Insure your suitcase when going on a winter holiday

The average contents of a suitcase for a winter holiday are worth £238 more than for a summer holiday, research from Saga Travel Insurance revealed today. Almost one in ten (8%) Brits take a winter holiday, taking with them an average of £643 worth of goods. In contrast, those holidaying in the summer only pack £405 worth of valuables. Yet despite the potential cost of losing a suitcase, only one in ten (11%) travellers keep the receipts that would identify the exact make and model of any items that are lost or stolen.

When packing a suitcase, checking luggage weight is the number one concern of travellers due to the hefty charges incurred for being over the limit. The second biggest concern is ensuring that luggage is easy to identify when they come to reclaim their baggage. Interestingly, the over 50s are more likely than younger travellers to be concerned about the robustness of their suitcase and the security of its contents, with 16% even making a note of the serial numbers of valuable items.

Saga offers additional cover to its standard travel insurance specifically for winter sports, scuba-diving or golf equipment to ensure that all expensive equipment is well looked after.

The research revealed a worrying fact that many people do not keep receipts and may not therefore know the makes and models of items in their case, which could make it more difficult for them to make a thorough claim for any loss. Men are much more conscientious in this regards and are over 60% more likely to keep receipts than women. However by simply keeping receipts or, at the very least writing down make and model numbers for expensive items taken on holiday, could help if a baggage claim has to be made.