Gulf News, 24 April 2010
26 April 2010
Gulf News: "Volcanic Ash and Travel Insurance"
Q. I have been caught up in the travel disruptions caused by Icelandic volcanic ash and I was just wondering if my travel insurance will cover the costs?
One of the questions which will have undoubtedly crossed the minds of people caught up in the volcanic ash disaster is; ‘will my travel insurance cover the extra costs incurred as a result of the incident?’
If you were stranded far from home in a foreign city then you most probably ended up with a large bill for living expenses, not to mention the cost of re-booking flights. And if you had to cancel a trip and all the associated bookings, then you would undoubtedly have been slapped with cancellation and re-booking fees.
In principle you should have no problem claiming for the re-booking and refund of flights, as all airlines and travel tour operators cover these expenses. However, you will need to check whether the travel policy includes a section that provides cover for cancellation or curtailment and delayed baggage.
Not all travel policies have these elements and may just embody the plain vanilla type of insurance enveloping conventional sections only such as loss of baggage, medical expenses and personal liability.
Cancellation or curtailment cover normally has a limit of USD 5,000 and covers any irrecoverable, unused travel and accommodation costs, as well as other pre-paid charges if cancellation is necessary and unavoidable, or the trip is curtailed before completion due to death or a bodily injury of the insured person, a person with whom you are travelling, or travel has been prevented following an epidemic.
The sum insured for delayed baggage section normally has a limit of USD 500 and would normally provide cover if the mode of transport is delayed for at least 12 hours from the scheduled time of departure due to adverse weather conditions, mechanical breakdown, technical fault, strike, industrial action. The cover would also include payments for any irrecoverable, unused travel and accommodation costs and other pre-paid charges if, after a minimum 12 hour time has elapsed, you choose to cancel the trip.
When it comes to other expenses, such as hotels and car hire you will need to check your travel policy to see if it covers such a contingency. Some insurers are saying they will cover the costs incurred by the volcanic ash incident by allowing people to claim on their policies by classifying the disaster as ‘bad weather event or adverse weather conditions”, however others are not.
The most generous travel insurance policies will provide ‘delay compensation benefit’, which helps with the costs of overnight stays and food, as well as ‘abandonment cover’, if a passenger has waited more than 12 hours for a delayed flight and decides to cancel his/her trip. A few policies also include ‘missed departure benefit’ in the event a customer misses an international flight because of delays to connecting domestic flights.
The key to enhancing your chances of making a successful claim is to make sure you obtain written confirmation from the airline that cancelled the flight, that it was due to adverse weather conditions more specifically the volcanic ash.
Whether you have been affected by the volcanic ash or not the disaster has certainly brought the issue of buying travel insurance into the forefront of people’s minds. Before buying travel insurance, speaking to an independent financial advisor will help to ensure you obtain the right policy for your needs and that you are fully abreast with all the policy conditions and caveats before travelling.
Rumi M. Sanjana, Director General Insurance, Nexus Insurance Brokers L.L.C.