Travel insurance recommended for a holiday in South Africa

Many people are taking a holiday in South Africa to support the Lions tour this year and travellers are being urged to take out insurance.

Travellers looking to book flights to South Africa may do well to make sure they take out a travel insurance policy, one insurance provider has said.

Due to the large numbers of people taking a holiday in South Africa this year for the British and Irish Lions tour, some 20,000 claims were made on travel insurance policies from people taking a break in the destination, according to InsureandGo.

The company stated that the average cost of a medical claim on a holiday in South Africa during 2008 was £369.44 and £744.05 for a flight cancellation.

In total, £5.51 million was claimed in 2008, which equated to one claim made every 30 minutes.

Gary Lockett, managing director of InsureandGo, said: “We all want people travelling to South Africa … to have the time of their lives, but our figures demonstrate how often insurance claims have to be made, and how expensive they can be.”

Travellers more interested in music than sport may wish to take a holiday in South Africa during August. Oppikoppi Farm in Northam will host the country’s version of Glastonbury where no pop music is allowed.