Parents swap sun loungers for activity holidays this summer

Almost four out of ten British families are planning an organised activity based holiday this year in an attempt to get their children to be more active and try new sports, according to a survey of over 3,000 families by Gocompare.com.

However, with the ‘playcation’ set to be this year’s biggest new holiday trend, parents are being warned to take more care than ever over their travel insurance.

Almost two thirds of people surveyed admit they never check their insurance policy to see if they are covered for activities – leaving their finances at serious risk. A medical emergency abroad can be extremely expensive and without travel insurance you are fully responsible for the costs incurred.

Standard policies often exclude activities that are considered ‘adventurous’ or ‘hazardous’, such as horse riding, jet skiing, diving or climbing. Those planning to participate in such activities should always check the policy terms and conditions, or speak to their insurer, to clarify exactly which activities are covered.

According to the Gocompare.com ‘playcation’ survey, the most popular activities this year are expected to be:

Swimming 52%
Walking 43%
Cycling 22%
Horse riding 19%
Canoeing 17%
Assault courses 16%
Diving/snorkelling 15%
Climbing 13%
Racket sports 13%
Sailing 11%
Archery/shooting 9%

In the majority of cases (56 per cent), this year’s ‘playcations’ will be the main family holiday, while 44 per cent said it would be a second holiday. A quarter of parents said that the main motivation behind an activity holiday was to try and get the kids to be more active, while close to a third hoped it would encourage their children to try new sports.

Mark Greening, head of partner products at Gocompare.com said, “It is great that so many families are planning activity or adventure based holidays this year. But this type of holiday requires more thought than a traditional beach holiday - trying a new activity or sport will lead to more accidents or injuries than simply lying on a sun-lounger. So make sure that you book with a reputable holiday company, with qualified instructors and guides and, that any equipment you will be using is safety-checked.

“Also, parents need to be just as active when choosing their travel insurance as a lot of policies will restrict cover for sports or more adventurous activities while on holiday. They need to shoparound and compare policy wordings carefully as insurers vary greatly in how they cover different activities. Most will list activities and explain the terms on which cover will be provided. Some will require additional premiums or restrict cover unless you inform them of exactly what you intend to do.”