As household budgets remain under pressure, new research from AllClear Travel Insurance suggests cost considerations are increasingly shaping travel insurance decisions. The findings reveal holidaymakers are looking closely at ways to reduce travel costs, with financial pressures also influencing attitudes towards travel insurance cover.

Against this backdrop, the research identified three key trends: holidaymakers looking for savings whenever they can, growing interest in cheaper travel insurance policies and an increasing willingness among some travellers to cut corners in order to reduce premiums.

1. Holidaymakers are looking for ways to cut travel costs

The AllClear research found that 72% of Uk adults were looking to cut corners on their holidays abroad, trimming costs where they could. The most common cost-cutting steps for holidays included: switching to a cheaper airline (28%), packing light (32%), using public transport more while abroad (33%) and going for self-catering options (38%).

Travel insurance, while not top of the list, was nonetheless in the firing line for cutbacks – with 16% of respondents saying that getting the cheapest cover or travelling without insurance was a way to cut back the cost of their holiday overall.

2. The pressure to consider further holiday cutbacks

While earlier AllClear research revealed many people did go for what they classed as ‘good’ or ‘comprehensive’ cover for 2026, a much bigger percentage of UK adults – 72% – said there were reasons why they would openly consider shopping around for cheaper cover in the future. Among those considering cheaper cover, the cost-of-living crisis was the biggest factor cited (36%). This rose to 39% among people with medical conditions.

The findings suggest many holidaymakers continue to feel pressure to save money, even if this year they ended up going for a top-quality policy.

3. Financial pressures to get a cheaper travel insurance policy


Among people with medical conditions, 46% said they would consider providing inaccurate information in order to secure a cheaper travel insurance premium, up from 31% in June 2025. This suggests that many people with medical conditions may feel the cost-of-living pressures more intensely, perhaps because their conditions make life more expensive or compromise their ability to earn.

Areas where people with medical conditions said they would be economical with the truth in order to get a lower-cost travel policy included:

	2026	2025
Being economic with the truth on how long I plan to travel for	19%	14%
Underestimating the value of the belongings I will take with me	17%	12%
Not declaring all details of pre-existing medical conditions	13%	8%
Not being honest about the reasons why I am travelling	10%	6%
Lying about my age	7%	4%

We fully understand the cost-of-living pressures many live with day-to-day and the perceived need to trim the costs of holidays – which, for many people, is one of their biggest areas of discretionary spend during the year. Our research tells us that a lot of people have looked to make savings on non-essential areas of holiday spend – such as eating out, going self-catering or flying short-haul with a cheaper airline. Travel insurance, though, is not a commodity – for many, it’s a safety net. But the reality is, you only realise the value of comprehensive travel cover when something goes wrong.

These aren’t just abstract statistics – they reflect real-life risks. And for those with medical conditions, the stakes are even higher. As millions of people continue to travel abroad throughout the year, AllClear’s message is simple: cut costs where you can, but not where it counts. Travel insurance should be the last thing to drop from the checklist. Saving money on the wrong things can end up proving to be a dangerous false economy.