Lost holiday items cost the average Briton £390 per year

According to a study carried out in the UK, a majority of 76% of Britons revealed that they had lost a valuable item while on holiday, with these misplaced items costing Britons as much £390 a year. Of those polled, the majority who had previously lost items revealed that they did not take out holiday insurance on the items that they lost prior to travelling.

The study, conducted by website www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk polled a total of 2,628 adults from around the UK as part of its ongoing research into holiday habits and financial responsibilities of Britons. All respondents taking part were aged 18 and over and had been on holiday abroad at least once within the last 12 months.

Respondents were initially asked: “On your last holiday abroad, did you lose any valuable items?” 68% revealed that they had lost items in the past year. The remaining 32% either said that they had not or could not remember losing any items worth £50 or more on holiday.

Next, respondents were asked to reveal which items they had lost on holiday specifically. Researchers compiled the results to reveal the most commonly lost items on holiday as follows:

1.      Smartphones – 52%

2.      Laptops/Tablets – 47%

3.      Jewellery – 39%

4.      iPod/MP3 player – 32%

5.      Watches – 24%

Respondents were then asked to reveal the average financial cost of the items they’d lost on holiday within the past 12 months. Researchers were then able to calculate these answers to reveal the average value of items Britons lose on holiday as £390.

Those who previously revealed that they had lost items on holiday were asked to reveal whether they had taken out travel insurance on the items misplaced abroad. A majority of 68% of respondents admitted that they did not have holiday insurance, with only 32% revealing that they did make sure to cover valuable items. Of this 32%, the majority revealed that they’d previously lost items abroad when uninsured, which had spurred them into purchasing a policy.

Following on from this, those who said that they did not have insurance were asked to reveal whether they had ever replaced the lost item. Only a third 34% of those who did not have insurance revealed that they have replaced the lost items since their holiday, with the majority (66%) saying they cannot afford to replace the items at present.