Norwich Union identifies most dangerous holiday spots

Insurance company Norwich Union has released a statement identifying the areas of the world in which it believes travellers would be best advised to have insurance.

The company points out that Thailand, Mexico, and South Africa are all very popular destinations for holidaymakers but they are also dangerous areas for illness, accidents and crime.

Thailand features high up the company’s list as a problematic area for the occurrence of upset stomachs, theft, traffic accidents and lost belongings.

Travellers who took their holidays in Mexico were reportedly the ones who made the most claims with Norwich Union for overexposure to the sun.

South Africa was identified as particularly dangerous as it was found to be the area with the highest incidence of robberies involving violence.

The Caribbean was also mentioned, as the worst area from bites and stings from insects, as well as Spain and the Canaries, which can sometimes see robberies and pick pocketing taking place.

Dawn McMullan, travel product manager at Norwich Union, said: “The purpose of our research is to not to worry tourists looking forward to their summer holidays, just to make them aware of what can go wrong when they’re away from home.

“The majority of holidays go off without a hitch, but we would advise everyone to take the same precautions abroad as they would here. It’s very easy to forget simple security measures when you’re lying in the sun with a cocktail in your hand.”

It was found that the safest places to take a holiday were in western Europe, in destinations such as France, Germany, Holland and Belgium.