The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has urged British holidaymakers to make sure they are covered by travel insurance to avoid racking up crippling medical bills abroad.

3,146 Britons were hospitalised and 5,659 died abroad between April 2008 and March 2009, in the top 20 countries where British nationals needed help from the FCO.

As a proportion of the number of visitors to a country, British tourists were most likely to be hospitalised in in Thailand, followed by Greece, Egypt and India.

The FCO said that the biggest causes of being hospitalised were drink related incidents, such as falling off a balcony, and moped and motorbike accidents.

Foreign Office minister, Chris Bryant, said: “Getting comprehensive travel insurance means that whilst an accident may disrupt your holiday, it won’t bankrupt you in extortionate medical or repatriation bills.

“The message is clear – have a great time while you’re away, but make the necessary preparations before you go.”

However, the FCO warned that your travel insurance may be rendered invalid if you have an accident whilst under the influence of alcohol, and advised travellers to check the small print on their policies before heading abroad.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 8:25 am and is filed under Insurance, Travel Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.