In the last few years, cancelled holidays and missed trips have become headline news. In the main, this is because small airlines have gone bust without warning in the wake of the financial crisis – leaving customers who had booked their holidays either stuck at home with no compensation, or stuck abroad with no way of getting home.
- Travel Insurance Coverpaloetic / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
Some of the horror stories that cane out of the first few airlines to go curdled the blood of any prospective holidaymaker. You could, it appeared, book a trip and have all your currency ordered, only to find that one or the other component of the adventure had suddenly fallen apart, and there was no mechanism around to help you pick up the pieces.
It was currency exchanges as well as airlines that made those first headlines: particularly advance exchange companies, which work by allowing their customers to pre-order their currency for secure delivery or airport pickup. It was all too easy to imagine the distress of a family that had their plane tickets but no sight of the thousands they’d pre-ordered in the relevant currency, as the day of their trip dawned and still nothing came.
Separating Money and Flights
Several core pieces of advice were given in the wake of these initial problems. Insofar as money was (and is) concerned, the advice was simple. Get currency from “safe” sources, such as your own bank or the Post Office; or simply take your card with you and use it at your destination, purchasing a small amount of currency at the airport to see you through those first few hours in a strange place.
In terms of flights, initial advice was less straightforward. Essentially, if you didn’t have the insurance to cover the tickets, you had no option but to find a new way home – or give up your holiday with no hope of a refund.
Travel Insurance and Cancellations
Travel insurance can help with cancelled flights in specified situations. Some policies are able to arrange for new carriage for people whose carrier has folded while they are away. Others may offer some form of compensation for cancellation of a trip that has been booked but has yet to take place.
As with all insurance policies, the detail reveals the extent of the coverage. Most importantly of all, it reveals the areas in which normal coverage is suspended. These are often referred to as exceptions, and occur when a specific, predefined set of circumstances negates what the insurance company would otherwise see as acceptable grounds for payment.
It is extremely important to check a travel insurance policy for all exceptions before agreeing to it. If there are exceptions included that contravene your own personal expectations or requirements, it may be necessary to continue shopping around for the right policy.
Different insurance providers, of course, deliver different types and levels of cover. Direct Asia travel insurance provides cover for travellers to Asia and Hong Kong. Trailfinders sells travel insurance tailored to specific routes or destinations.
Travel Insurance and Money
The most common form of travel insurance for travelling money offers compensation for money lost or stolen whilst abroad, rather than money that never comes because the company providing it has gone bust. It is necessary, again, to be entirely sure what kind of insurance cover you have and what forms of monetary loss it may cover you against – before you go.
ATOL
In the wake of the uncertainty around collapsing airlines, ATOL (Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing) created its own protection plan. Some flights booked through specific airlines and agents are automatically covered against the collapse of a travel company or a carriage company. Unfortunately, not all travel is protected by ATOL – so it is vital to ask during the booking process, if you want to have that extra security. If you are protected by ATOL, you should receive a certificate telling you so when your flight tickets arrive – so query immediately if this is not the case.
