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07 February 2012 | Sign In
Time for mandatory travel insurance
A silver lining in the ash cloud?
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Eugene Gold Saturday 24 April 2010 |
If the ash storm teaches us anything, it is that travel insurance should be mandatory. I would not have said this a month ago but I have been shocked by the financial and human consequences of the volcanic ash storm. I have come to the view that airlines should offer comprehensive insurance and, if you do not take it, and you do not have your own insurance, then you simply will not be covered.
The imposition of liability onto the airlines (the EU261/2004 Regulation) is bad law. It was intended to make airlines responsible for the costs of their own failures. It was not intended, or probably even anticipated, to be a sticking plaster for a disaster way outside of their control.
The (or I will say my proposed) insurance would not have any Act of God exclusions and so would cover any and every event. Yes, it would add a not-insignificant cost to air travel but it would mean that the costs of disruptions and disasters would always be covered. Families would be able to travel knowing that they would be able to get home and/or would have their accommodation and meals paid for in an overseas location.
This ash cloud may yet have a silver lining if we can learn from it and put the correct procedures in place for the future.
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Peter Lambert, Lincoln 1 May 2010, 12:53PM | |
Absolutely yes. I want to be able to pay say £50 up front and know that if this stuff happens then I am covered without all the crap and arguments about who was to blame. | |
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Andrea Wilson, Sutton 1 May 2010, 02:04PM | |
100% right. It is totally unfair to expect families to be out of pocket after something like this as long as they did not bring it on themselves. If I buy the recommended insurance then I expect it to cover the costs. OK, if I take the risk and don't take the insurance then it is down to me and I cannot expect anyone else to pay. But the insurance must be comprehensive with no small print exclusions. | |
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Mrs Chan, Ipswich 4 May 2010, 12:30PM | |
Agreed. We must have something that you can rely on. I want to know the cost up front when I book the holiday. If we were expected to pay for hotels and meals for an extra 5 days at the end of our holiday we would not be able to. We have two kids and only just make our money last to the end of the fortnight. | |
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Lindsey Page, Burton on Trent 4 May 2010, 01:33PM | |
We are being held to ransom by the insurance companies. They take the money and then do not pay out on things that really matter. When they do pay out on small things they make it harder to get insurance next time or put the prices up. Some people cheat and get away with it and we need to stop that 'victimless crime' culture. If it was not for the current crap government, I would say that we should make this a national fund for disasters like wind and floods etc. | |
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Yes, mandatory insurance is a good idea. It works for cars and motoring and so should work for air travel. Getting stuck overseas after a problem is no fun. I would be in favour of a properly controlled and regulated (I know you probably cannot trust the regulators to get it right) policy. | |
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Ken Winston, Norwich 11 May 2010, 06:24AM | |
I like the idea but can we really see it working? There is too many vested interests that would want to make money out of it and we would end up paying in and then not getting the cover when it was really needed. | |
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Christopher, Sevenoaks 11 May 2010, 04:39PM | |
I always buy travel insurance, so making it mandatory would be fine with me. Insurance companies just need to be upfront and clear on exactly what is covered and excluded. | |
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John Daniels, Sidcup 26 May 2010, 11:52AM | |
Britain's biggest insurer Aviva has announced that it will be offering customers an optional add-on to protect against ash cloud delays and cancellations - and other insurers may soon follow suit. This makes mandatory insurance more worthwhile. | |
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Rhonda Wills, United Kingdom 9 June 2010, 03:54PM | |
Cuba have taken a big step in protecting visitors to their country with mandatory travel insurance--this may seem like a drastic step on the surface, but if you have ever been abroad and been in need of medical care without insurance you would understand. Due to the ash crisis we should defiantly follow suit just as long as exclusions are clear to all. | |
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