If ever there was a reason to ensure your travel insurance protects you for UK travel, as well as overseas, it was this week.
As many delegates attending the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow earlier this week quickly realised when they found themselves severely delayed – or even missing part of the event – after storms caused chaos across London’s train network.
Additionally, dozens of attendees and other travellers were forced to sleep on the floor of London’s Euston station after a fallen tree had brought down overhead lines and cancelled all trains.
Those affected by the disruption with travel insurance in place could have been entitled to claim for a delay benefit and possibly the cost for additional accommodation too.
Some UK-specific (or even staycation) policies allow travellers to claim for a benefit if the arrival to their trip destination is delayed by several hours. Sometimes, this can be a benefit of up to £500 depending on the length of time you have been delayed, although this limit will vary from provider to provider.
It’s also worth being aware that trip delay benefits are not always included in UK-specific policies as standard, so if this is important to you, we’d recommend keeping an eye out for this protection. If cover is included it may be worded like: “we will pay £XX for every X hour period you are delayed to your trip destination, up to a maximum of £XXX”.
As ever, cover will differ from provider to provider, so it’s important to check that the policy you buy suits your specific needs. It’s worth noting, travellers get 14 days from purchasing a policy to check through and ensure it’s the right cover for you, if not, you can cancel it and receive a full refund, provided you have not travelled using it.
