Spain leading the ranking of countries where this originates, British holidaymakers file up to £24 million in lost, stolen or damaged possessions, baggage and money insurance claims.

More British tourists have suffered from a lost or stolen item in the last two years, a new study shows.

With Spain leading the ranking of countries where this originates, British holidaymakers file up to £24 million in lost, stolen or damaged possessions, baggage and money insurance claims.

Between 2008 and 2009 British insurance companies saw an increase of 43% in lost or stolen money claims, according to analysis made by Sainsbury's Travel Insurance.

Over one in four claims of this nature (27.6%) originated in Spain, generating a value of around £7 million a year. Other popular countries where these kinds of claims originate are France (7.8%); the USA (5.7%); Italy (4.1%); and Turkey (3.7%).

Overall, British tourists make travel insurance claims worth around £24 million a year.

£1 million unclaimed

Research also highlights that for every £4 million of travel insurance claims received; there is £1 million that goes unclaimed.

This means that a high number of British holidaymakers still travel without any insurance, making them lose a valuable quantity of money.

"Lost or stolen money, baggage and possessions is a common problem for Britons on holiday. Over the past three years the average claim value for lost or stolen money was nearly £170. When you consider any expensive items you may have in your baggage such as watches or cameras, incidents of lost or stolen baggage can be very expensive if you don't have travel insurance,” commented David Barrett, Sainsbury's Travel Insurance Manager.

He pointed out the importance of having adequate cover before setting off on holiday and added:

"Good travel cover does not need to be expensive; holidaymakers should shop around to get a competitive price and adequate levels of cover before they even pack their suitcase or organise their travel money. If they don't, they could end up badly out of pocket."

Having reliable travel insurance can help us save a great amount of money in case some problem comes up when we are abroad. You may be able to reduce the risk of theft by using a travel money card instead of carrying large amounts of cash with you when on holiday.

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