Britons travelling abroad without insurance lost almost £90 million through holiday mishaps, a travel insurer has warned.

InsureandGo estimated there were more than 236,000 incidents where insurance claims could have been made in 2008, if the holidaymaker had taken out cover.

It said that lack of medical cover was the biggest cash-drain for holidaymakers with more than 92,000 estimated incidents last year.

The insurer calculated that medical treatments cost an average of £678.28 per incident, totalling £62.44 million across all uninsured tourists.

It said the top five holiday calamities were medical problems, lost or stolen baggage, cancellation of flights, lost or stolen money and travel delay.

InsureandGo founder Perry Wilson said: "Thankfully, most people get adequate travel insurance before they go on holiday, but there are still a significant proportion of us going abroad without being insured.

"Issues like medical problems and lost baggage affect so many holidaymakers nowadays - and with average claims values rocketing they can be very costly.

"In times like these, when money is so tight, it is even more important that people ensure they have adequate travel insurance so they don't end up badly out of pocket."

The £90 million was based on uninsured tourists spending £62.4 million on medical problems and £6.2 million on lost or stolen luggage, while flight cancellations cost them an estimated £18.9 million, with travel delays costing £700,000. Tourists also lost an estimated £1.7 million through cash being lost or stolen.

The company said only 14% of travellers go abroad without insurance.