UK Insurance News

travel insurance specialist

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) recently announced that they were in talks with the Government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to offer extended ‘holiday failure protection’ to UK consumers.

Currently, only consumers who booked through an ABTA representative are covered if the company that they book with goes bankrupt.  Consumers may have some protection if they booked their holiday with a credit card or if their travel insurance provider includes an element of holiday failure protection.

While talks are expected to last several months the UK’s leading specialist travel insurer P J Hayman is urging ABTA to ensure that this new cover is comprehensive.

P J Hayman director Peter Hayman says;

“We are delighted that ABTA is looking to work with the Government and CAA to provide additional holiday failure cover for the 45 million trips that UK consumers make each year. However, while they are looking at this issue, we urge them to consider covering the consequences of holiday failure – in the UK and abroad – rather than simply looking to replace the missing element of the holiday.
Under most current insurance schemes, if you book a flight, hire a car and rent a villa – each with a different company – and the airline goes into receivership, you will only be reimbursed for the price of your ticket.   This is a serious problem as the consumer could be substantially out of pocket with little or no recourse.
In addition, many companies will only cover bookings made within the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Ireland.   As hiring self-catering apartments from local residents are a hugely popular choice for many Brits, this lack of cover could see people loose their often substantial deposits should anything go wrong.”

While negotiations are taking place consumers travelling abroad will be limited to the current insurance conditions, but P J Hayman advises that customers are able to travel with total confidence insurance wise, by choosing one of their specialist policies like Bond Plus, which offers a fully comprehensive cover.

Bond Plus covers the Policy Holder for up to £5,000 (varies according to policy) in respect of the loss of accommodation and transport costs that has been paid for and that cannot recover elsewhere, due to the financial failure (the business being wound up or carried on by a Liquidator or the Receiver) of the travel or accommodation provider to whom payment has been made.