Know Your Consumer Rights Regarding Travel Insurance

World Consumer Rights Day falls on 15th March each year. It aims to raise global awareness of consumer rights, protection, and empowerment. So, we thought we’d raise awareness of the consumer rights we all have when purchasing travel insurance for a trip.

Consumer rights do exist to protect people who buy travel insurance. As a business, we follow up-to-date practices and compliance procedures to operate as a transparent and trustworthy travel insurance provider. For a start, P J Hayman is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference number 497103. You can look a firm up on the FCA register to find out the details of their regulatory status.

Travel Insurance is an important purchase, and you should be aware of your consumer rights before purchasing a policy. In this article, we aim to remove any concerns! We will explain how travel insurance works, how to protect yourself, and what your consumer rights are after purchasing a policy.

What is travel insurance?

While dreaming of long sandy beaches, the warm sun upon your face and the sound of waves is a wistful thing to do. What you may not envisage is the unexpected challenges or events that could occur on your trip. Travel insurance may provide the extra protection needed to shield your dreams of a well-deserved holiday – from the moment you book it!

Simply put, travel insurance covers unknown and unforeseen events. Things that may occur before your departure date, such as illness and natural disasters. It also covers mishaps and emergencies that may arise while you’re away from home. Although we’re content listing the best things to see, do, and pack before our departure, it’s always a good idea to make travel insurance one of the top things on your list.

As Martin Lewis recommends – buy a policy As Soon As You Book (ASAYB) to make sure you have cover in place in case you need to cancel your trip.

Why is travel insurance important?

There are many benefits of taking out travel insurance before your trip (when buying it immediately after you’ve made the final financial commitment).

The top reasons why travel insurance is important.

1. Travel insurance can protect expensive trips and holidays.
2. Not being covered for emergency medical treatment and hospitalisation abroad can have serious consequences. For a start, you’ll have to foot the bill yourself! Thus, if you live with a medical condition and/or disability, take out a specialist travel insurance policy. Free Spirit Travel Insurance, covers most pre-existing medical conditions and disabilities.
3. Sourcing a travel insurance policy that includes COVID Curtailment and Cancellation Cover is a solution. So, consider taking out Travel Plus Travel Insurance.

Read our previous post which provides a more detailed explanation of why travel insurance is a good idea.

Seven ways to protect yourself before purchasing travel insurance

1. Check that the destination/s you wish to visit are safe.

Check if a country is safe by visiting The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) website for up-to-date travel advice. The FCDO also states what your passenger consumer rights are when travelling to the EU.

In contrast, if you need to visit an unsafe destination (one in the middle of a global conflict) most standard travel insurance policies won’t pay out on claims or provide cancellation cover. If you (or someone you know) need cover to visit a high-risk country Voyager Insurance Services Ltd can assist.

2. Purchase a package holiday or cruise that includes ATOL Protection or has ABTA Protection or similar.

All businesses selling package holidays have to offer protection to stop people from losing money. Should the UK travel company you’re buying from go into administration, the organiser has to protect your money and bring you home if necessary.

3. Ensure the policy has all the coverage you need for the trip.

Find insurance that covers all your activities or hazardous pursuits such as Adventures Travel Insurance. Also, read what financial level of cover your policy will provide.

Plus, note what type of cover your policy offers for the following, (which are unexpected reasons why you may need to cancel a trip):

• An accident or medical emergency before departure.
• Unexpected illness.
• Family bereavement for a close family member.
• Pregnancy (although unknown when you purchased the policy).
• Jury service or witness summons.
• A home emergency such as an unprecedented fire, storm, flood, or burglary.
• Sudden redundancy.
• Bad weather that affects your departure from a flight or ship.

4. Decide upon the most suitable policy type.

The types of travel insurance policies include:

• Single trip policies for one-off trips.
• Annual multi-trip policies that provide cover for many trips over 12 months.
• A policy that provides cover for extended trips for up to (or over) 12 months, such as Longstay & Backpacker.

5. Note the amount that’s paid out for cancellation cover.

Is the figure higher or lower than the cost of your trip? For instance, cancellation cover maybe £1,500. However, if the cost of your trip is £3,000, you may wish to find an alternative policy or refer to Top Up My Cover, which provides cover for more luxurious trips.

6. Read the policy’s terms and conditions in full.

Understand what you’re covered for and not covered for, and why the insurer will not pay out if X should occur. Refer to The Insurance Product Information Document (IPID). An IPID comes with each policy wording to provide a clear and concise overview of what is/is not covered. You can find all of P J Hayman’s product IPIDs in the literature library.

7. Pay for everything over £100 with a credit card.

You may actively do this. However, you may not be aware of Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Section 75 states that when a transaction is made over £100 (and up to £30,000) your credit card company is equally liable to the seller – if something should go wrong.

What are your consumer rights when purchasing travel insurance?

With any insurance policy, you have the right to change your mind and cancel but there’s a time limit.

Is there a cooling-off period for travel insurance?

Yes, there is. By law, you should have a minimum 14-day cooling-off period where you can review your travel insurance and cancel for any reason. You might not get a refund if you have already travelled on the policy or are intending to make a claim.

Your consumer rights after purchasing travel insurance

Can I get a refund if I cancel my travel insurance?

This will depend on who you have purchased a policy from and whether it is a single trip or annual multi trip policy. If you have travelled or made a claim, you might not be entitled to a refund especially if it is a single trip policy.

Consumer rights misleading information

‘Sometimes consumers may think the policy has been mis-sold because their claim hasn’t been paid. When we’re investigating these complaints, we’ll look at the claims complaint first and then consider if they have been mis-sold the policy. But in some cases, the insurer not paying a claim may not mean the policy was mis-sold to you.’ (The Financial Ombudsman).

Remember that cancellation claims require:

• A cancellation invoice to illustrate that the trip was cancelled or cut short. This could come from the travel agent, hotel, airline, or tour operator.
• Evidence of any refund or credit, that the supplier has given as part of the reimbursement.

What if the weather or accommodation is bad?

Unfortunately, that’s just bad luck. Unless a serious natural disaster such as a hurricane took place before/during your break, travel insurance won’t provide cover for loss of enjoyment.

However, if you booked a holiday package, contact the tour operator! They should have described your accommodation accurately, under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements.

Claiming on travel insurance

When taking out a quality travel insurance policy, you should be able to claim for the following:

• Cancellation or cutting short your trip.
• Delayed flights, missed departures, or connections.
• Emergency medical expenses.
• Loss of Baggage, Personal Money, and travel documents.
• Claims on your gadgets.

Remember that all claims will require:

• Evidence that the trip took place to confirm all costs, this includes the trip booking.
• All receipts and/or invoices that relate to the claim.
• The travel insurance policy schedule (single or annual) will provide the date the trip started and finished.

However, be aware that a travel insurance claim will be declined if the following occurs:

• If you didn’t inform the insurer of all the information requested such as existing medical conditions.
• You’re not able to provide evidence of a lost item.
• You visited a destination not covered by the policy. Check the rules regarding stopovers.
• You exceed the trip limits.
• A country’s rules or laws were not followed.
• You stayed away from home for longer than the period of insurance covered by the policy. Always provide the correct date you intend on returning home and stick to it.
• Some policies might not cover medical treatment in a private healthcare setting. So, contact the medical assistance team before undergoing any treatment.
• Your expensive items have exceeded the maximum amount on the policy in which case, you would be left with a shortfall.

Understand P J Hayman’s claims process in detail.

Although travel is an exciting experience, always be honest, vigilant, and take care to look after yourself and your belongings.

Tip: Before making a complaint to an insurer, remember to recheck your policy terms and conditions.

Consumer Rights and complaints

We all have a right to complain! At P J Hayman we take all complaints seriously, view our terms of business agreement for more information.

However, if your provider is unable to settle your complaint, you can (if eligible) refer it to the Financial Ombudsman in writing, by e-mail, or by phone. For full details, visit the Financial Ombudsman website.

The different types of travel insurance complaints the financial ombudsman reviews include:

• Complaints regarding a change in health post-purchase.
• Missed departures, delays, and abandonment.
• Medical expenses and repatriation (if your provider was unable to pay for your travel expenses home).
• Policy excess and limits.
• Complaints that involve Coronavirus.

View each complaint in detail.

Know your consumer rights. Travel, with confidence!

We hope we’ve answered any questions you had about travel insurance and highlighted what your consumer rights are when purchasing a travel insurance policy.

Source or suggest one of our specialist policies from our portfolio, to travel, with confidence.

If you still have queries, contact our friendly travel insurance experts.