Many Australians are basing their decision to purchase travel insurance on how safe they believe their destination to be, TravelMole has reported.

According to research conducted on behalf of Bupa Australia, 55 per cent of respondents said that their perception of a country’s safety would influence their decision to purchase insurance.

Africa was the country most commonly seen as the riskiest destination, named by more than half of those surveyed while South America ranked second with 31 per cent.

New Zealand was the country most often perceived as the safest destination, the survey also discovered.

Shane Williamson, of Bupa Australia, commented, “Unfortunately, it appears that some Australians believe they only need travel insurance if they’re running with the bulls, or engaging in daredevil behaviour, which is simply not true.”

Travel insurance for all kinds of holiday is available from InsureandGo.