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Nearly a third of British tourists will travel to India without insurance, even though it one of the long-haul destinations where they are most likely to run into problems.

Twenty-nine per cent of Britons will fail to take out insurance for India trips, while 18 per cent of travellers have reported difficulties in the country over the last five years. 

Also, 23 per cent of Britons had problems in Sri Lanka, but 21 per cent failed to get themselves insured, the survey by Post Office Travel Insurance found.

Nearly a third of British tourists will travel to India without travel insurance to protect them

Another country where more than 20 per cent had problems and for which more than 20 per cent were not insured was Mauritius, while 15 per cent had problems in South Africa yet 19 per cent were uninsured.

Based on responses from more than 1,000 Britons who had taken a long-haul holiday over the last five years, the problems encountered covered mainly illness, injury, travel delays and theft.

Sri Lanka was the country where the most people had run into difficulties, followed by Mauritius, India and South Africa. 

In contrast, only 6 per cent had had problems in the USA and only 5 per cent in Canada.

Fewer holidaymakers visiting the Caribbean and Egypt encountered problems that might lead to an insurance claim. At the same time, only nine per cent of Caribbean tourists failed to take out travel insurance while 11 per cent travelled to Egypt without cover. 

The survey also showed that it was those in the 18-34 age range who were the least likely to take out travel insurance, with a third saying they had travelled uncovered on their last long-haul trip. This compared with a figure of only 6 per cent for those aged 55 and over.

India is also one of the destinations where the highest number of Britons has experienced problems

A fifth of holidaymakers to Mauritius will also experience problems during their trip

For those who were insured and went on to make a claim, the biggest single reason was illness that required medical treatment (35 per cent). 

Almost as many (31 per cent) needed treatment for accidental injury.

Around 20 per cent needed treatment for an injury caused by sports activity, 15 per cent had to be repatriated to the UK because of illness and 15 per cent needed transporting by air ambulance - one of the most expensive claim items.

Although the average cost overall of a long-haul holiday insurance claim was £4,859, the price can escalate for individual destinations.

Post Office Travel Insurance said claims data for India revealed that an air ambulance to the UK could cost £80,000 to £100,000, while surgery for a broken leg could cost £12,000 and treatment for gastro-enteritis could be priced between £2,000 and £4,000.

Post Office head of insurance Paul Havenhand said: 'It is worrying that the countries where holidaymakers are most likely to travel without insurance are also ones where our research found that more problems occurred that might lead to medical treatment or loss of valuable belongings.

'If you are planning a winter sun trip to an exotic destination, it is vital to ensure you are comprehensively covered to ensure that you have peace of mind when travelling far away from home. Avoid cheap travel insurance deals that could leave you exposed when problems occur.'