Travel insurance covering Volcanic Ash Clouds and wildcat strikes launched!
Publication date: 12th
July 2010
Subjects: volcanic, ash, cloud, ba, lava, strike, travel insurance, cancellation, delay
Welcome to the moneymaxim guide to travel insurance covering volcanic ash cloud and strike action.
Despite the recent lull in volcanic activity from Iceland we are still seeing strong demand for policies that will cover ash clouds, strikes and port or airport closures generally.
The volcanic eruption is currently in a paused phase - which means it is not deemed safe until the tail end of August (providing no further eruptions take place in the meantime). However the event has resulted in insurers developing a new range of policies offering specific cover for hitherto unthought of events including natural disasters, volcanic ash clouds, wildcat strikes, flu pandemics and more besides. Moneymaxim will keep you abreast of the changing landscape.
If you do decide to apply for one of the policies we feature below but can't immediately find details of the 'add on' policies don't worry - start applying for a policy and you will come across it - these companies are launching volcanic add ons faster than they can get their websites redesigned!
Remember that if you put your policy in place today (even if its a single trip policy for a date in the future) you will be covered for cancellation from today - giving you the piece of mind that whatever tomorrows volcano news is your holiday spend is protected. Once a closure of airspace is announced policies bought after that time will not cover that closure.
Summary of Cover
| Company | Cost | Delay Benefit after 12 hours | Abandonment benefit after 24 hours | Other situations covered |
| Columbus Direct | £20 for £4000 of cover (shared across policyholders) |
|
| Cover situations such as unforeseen strikes airline staff or other major weather or natural disasters. Columbus policies also provide Airline Failure cover |
| Direct Travel | Included in policy |
|
| Normal cover and Volcanic Ash | Its So Easy | Included in policy |
|
| Normal Cover, Volcanic Ash, Strike Action and Airline Failure | World First | Included in policy |
|
| Normal cover and Volcanic Ash | Aviva | £5 per trip or £10 per annual policy |
|
| All closures of ports and airports covered for natural disasters, strikes and pandemics |
Price Comparisons
Prices obtained from Company Websites - 5th June 2010
To try to clear up any confusion as to what travel insurance covered policyholders for, Columbus Direct has added a new “Emergency Travel Upgrade” as an option on its gold policy range. This helps passengers pay for alternative ways home in case of being stranded overseas. For more information read our feature on Columbus Direct and their Travel Insurance Upgrade covering Volcanic Ash and Strikes. The upgrade costs £20 per policy and reimburses up to £4,000 of expense.
One of the longstanding good guys in the volcanic ash disruption has been Direct Travel. They have announced they plan to continue considering the ash cloud as a "weather related" event, and therefore will still be honouring claims for missed or delayed departure or abandonment. Again more information can be found in our feature on Direct Travel - Volcanic Ash policies. Be aware that other travel disruption may not be treated in the same way. This is part of the base policy, and no additional fee is payable, therefore probably making this the cheapest insurance policy with volcanic ash cover .
Highlighted on BBC 4's You and Yours programme recent for their cover It's So Easy not only automatically cover volcanic disruption, but also cover for industrial action (provided cover was taken out before the action was announced) and if an airline fails.
They will pay out for trip delay and abandonment cover even if related to volcanic ash.
In the case of delayed departure, a claim can be made for each block of 12 hours' delay.
If someone is delayed for longer than 24 hours, the trip can be abandoned. In that case, the limit covered under the Cancellation section will apply (£3,000 or £5,000 per person, depending on the type of policy purchased). Although airlines should refund air fares if they cancel a flight, there could be many other costs incurred that would, otherwise, be irrecoverable. These could include accommodation, the costs of a cruise, car hire etc.
World First have been long known for the reliability and reassurance they provide those with pre existing medical conditions who are looking for travel insurance. Now they have extended that reassurance to those who are also looking for insurance over volcanic ash disturbance. They are classing each closure of airspace as a new and unforeseen event, so if you buy your travel insurance before a new event arises and are subsequently delayed for over 12 hours because your flight has been cancelled due to this problem, you can claim Travel Delay.
You can then claim Abandonment if you are delayed for more than 24 hours in any alternative travel arrangements offered. You will need to prove that your flight was cancelled for that length of time when claiming.
Policyholders who become stuck abroad due to any new event will have their policies automatically extended until the next available flight is offered.
For more information visit the World First Volcano hub.
Aviva have launched a new upgrade policy, costing £5 per single trip policy for each traveller, or £10 per traveller on annual policies (although for families they will only charge for a maximum of two children) that will cover 'closures of airports or ports' - for any reason from terrorism to the actions of a volcano to pandemic. See our feature more information can be found in our feature on Aviva Travel - Volcanic Ash policies. Aviva cover those up to 79 years old.
Do note that if you are an existing policyholder and have not upgraded to this policy by now you will no longer be given an ex-gratia payment of £250 Aviva previously offered if you are delayed abroad.
Unlike the other companies featured Aviva do not sell the upgrade online - meaning you either need to buy your base policy online (getting a 10% online discount) and then calling to upgrade, or call the company to undertake the whole process on the phone. Aviva are not sure when they will add the ability to buy the upgrade online, saying it may be by the end of July, but could be as far out as September.
We are looking for this guide to be as comprehensive as possible and check the online market regularly (we last checked on the date at the head on this article) to try to make sure we feature all providers. However this is a fast developing market and there may also be suppliers unknown to us. If you are aware of a policy on the market that we are not featuring please let us know and we will approach the company concerned. Insurers and brokers do have the option not to feature on our site if they choose not to.
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