If you’re thinking of going off on your travels, especially if you’re on a budget, it can be tempting to not buy any health insurance. But the thing to remember when you leave this soggy little lump of moss that’s slowly sinking into the North Atlantic – is that not everywhere is as safe as Blighty.

As soon as you leave the comfort zone of Britain, where every possible risk is reduced to the bare minimum, everything starts to become more dangerous. If you go skiing or snowboarding in the Alps you run the risk of slipping over and breaking a shoulder blade, or a leg, or a face, or contracting some embarrassing illness from the local mountain beer house.

If you go somewhere like New Zealand then there another range of dangers to face, such as the desire to go bungey jumping and detach your retina, or sky-diving, or sliding around on a glacier. Broken legs, heads, minds and spines lurk around every corner.

As soon as you get out of the routine of leaving your secure little terraced house and walking the same streets to work and entering the same little safe sprinkler covered office – you’re at risk. Go travelling and the plane might fall out of the sky, you might contract the Dreaded Lurgie or you might get your nice mobile phone stolen by a foreigner. Or perhaps have your brand new Nikon sunglasses stolen by a Thai hooker, for example. Wherever you go, considering a wee bit of health insurance might be a good idea.