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Holidaymakers slate insurance firms over volcanic disruption

April 16, 2010 by Reno  
Filed under News, News-Insurance

1 Comment

Thousands of UK holidaymakers and business travellers have had their plans disrupted following the volcanic ash cloud that has swept across from Iceland, affecting both the UK and neighbouring European destinations. For the first time British air space was effectively closed down due to the risk of damage to plane engines.

However, this left many people stranded in airports and unable to travel, and for many a major concern was being able to get their money back. Whilst airlines have been offering refunds to those that cannot travel because of the natural disaster, there is no compensation available for those that booked DIY holidays in terms of accommodation costs and car hire.

DIY holidaymakers could now end up getting a very raw deal, as although they will get their flight money back they could stand to lose a fortune in accommodation and car hire costs, as well as other related costs such as any excursions that they may have pre-booked.

Many are now turning on their insurance firms, accusing them of hiding behind the defence that the volcano eruption was an ‘act of God’ in order to avoid having to pay compensation to those that have been unable to travel. It is thought that personal losses from the disaster could amount to £20 million, and this is something that insurers will naturally want to avoid paying if they can.

One holidaymaker who was stranded at the airport because of the volcanic disruption said that her insurance company had already said that they would not be paying for her financial losses.

The customer said: ‘We rang our insurance company and they said it was an “act of God”, so they won’t cover us – we’re stuffed.’

Tags: insurance firms, Insurance, disaster, travel, holiday

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Comments

One Response to “Holidaymakers slate insurance firms over volcanic disruption”
  1. Wedding Insurance says:
    April 16, 2010 at 9:47 pm

    Are travel insurance companies really not paying out as a result of the volcanic activity in Iceland? That’s pretty mean of them. It’s lead me to wonder what views of the wedding insurance companies are. I’m sure many weddings, both in the UK and abroad have been affected by the closure of UK airspace. Guests may not be able to make it to UK weddings and wedding parties may not be able to travel for weddings booked abroad. If the wedding insurance companies are taking the same view, some couples may end up losing many thousands of pounds as well as having their big day ruined.

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