Source: Radio New Zealand
Travellers are being warned to check what they are actually covered for by insurance. RNZ
Travellers are being warned to check what they are actually covered for by insurance if they cancel travel plans due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Karen Stevens said people should make sure they understood what they could claim for before they cancelled their insurance policies.
The conflict had closed many areas of airspace and meant a number of flights had been cancelled.
Many travel policies do not cover anything to do with the outbreak of war, civil disobedience or riot. That includes flights, accommodation or rebooking costs.
“I think most people don’t think about how the insurance is going to respond before they cancel,” Stevens said.
“They’ve got to be very careful before they just go ahead and cancel things.”
She said people should talk to their airlines first, or their accommodation providers, to see if they could get a refund or credit, or change their arrangements.
“A lot of people are still travelling or want to continue to travel, it’s just that because of the travel alerts and so forth and because of what’s going on in the Middle East they can’t go that way.
“But a much better suggestion for them is to actually start with the airline than it is to just cancel and then think that they can rely on the insurance cover because in most cases they will not be able to.”
Insurance would also not cover situations where people cancelled out of concern.
She said her scheme had dealt with many situations in which people had changed their minds about travelling and not been able to claim.
Stevens said she expected to receive complaints.
“I think to try and avoid those complaints, the best thing people can do is understand what they are covered for before they make any claims or before they decide to do anything about the travel arrangements. They really need to know if the insurer is going to provide the cover or they’re going to say an outright no as soon as the claim is made.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
