The recent revelation that a growing number of British holidaymakers are in favour of risky activities while abroad may not come as a surprise to anyone who has been a keen observer of the travel industry. Clearly, most holidaymakers are keen to take part in one dangerous activity or another, perhaps, just for the sake of it or to come back home with some great news for friends or family members. What is shocking however is the fact that people often decide to take the risks without a proper arrangement for what might follow.

Often before major festivals or holidays, when millions of people are expected to head abroad, warnings from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as well as experts in the industry repeatedly remind Britons not to travel without adequate insurance cover.

But as it usually turns out this advice falls on deaf ears as each year more people are involved in incidents that are ordinarily avoidable or one should be sufficiently insured to take part in.

Recently, holidaymakers were once again told to take out the sort of travel insurance that would cover them in case they were interested in taking part in dangerous holiday events. Events like scuba diving, white water rafting and bungee jumping etc are regarded as such and people would either need to avoid them or make sure they are covered for eventualities.

As a study by esure confirmed, at least 25 per cent of British holidaymakers now choose their destination based on the adventurous activities they could take part in.

It also found that at least 90 per cent of holidaymakers have taken part in such dangerous activities, and that more than 2.8 million of these have sustained injuries in the process.

In the same vein, one-in-ten travellers wrongly believe their travel insurance will cover such excursions as standard, without reading the print and not knowing how much they were living themselves open to risks especially in terms of medical bills.

Just two-thirds of Britons travelling abroad would bother about checking their travel insurance before heading off and taking part in a dangerous sport or other activities.

Up to 15 per cent of travellers, esure said, still take part in the activities even when aware they were not covered by their insurance policy.

Also, one-in-ten Brits admitted trying dangerous activities such as off-road mountain biking, scuba diving, jet skiing and canoeing due to pressure from their children, friends or family. And many others said they just wanted a good story to tell so as to impress friends and colleagues, hence they often yielded to the temptation of taking part in the activities.

The above findings showed how much more and more people are exposing themselves to greater risks. And it also means they would need to be more cautious about the outcome. But how much caution one takes depends on whether they are insured or not, and even the level of coverage they get from their insurance policy. Having insurance does not automatically translate to taking unnecessary risks. This is because underwriting is still dependent on whether the policyholder had followed the terms and conditions of the policy and how much they were entitled to from the cover.

While many travellers, as it was revealed above, don’t even know what their policy would give or would not give before travelling abroad and involving themselves in events that could result in serious injuries or death, there’s a need for greater enlightenment.

Thus, the recent decision to introduce new travel insurance rules, which would ensure travellers are educated on the kind of policy they are purchasing, is a step in the right direction.