More than half of the (58%) British holidaymakers would staycation without travel insurance, according to the research report from moneysupermarket.com.
The report says only 35% of people would take adequate travel insurance while holidaying at home. However, more people opt for the adequate travel insurance when holidays planned outside the UK mainland.
According to the research, 56% of the people would take out travel insurance when visiting the Channel Islands, and 81% for traveling to Europe.
It says that nine out of ten travelers heading further afield consider travel insurance is priority.
moneysupermarket.com Travel expert Bob Atkinson said it may seem a waste of time having travel insurance for holidays within the UK, but you can still be caught out by events beyond your control.
"For example, during the recent ash cloud disruption, several internal flights between UK airports were cancelled. With many annual travel insurance policies including UK travel as standard it can be worthwhile, especially if you travel regularly," Atkinson said.
The research also found that some travelers view European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) as an alternative to having a travel insurance policy to cover their trip, even when traveling outside of the EU. EHICs entitle the holder to the same level of free medical care as is provided to nationals of the European country you’re visiting.
"Our research showed 3% of people traveling worldwide wouldn’t take out travel insurance because they believed an EHIC would cover them, despite it being useless if you’re heading for a destination outside the EU. This just highlights the need to ensure that even if you have an EHIC it is still vital to have appropriate travel insurance for your holiday destination,"Atkinson added.