Hand luggage accompanies the vast majority of travellers onto the plane. If holidaymakers are heading off on a short getaway or want to save money, they often only bring cabin luggage with them and eschew hold luggage altogether. Doing this means all your belongings are in your hand luggage – bar the few kept about your person.
Consequently, travellers could end up carrying around items that amount to quite a pretty penny in one bag.
In fact, new research from Admiral travel insurance has revealed two-thirds of holidaymakers are taking almost £1,000 worth of items with them for a two-night mini-break in their hand luggage when they go away this winter.
Admiral found contents of travellers’ cabin bags are estimated to be worth £982 on average.
The travel insurance company is now warning fliers that not having the right insurance cover in place for their luggage could be an expensive and inconvenient mistake.
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The need is particularly great at Christmas as holidaymakers are more likely to be travelling with presents, which could be very expensive.
It’s important to be protected should anything go wrong while flying.
Since December 2017, 30 percent of claims handled by Admiral relating to were for passengers who had lost their luggage while travelling – not through the fault of the airline.
Almost a quarter (22 percent) of baggage related claims handled by Admiral have been for luggage that has been accidentally damaged by the passengers.
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Meanwhile, more than one in 10 (11 percent) of luggage-related claims from Admiral customers have been for baggage or belongings stolen from accommodation while on holiday.
What’s more, 16 percent of claims have been for baggage delayed by airlines, meaning people have to start their overseas stay in the clothes they’ve travelled in.
Through Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data obtained by Admiral, the travel insurer was able to reveal that baggage related claims handled by the CAA were up by 24 percent year-on-year at the end of Q1 2019.
During the course of 2018, 43 percent of complaints handled by the CAA related to delayed baggage, 30 percent for damaged luggage, and 24 percent for lost items and 2 percent for stolen items.
Cosmin Sarbu, Head of Travel Insurance at Admiral, said: “Taking carry-on luggage can be a time and cost-saving option for a short city break away this winter, but it seems our smaller cases are still packed full of high-value items, and when you add it all up it could be costly if your bag was lost, stolen or damaged.
“With many people travelling away over the festive period, considering the value of gifts you’re travelling with may impact the type of cover you need.
“Different travel insurance policies offer different protection levels so even when travelling with hand luggage it’s important to check you have the right cover in place to make sure you’re protected if anything happens to your luggage.
“Most insurers offer an upper limit for how much you can claim for each individual item.
“If you’ve got expensive tech items in your luggage as many people do, it might be worth considering gadget cover, and anyone taking high-value jewellery away with them should make sure they’ve been added to their home insurance and are covered for when they are away from home.
“If you’re going for a relaxed mini-break it might be better to leave anything valuable at home unless you really need it.”
However, you do need to take valuables with you for a winter mini-break, it’s a good idea to lock them in a hotel room safe during your holiday if possible.
Another of Admiral’s top tips for insuring your valuables is to check your policy’s ‘single item limit’ – this is the maximum amount you will receive for a single item that is lost or stolen.
The cheapest policies will tend to have single item limit of around £100-200. If you will be taking items or gifts away with you this Christmas that cost more than this limit, you may need to pay a little more. Some policies will let you increase your single item limit for an additional fee.