetting off for their well-earned breaks. As well as the perennial problems of delays and hotel room bookings, they also have to face the risk of losing their luggage and spending the first couple of days’ holiday trying to replace lost items instead of winding down and relaxing.
“As long as you have adequate travel insurance, losing your suitcase should not hit you in the pocket, but for the majority of people it’s often the sentimental value of personal belongings and the lost time on holiday trying to locate your bags that cannot be replaced.”
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