A poll by Cruise Critic, a leading cruising website targeted to consumers, that attracted 6,985 responses shows that almost one in five respondents never buy travel insurance.

“What they said: We received nearly 7,000 responses in four days, with just over half — 52 percent — claiming to “never travel without” insurance. About 27 percent responded that they “sometimes” purchase insurance and almost 19 percent said they “never buy it.” Less than 1 percent of responders didn’t know what travel insurance is,” Cruise Critic said.

“What it all means: An overwhelming number of respondents seem fully aware that travel insurance is a necessity most if not all of the time. This leads us to wonder if the 19 percent of respondents who don’t purchase insurance are aware of its benefits, but still choose not to take out a policy — or if they don’t fully realize how it can help,” the report said.

In the UK, cruise lines state that having a travel insurance is a condition of booking and insurance details must be provided to the line prior to sailing.