Travel insurance for Spain is double what it costs for France and Italy

British tourists travelling to Spain face paying double the price in travel insurance compared to other European countries because of healthcare costs in the country.

As one of the most expensive places for holidaymakers to fall sick, patients are given private healthcare rather than sent to state hospitals, according to travel insurer AllClear.

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According to figures obtained by AllClear last year, the average medical insurance claim in Spain is £4,845, three-quarters more than Italy (£2,676), more than twice that of France (£2,411) and over two and half times Portugal (£1,732).

Tourists should not rely on EHIC cards either as these do not cover private hospital care.

Gary Nelson, from AllClear, warned travellers that they could be left with costly bills.

He said: "If you fall ill in Spain, irrespective of whether you have an EHIC card, you may still be channelled through private hospitals rather than the state system.

"Therefore those travellers who don't have medical travel insurance in place could be left with extremely high medical bills."

Spain is not the only country sending tourists to private hospitals as Cyprus and Malta are also doing this to help ease the strain on public resources.

According to BT.com, travel insurers are now dividing Europe into two: polices that include Spain and Cyprus, and those that exclude them.

Post Office, All Clear and Insure & Go are offering the different policies.

This means telling your insurer exactly where you are going in Europe and not simply taking out European cover.

In a recent case, one holidaymaker was put into the wrong category when he bought insurance, resulting in him travelling to Malta without adequate cover.

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