Since the Ryanair chaos in 2017, holidaymakers have had a bad run of events with transport links, from system failures to extreme weather. This has left passengers feeling frustrated and unsure of what cover is available if they are delayed.
This year alone has seen; bank holiday strikes, engineering works and storms all causing disruption to journey’s in and out of the UK. With this mind it’s a good idea to know what cover to look for in your travel insurance policy.
Most travel insurers will cover delays under the ‘trip disruption’ section in the policy wording, however it’s important to make sure you check your cover carefully as the cover level is likely to vary between travel insurance providers.
Generally speaking, as long as you have checked in on time, your travel insurance may offer a small amount of compensation for additional expenses such as food and refreshments if your transport is delayed. Most travel insurance policies will cover you for every 12 hours you are delayed, but there are a few policies that will offer to pay out after a 6-hour delay – so this may be something to look out for.
If you are delayed for more than 24-hours and decide you no longer want to go on your trip, your travel insurance may offer to cover the cost of any pre-paid holiday expenses that are not refundable from another source.
So, what happens if you are delayed and miss your departure?
The majority of travel insurance policies will offer cover for missed departure as standard however, there are likely to be limitations.
If you are delayed due to disruption of public transport or the vehicle you are travelling in breaks down or is involved in an accident your travel insurance is likely to cover the cost of alternative transport for you to catch up with your itinerary – but many policies will not offer cover if you are stuck in traffic and miss your departure!
Having said that, there are a couple of policies that will offer cover for missed departure if you are stuck in an unexpected traffic jam but have allowed a reasonable amount of time to allow for delays, so keep this in mind the next time you are buying travel insurance.