Latest: Travel Insurance News

Arc Legal launches iPhone claims app

Arc Legal Assistance is claiming a UK first with the launch of its iPhone claims app for legal expenses policies. The app is available across the firm’s portfolio, including its large-scale contracts and key niche business sectors, such as landlord cover. The company also has plans to develop its existing online claims offering to give [...]

March 1, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Older travellers bolster holiday industry

The over 50s are now accounting for more than half (51%) of overseas holiday spend and 43% of all UK tourism spend, according to travel insurer LV=. Whilst the under 50s continue to struggle with belt-tightening, the over 50s spend £17.6bn on travel every year, and this figure is predicted to almost double in a [...]

February 17, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Court decides volcanic ash “weather related”

The Travel Trade Gazette (TTG) has reported that insurers could be facing a flood of payouts relating to last year’s volcanic ash cloud, after a delayed traveller won a case against his insurance company, establishing in the process that the disruption could be classed as “weather related”. The revelation follows a decision by Yeovil County [...]

February 15, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Government presses ahead with ATOL reforms

The Government has confirmed that it is pressing ahead with reforms to ATOL (Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing), which should ensure that around six million more holidays are covered by the scheme. Aviation Minister, Theresa Villiers, has outlined a series of changes which should be implemented by the end of the year, and will: Extend protection [...]

February 3, 2011 | 0 Comments More

Boozy, cocky uninsured Brits head for the ski slopes

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is warning that the thousands of British skiers hitting the slopes this winter could be risking “mountainous” medical bills, as many will fall into the following categories: No travel insurance – nearly a third of people questioned in a recent government survey admitted that they did not take out [...]

December 16, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Travellers encouraged to take out insurance

Direct Line has warned those contemplating going without travel insurance during a winter break of the financial risk they are exposing themselves to if the worst happens. More than a million Britons are expected to participate in winter sports this year, and could face bills of £5,000 for a simple fracture to a lower limb, [...]

November 30, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Consumer continue to cut insurance protection

Homeowners, travellers and motorists could be putting themselves at financial risk by cutting out or reducing key insurance cover that provides protection in the event of fire, flood, theft or an accident. So says the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), which has raised the alarm following a survey in which 57% of broker respondents reported [...]

November 22, 2010 | 0 Comments More

AXA warns against skipping travel insurance

Travel insurer AXA has warned that as many as a million Britons could be at risk when they go skiing this winter. According to the firm’s research, one in six (17%) of UK adults enjoy skiing/snowboarding on holiday, yet 10% of them will go on holiday without any travel insurance at all. This lack of [...]

November 22, 2010 | 0 Comments More

easyJet launches in-flight travel insurance service

easyJet is claiming an industry first with this week’s launch of an in-flight travel insurance service. The airline has made the move in response to research suggesting that one in five UK holidaymakers set off on their vacations uninsured, which in easyJet’s case equates to around 20 to 30 people per flight. Passengers in-flight can [...]

November 2, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Barclays forms partnership with FirstAssist

Barclays has announced that it has formed a new three-year partnership with FirstAssist, replacing its previous partnership with Aviva. Barclays customers taking out travel cover from the bank will now have their coverage provided by FirstAssist, the new travel insurance provider. Barclays General Insurance and External Relationships Director Rob Clarkson described FirstAssist as a specialist, [...]

October 25, 2010 | 1 Comment More

Banks see travel insurance boost

Consumers seeking travel insurance are increasingly going to their current account providers to find it, according to a new survey from YouGov SixthSense. Comprehensive travel insurance has recently seen its profile in the public consciousness increase dramatically, due largely to the unprecedented volcanic disruption to airlines and kept in the public eye by industrial action. [...]

October 6, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Arc secures Aviva legal assistance contract

Arc Legal Assistance has been appointed by Aviva to provide household and travel legal expenses to a significant proportion of the insurance giant’s personal lines customers. According to Arc, the deal represents one of the largest contracts of its kind in the UK market, as Aviva currently insures one in five households. The agreement, which [...]

September 10, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Airline passengers lose long-delay compensation right

UK air passengers can no longer claim compensation from airlines for long flight delays. According to a BBC report, the right has been suspended by the High Court. In November of last year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the damage sustained by air passengers in cases of long delay is comparable with [...]

August 17, 2010 | 0 Comments More

World First Travel Insurance enjoys record year

World First Travel Insurance, the travel insurance specialist, has announced a quartet of new appointments. The appointments follow a period of phenomenal growth for the firm, which has seen business growth exceeding 400% during the course of the last 12 months. This record growth has occurred despite a number of challenging events, such as the [...]

August 3, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Travellers urged to be wary of airline failure

Airline insolvency is an issue largely ignored by travellers when booking tickets, new research from Ipsos Mori on behalf of the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) has revealed. Of the 2,072 people surveyed only five considered the matter when booking tickets, a perhaps surprisingly small number given that 65 airlines have collapsed since the financial [...]

July 29, 2010 | 0 Comments More

World First tips for choosing the right travel policy

World First has drawn up a series of tips aimed at helping those about to purchase travel insurance. According to the firm there’s a lot to consider before buying a policy and going for the cheapest isn’t necessarily the best option. Managing partner, Martin Rothwell, explains: “I’d urge people to … speak to specialists in [...]

July 21, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Travellers spend hours researching insurance

Travel insurer World First has discovered that travellers seeking specific insurance coverage can spend as much as six hours acquiring it, longer than the time it takes to fly to Greece. Those with more complicated insurance needs average 12 calls to insurers, according to World First, with calls taking up 25 minutes, plus 15 minutes [...]

July 19, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Travel insurers pay out £5.3m a week

Travel insurers have been spending £5.3 million a week helping Britons who fall ill abroad. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the cost of becoming ill overseas hit a record high last year, with medical expenses claims having leapt by over 270%, compared with five years ago. In all 366,000 claims were settled [...]

July 17, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Travellers urged to take out insurance

UK holidaymakers looking to cut costs are being advised by Post Office Travel Insurance to browse their travel insurance options thoroughly. Last year the number of overseas holidays taken by Britons declined by 14.5% as travellers sought to save money by taking fewer holidays or just staying in the UK. Regardless of the longevity of [...]

July 15, 2010 | 0 Comments More

Travel insurance gaps plugged by ProtectMyHoliday

Travel insurance policy gaps are being successfully filled by ProtectMyHoliday.com, the financial protection website. Defaqto has recently found that more than three quarters (77%) of travel insurance products do not provide financial protection, leaving travellers exposed should airlines and other travel-related firms become insolvent. The CAA does provide ATOL Protection, but this is only applicable [...]

July 13, 2010 | 0 Comments More