Travel Disruption Insurance

Nearly all standard travel insurance policies will offer some level of coverage against travel disruption. Most basic travel insurance policies will offer you coverage against cancellation, illness or loss of luggage. Taking out dedicated travel disruption insurance can offer you coverage against a broader range of risks to your holiday. Standalone or add-on travel disruption insurance can protect you against the following:

To understand whether travel disruption insurance is worth taking out - it helps to have some examples of how people have benefited from including it in their travel coverage. Here are some scenarios where holiday goers have benefited from having disruption cover in place.

• A holiday with friends to Ibiza is cancelled due to a sudden airline strike - the passengers travel disruption insurance was able to reimburse the the costs of non-refundable bookings and also costs for alternative accommodation.
• A family that travelled to Iceland were unable to make their return flight home after their holiday due to a volcanic eruption grounding all flights. Travel disruption insurance was able to cover them for the accommodation costs for their extended stay - it was also able to cover the associated costs of the new return flight home not covered by the airline when flights resumed.
• A solo traveller is forced to cut their holiday short due to an eruption of civil unrest in a previously safe destination. It becomes officially advised by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) that all unnecessary travel to that location should be avoided. Travel disruption insurance helped them cover the costs of leaving the country before their original departure flight date.

These are just some examples of how having travel disruption cover can benefit you if you run into the unexpected on your holiday. Whilst many scenarios that are covered by travel disruption such as transportation failure, airline strikes, natural disasters and civil unrest are rare, the consequences for holiday goers needing to change their plans because of them can be expensive. It is worth considering how much money you stand to loose should any of these scenarios occur to you and whether it justifies the cost of taking out travel disruption insurance.

Terrorism is generally not covered by most travel insurance policies beyond associated emergency medical costs they may result from terrorist acts. Many insurers however will offer policy add-ons that can protect you against the broader financial impacts of terrorism. For example if you need to cut a holiday short and repatriate back to the UK due to acts of terrorism, hire alternative transport or sort alternative accommodation - then comprehensive travel disruption insurance will be able to cover these costs. Some locations will typically not be covered by travel disruption insurance such as the following:

• • Syria
  • Ukraine
  • Afghanistan
  • Iraq
  • North Korea

This list is not exhaustive and countries can be added or removed from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's official travel warning list as situations develop. Generally, most countries listed by the FCDO as unsafe for travel will not be covered by insurers - so cover against acts of terrorism would only be valid in countries deemed officially safe for travel.

If your travels are disrupted and you have been forced to spend money to change your plans or can no longer use services you've already paid for - you will then be able to make a claim through your travel disruption insurance. When making a claim be sure to collect receipts and evidence of the disruptions for your insurer. Contact them as soon as possible as many insurance providers will have a time limit for when you can claim for travel disruptions.