Sainsbury's Travel Insurance Offers Award Winning Cover

    LONDON, ENGLAND, December 24, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Bank's analysis of medical expenses paid on winter sports related insurance claims reveals that they increased by 25% between 2006 and 2007 and by 11% between 2007 and 2008(2).

In 2008, the average value of a winter sports injury related claim from America and Canada was 2,991, the highest received, compared to 604 in Bulgaria, for example(2).

Sam Marrs, Sainsbury's Travel Insurance Manager said: "When travelling abroad in Europe, you need to make sure you have both your EHIC and travel insurance. However, your EHIC will only provide you with access to the same state-provided healthcare as a resident of the country you are visiting so it should not be solely relied upon. You need travel insurance to pay for any private medical treatment or for example to be airlifted from the slopes or repatriated back home. An air ambulance alone can cost up to 20,000 in Europe and as much as 60,000 in The USA and Canada."

Sainsbury's Travel Insurance research(2) reveals that the most common travel insurance claim related to winter sport activity is knee ligament injuries (30%) followed by fractured legs (12%) and shoulder injuries (10%).

To obtain a Sainsbury's Travel Insurance quote you can log onto www.sainsburysbank.co.uk or call 0845 300 3190. Lines are open 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 8am - 7pm Saturday and 9am - 5pm on Sunday.

Sainsbury's Finance provide Travel Insurance, Pet Insurance, Life Insurance and more.

For further information, please contact:
Georgiana Varey / Max Duddy
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
020 7638 9571

Notes to Editors:
(1) Named Best Online Travel Insurance Provider 2008 by consumer magazine, Your Money
(2) Research commissioned by Sainsbury's Bank and carried out by FirstAssist Services Limited, November 2008

Sainsbury's Bank:
To find out more about Sainsbury's Bank and see the latest press releases, product rates and photographs, please visit the Sainsbury's Bank online media centre at www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/media.

Sainsbury's Bank offers a range of quality, competitively priced, award-winning products. Sainsbury's Bank opened for business on 19 February 1997 as a joint venture with Sainsbury's and HBOS.

Sainsbury's Bank offers the following products:
Insurance: Car Insurance, Life Insurance, Home Insurance, Travel Insurance and Pet Insurance
Borrowing: Personal loans, credit cards and Drive car purchase scheme
Saving: Internet Saver, Instant Access (branch equivalent), Direct Saver account (telephone) and Child Trust Fund

For further information and general Sainsbury's Bank enquiries customers can call the freephone number on 0500 40 50 60 or visit www.sainsburysbank.co.uk
Sainsburys Bank Travel Insurance is arranged and administered by FirstAssist Insurance Services Limited on behalf of the insurer, Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) PLC.

FirstAssist Insurance Services Limited (FISL) has five key areas of insurance expertise: travel, protection, budget health, legal protection and small business, covering over 2m people in the UK. Driven as a specialist business by an entrepreneurial, commercial management team, FISL operates without (corporate) distraction in providing a unique range of products and marketing solutions for Corporates, SMEs, Banks, Insurers and Affinity Organisations.

Majority owned by Barclays Private Equity, FISL has re-engineered its business in the last two years to provide focus and expertise in its core activities. This has included the sale of its private medical insurance business to Standard Life and a de-merging of its assistance, counselling and wellbeing business unit FirstAssist Services Limited (FSL).

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