Travel insurance from £3 single-trip
and £16 annual

There are various misconceptions over what assistance people are entitled to if they do not take out travel insurance, new figures have revealed.

Abta - the Travel Association found that many of the misconceptions surround the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which only provides access to basic state medical care while overseas.

Of those polled, 17 per cent believed that travel insurance is unnecessary in Europe due to the EHIC, while 26 per cent wrongly think it will cover their repatriation costs.

Other misunderstandings focus around the government's role in assisting overseas travellers, as 21 per cent of people wrongly believe the authorities will foot their bills if something goes wrong.

Lynda St Cooke of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We remain very concerned at the numbers of people travelling without comprehensive travel insurance and then ending up severely out of pocket."

She added that there are limitations on what the local British Embassy or Consulate can actually do.