UK Insurance News

The number of H1N1 swine flu’ cases almost doubled last week to 100,000 in the UK and continues to spread every day, so how do you stand if you are travelling abroad and what doe’s your travel insurance cover or exclude?

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) offers the following general guidelines:

• Travel insurers will treat swine flu as they would any other illness, and policies will typically pay for treatment abroad if it’s caught on holiday.

• Rearranged flights and accommodation should also be covered, as will the costs of cancellation should it be contracted prior to embarking upon a holiday.

• If an individual is quarantined they may be covered by their insurance policy, insurers assess such matters on an individual basis.

Different Insurers obviously offer different policies and it is always worth checking the exact cover at the time of policy purchase, additional advice from InsuranceChoice says:

• If the FCO advise against travel to a specific country you were due to visit, you can make a claim for any unused travel or accommodation costs you are unable to get back from your tour operator or issuing agent.

• If the FCO are not advising against travel to your chosen destination, you will not be covered for cancellation if you simply choose not to travel.

• If the FCO are advising against travel to your chosen destination you will not be covered if you choose to travel.

Remember that Travel Insurance policies do not cover any individual for travel to countries which the FCO and/or WHO advises against all but essential travel. For your own safety, you should always check the status of the country to which you are travelling by visiting that country information page on the FCO website.