Independent Traveller Cover
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
JS Insurance launches New Independent Travellers Insurance for growing market of ‘go-it-alone’ holidaymakers
Despite the increasing economic gloom, the holiday season is approaching and millions of Brits will be preparing to travel abroad over the winter months. But AXA warns that increasing numbers of people arranging their own holidays may be leaving themselves exposed despite taking out travel insurance.
Over the last few years the number of Independent Travellers has overtaken the number of Package Holiday Travellers. Internet access and low-cost airlines have helped escalate this trend – in 2006 over 16 million Independent Travellers headed overseas for holidays between November and March.
However, insurance provision has not kept pace with the changing profile of the British holidaymaker and Independent Travellers can find that there are gaps in their insurance cover which AXA are addressing with their Independent Travellers Cover extension.
The new product is available with the AXA Superplus and AXA Annual Policies (with or without Winter Sports Cover).
It covers travellers for a number of areas such as problems with flight cancellations or delays, missed connections or the customer being denied boarding.
With a package holiday the tour operator or travel agent is required to make suitable alternative arrangements, such as the provision of alternative flights due to the regulations that they operate under. No such protection is given to Independent Travellers, hence the need for this new cover launched by AXA.
The additional cover offered by this product includes:
- Cancellation or curtailment costs or expenses if the FCO issue a directive prohibiting travel to or recommending evacuation from your destination forcing you to cancel or curtail your trip. In such situations those on a package holiday would have had their holiday rearranged by their tour operator/agent, whereas independent travellers would have been reimbursed by the airline for their flight but any other expenses such as accommodation, transfers and excursions would not be covered by standard travel insurance.
- Delayed departure compensation payable for delays exceeding 5 hours occurring at the departure point of any connecting flights on both the outbound and return journeys.
- Cancellation costs if you cancel your trip, or additional expenses to reach your destination because your flight from the UK was cancelled, delayed for more than 5 hours or you were denied boarding due to the flight being overbooked
- Additional expenses to reach your destination if you are delayed and miss any onward connecting flights or other public transport
- Unused accommodation costs or additional expenses if your trip is affected by insolvency of the accommodation providers, natural disasters such as fire, flood, earthquake or an outbreak of food poisoning or an infectious disease affecting your accommodation or resort.