With the Christmas holidays fast approaching, the Post Office is reminding holidaymakers to take out travel insurance to cover their belongings should they be lost in transit.

According to the Air Transport Users Council, airlines could mishandle as many as 70 million bags by 2019 as the number of air passengers is set to double. Yet one in four holidaymakers still takes out no travel insurance before heading abroad.

Passengers who neglect to take out travel insurance could end up paying through the nose if their belongings go astray, as many underestimate the value of their luggage. Post Office figures reveal that passengers carry an average £1,113 worth of items in their suitcase; however, many set a much lower value on their luggage. This means that even those who have taken out a travel insurance policy may claim for much less than the contents of their suitcase are actually worth, in the event that their luggage is lost or stolen.

Rachel Croft, Head of Post Office Travel Insurance, said: “If you do find yourself arriving on holiday with nothing but your hand luggage, it’s important you keep your receipts to claim back on any purchases you have to make to keep you going.

“Post Office Travel Insurance will pay out up to £250 if your belongings are lost for more than 12 hours on the outward journey. By law, airlines only have to cover a specified minimum for your baggage, so it’s important to make sure you have travel insurance on luggage contents for loss, damage or delay.”

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 4:45 pm 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.