With the chaos that has surrounded the opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5, and the late Easter school holidays upon us, families are looking to take a break and the issue of baggage being lost or delayed is prominent.When travelling abroad, if your luggage is lost or delayed and you need to purchase items such as a change of clothes, hygiene products or any other necessary items, you would expect your insurance policy to reimburse you. Similarly, if your flight was delayed you would expect your insurance policy to provide some form of compensation for you being stuck in the airport lounge.

Defaqto has looked into the single trip travel insurance market to see what cover is provided for lost and delayed baggage as well as being delayed at an airport. The research noted:

•  14% of single trip policies do not provide any cover for delayed baggage.
•  40% of single trip policies only provide a maximum cover of £100 or less for delayed baggage.
•  40% of single trip policies only provide a maximum cover of £100 or less for compensation for flights being delayed.
•  74% of single trip policies provide £20 or less for the first 12 hours of being delayed at the airport.
•  82% of single trip policies provide £20 or less for the each subsequent 12 hours of being delayed at the airport.

Mike Powell, Consultant for General Insurance at Defaqto, said:  “With the problems that have occurred with the opening of Terminal 5 and the fact that there has been widespread reports in the media of people not being able to collect their luggage and flights being cancelled or delayed, consumers do not always consider what cover is provided by their travel insurance policy for these types of eventualities. It is therefore important to check what is provided by a travel insurance policy before purchasing cover.”

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For further information contact:

Defaqto Limited          

Insight person, Chris Johnston or Luci Mylward

01844 295 454

Valentine’s Day is a chance to demonstrate your love by a gift to your loved one or by whisking them away for a romantic holiday. However, without proper insurance, what starts as a happy day could turn into a nightmare if things go wrong.

If you are planning to give your beloved something expensive you need to make sure that both of you are properly insured. Insuring expensive items when they are taken outside the house is covered by “personal possessions” insurance which is either built in as standard or can be purchased as an optional extra to the home insurance policy. Without this cover, any item of value that is lost or stolen away from the home is not covered. So, if you are intending to propose in a beautiful setting and you lose your nerve or the ring, you can be comforted that you will have another opportunity at a later date without having to dip into your savings.

If you are planning a romantic holiday abroad, the importance of taking out travel insurance is well known, even if it is for only a few days. Costs of medical treatment overseas can be very variable and loss of baggage could prove very expensive without proper cover. Single trip policies can be purchased online and there are many retail outlets, banks and building societies which offer competitive cover.

What is less well known is what happens if something goes wrong when you are travelling to a destination in the UK. If you have already purchased an annual travel policy, It is important to note that with some annual policies, in order for cover to be provided you must have pre-booked at least 2 nights accommodation in a hotel, guest house or the like.

Mike Powell, Consultant - General Insurance at Defaqto said: “By taking a few minutes to check your insurance cover, you can cover your losses from unforeseen problems and help ensure that you and your loved one have a Valentine’s Day to remember, for all the best reasons.”

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For further information contact:

Defaqto Limited 

Mike Powell, Chris Johnston or Luci Mylward

01844 295 454

Despite many European resorts reporting excellent skiing conditions, things can still go wrong when you take to the slopes. Equipment can go missing, pistes can be closed or avalanches can disrupt  travel arrangements, so skiers are advised to check the cover offered before buying winter sports travel insurance, says Defaqto.Single trip insurance cover can either be purchased as a standard winter sports policy, but can also be obtained by adding on the winter sports option to an ordinary single trip policy. If you do this, you can expect to pay the same again for the privilege. Skiers planning to go skiing more than once a year should consider an annual policy.

If an avalanche delays departure to or from your resort, nearly 80% of policies pay some level of compensation, with around one in five paying £200, around one in ten paying £500 and one paying a massive £1,000.

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