Don't forget your holiday insurance!

People heading off on their holidays have again been urged not to scrimp on their holiday preparations by missing out travel insurance.

Sally Leeman of insurance provider Norwich Union said that travel insurance is an essential purchase if holidaymakers wish to avoid shelling out thousands of pounds in case of an emergency.

She warned that the average travel claim cost in 2006 was £716, with this figure rising around six per cent per year.

"Medical emergencies are the biggest single cause of travel claims. The cost of an injury or consequences of an illness that requires hospitalisation and then repatriation can leave a traveller thousands of pounds out of pocket," she commented.

Ms Leeman added that people who are likely to go on holiday more than once a year should consider taking out annual insurance to save money in case of spur of the moment trips.

Meanwhile, research from Sainsbury's found that as many as ten per cent of the people who travelled abroad at Easter may have gone without insurance cover

Its study revealed that over 4.2 million people did not have travel insurance the last time they went abroad on holiday. This equates to 10.68 per cent of UK overseas holidaymakers.