Booking a holiday but worried about swine flu?

MSE_Martin

Q. I’m booking a holiday abroad, but can I get my money back if a country gets swine flu?

Martin's A. The key is the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) advice. If it warns against non-essential travel to a destination (as it has to Mexico), then first take the matter up with your tour operator or travel agent. If it's ABTA registered, it should offer an alternative holiday, or if not, give you a full refund. You won't be entitled to any additional compensation, as the events are out of tour operators' hands. And your travel insurer should cover you for the new destination.

If the tour operator can’t/won’t help, the next port of call is your travel insurer. If you've a policy with cancellation cover, most have terms that should pay out if the country's been deemed unsafe by the FCO, though policies vary, so check in advance. If you’ve not booked via a travel agent, just booked a flight, it’s still a question of going to the insurer. If there is no FCO warning about the country, then you have very few additional rights to demand compensation other than your usual standard ones.

If the worst happens and you actually contract swine flu on holiday, you should be covered under the medical section of your insurance policy for repatriation, unless you're travelling against the government's recommendation. As you can tell by my slightly fudged answer, the real answer here is “it depends”, so always check with the travel company and insurer if you’re worried.



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richardw

MSE_Martin wrote: »

If the worst happens and you actually contract swine flu on holiday, you should be covered under the medical section of your insurance policy for repatriation, unless you're travelling against the government's recommendation. As you can tell by my slightly fudged answer, the real answer here is “it depends”, so always check with the travel company and insurer if you’re worried.

Worth noting that the EHIC doesn't include for repatriation http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/Pages/About.aspx and travel insurance is needed.