New research reveals that many policies do not cover strike cancellations.
This summer will be chaotic for travellers: Flight delays and cancellations across Europe might spoil your holiday. Last weekend more than a hundred flights were cancelled in Lisbon alone, with long queues at the airport becoming the norm in the Portuguese capital. British Airways is cancelling flights to around 70 destinations with more than 100,000 holidaymakers unable to reach their summer holiday destinations. Strike action at London Heathrow in the near future is set to ensue further mayhem for British holidaymakers.
Your travel insurance might not help you: research by the consumer rights group, Which? shows that many policies won't cover delays and cancellations due to strikes, missed connections and Covid-19.
In May and June, Which? surveyed 71 travel insurance firms and analysed 199 policies to find which provided the best and worst travel cover overall. The bad news: some policies specify certain causes of delay, and so potentially rule out others such as staff shortages. For example, one policy details that it covers delays that were, “a direct result of strike or industrial action, adverse weather conditions, failure of air traffic control systems, or mechanical breakdown of aircraft, sea vessel, coach or train.” Which? also looked at the number of policies allowing claims if your plans are impacted by any of the following six disruptive events: bankruptcy of the holiday supplier; bankruptcy of the airline; industrial strike; volcanic ash; terrorism and civil unrest. When it comes to industrial strikes, 40% of policies don´t cover this as standard. Only half (52%) will refund lost holiday costs if the airline goes bankrupt. Just four providers have policies that cover all six events.
The good news is that 93% of policies have cover for expenses such as food and accommodation incurred while waiting out delays and 95% pay cancellation claims for holiday abandonment if you call it quits after an extended wait. 96% of policies pay out for buying urgent replacements for items such as toiletries, clothes or medication if your luggage reaches your destination days after you do.
Be careful: Even the best travel insurance won't cover you if you miss your flight because you overslept. However, if there are delays in your journey to the airport that are out of your control, 92% of policies will cover at least some of the costs of getting the holiday back on track but only 77% include cover for missing return flights, and 72% for connecting flights.
Which? names some things to bear in mind when checking your travel insurance policy. For example, you should take a closer look at the main travel insurance document which is called the ‘policy wording’ – it describes the policy's cover and terms in detail. You should phone the insurer if the wording is unclear around any areas of concern. The majority of policies are written on a ‘specified risks’ or ‘specified perils’ basis; the insurer lists the specific causes or circumstances they'll cover and anything not itemised is excluded.
