Travel Insurance for DIY Holidays

Vin2300

I have spent quite a lot of time searching the web for useful advice relating to travel insurance for diy holidays, but there really seems to be remarkably little on the subject.

I have booked two weeks in Portugal this summer with separate flights (Easyjet), separate accommodation (Sunshine.co.uk) and separate transfers (Resorthoppa). I have done searches on a few comparison websites and then tried to check the resulting policy summaries, but i am finding it very difficult to know whether any of them are suitable.

I gather (from reading Martin's advice on the main pages of this site and another couple of articles) that the most important issue is 'knock-on consequences' such as a cancelled flight meaning you need to claim money back for accommodation you have paid for but haven been able to reach. Martin's guide suggests policies which specifically cover 'indirect loss' are required.

I have had a good look through the small print on a number of policies and cannot find any reference to indirect loss or any other section that looks like it would cover such losses. For instance i found there was even one site which specifically said it was tailored towards diy holidays - http://www.diyholidayinsurance.com/ - and yet i am not sure after reading their small print that they cover indirect losses. A colleague at work recommended i go with Direct Travel, but i could tell if they covered indirect losses either.

Am i just looking for the wrong thing? Can anyone give me any guidance on what i should be looking for in the policy wording? Or indeed make any recommendations?

davidlizard

Went through a similar exercise myself a couple of months back. All the advice on the internet screams that many insurance policies are tailored towards package holidays and this can leave independent travellers up the creek if things go pear shaped, especially with the flights, yet there seems to be precious little in the way of actual policies that are tailored towards diy travel.

Indirect losses as you point out is the cover required, yet this term comes up on the standard disclaimer for just about every travel insurance website.

Here is my original post and some helpful hints that I got back. I ended up going with Swiftcover and taking out their Scheduled Airline Failure cover, and arranging the rest of my holiday so that I would not be too much out of pocket if the flights and ferries went belly up.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2086541&highlight=

McAzrael

The way to cover yourself against this is to buy a package from an ATOL bonded holiday company. There is a saving to be made, along with greater flexibility, by DIYing it, but this comes with additional risk. Many of us think it is worth the risk, and as davidlizard points out you can take care with your hotel and car bookings to limit you losses should your airline let you down, but if you still find it to be too much risk to take then I would suggest that you look again at packages.

In the meantime, look at the saving you have made by DIYing it (and try to put a value on the increased flexibility if this applies), multiply it over several holidays and you may just find that you need to have quite a few airlines let you down over the years to make not pay. This won't help your temper the day you are sat in the airport having waited 50 weeks for a bit of sunshine, the kids are 'acting up', there's no one around to tell you what's going on, you're cold, tired and grumpy, and not only is it dawning on you that thanks to the airline going into administration you're not going to be going anywhere, but neither is the rental car you paid for in advance three months ago.

Vin2300

davidlizard wrote: »

Here is my original post and some helpful hints that I got back. I ended up going with Swiftcover and taking out their Scheduled Airline Failure cover, and arranging the rest of my holiday so that I would not be too much out of pocket if the flights and ferries went belly up.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2086541&highlight=

Thanks. Very useful.

I do find it amazing that there isnt more insurance companies arent offering suitable policies, or specifically calling policies 'independent' or 'diy', rather than us having to trawl through the smallprint. I appreciate they may be more expensive, but surely there is a market for it? Perhaps they just make more money selling cheap unsuitable policies and never paying out.

Vin2300

McAzrael wrote: »

The way to cover yourself against this is to buy a package from an ATOL bonded holiday company.

The same holiday was £2000 with Thomson. I have paid £1170 and got £65 cashback in the process. No contest.

donnawood

Vin2300 wrote: »

Thanks. Very useful.

I do find it amazing that there isnt more insurance companies arent offering suitable policies, or specifically calling policies 'independent' or 'diy', rather than us having to trawl through the smallprint. I appreciate they may be more expensive, but surely there is a market for it? Perhaps they just make more money selling cheap unsuitable policies and never paying out.

Problem is frankly like everything we purchase in life, we strive to get things as cheap as possible. Some learn by paying more especially with insurance that in the majority of cases you get more cover, I know that recently from a large car claim. The fact is the cheaper policies cut out many sections of cover like scheduled Airline Failure Insurance or DIY / End Supplier Financial Failure insurance simply because it adds to the cost of the policy especially in these times of financial uncertainty.

Having browsed the web myself I found many travel insurance policies including either cover for Scheduled Airline Failure (SAFI) and or financial failure for other elements of the holiday such as hotels, car hire, trains, ferries etc. Here are the ones I found

AA Travel Insurance
Columbus Travel Insurance
Direct Line Travel Insurance
O2 Travel Insurance
Direct Travel Insurance
EasyJet Travel Insurance
British Airways Travel Insurance
Post Office Travel Insurance
Flybe Travel Insurance
Saga Travel Insurance
BIBA Travel Insurance
AIG Direct Travel Insurance

There were others through comparison engines which say they do and they dont when you read the wording, so you have to check their wording.

I also found the only website that offers a stand alone insurance which you can buy in addition to your travel insurance policy to cover financial failure of the airline and other parts of the holiday at www.protectmyholiday.com

Hope this helps

D Wood
:A

richardw

...and when you find a policy that looks suitable, check the excess to see if it applies per person and not per booking.

FH_Brit

Donna - great advice and some good companies in your list.

Vin, if you are not sure - and you like the look of a policy, call and ask them - they may add at a small increase to your policy.

Beware Are Easyjet considered Scheduled or Charter. Schedule does not just mean a timetabled departure. If your flight (airlines can run charter and scheduled) is charter then having SAFI is a waste of money (like having house insurance when you are homeless!)