Covid: Holidaymakers warned to check details on travel insurance

Policies offered by 73 travel insurance providers were found to give a false impression about the level of protection they would receive if the pandemic were to affect their holiday plans.

Which? research revealed the use of confusing blanket terms on insurers’ websites such as ‘Covid Cover’ or even ‘Enhanced Covid Cover’ led a majority of people interviewed to believe they would be covered should the government’s travel advice change after their trip was booked.

And 47 per cent thought their policy would cover them with a range of scenarios in the event that local or national lockdowns prevented travel, or airlines and travel companies postponed their travel but failed to offer a cash refund.

However, when the offending policies were analysed cover for these eventualities was very rare, with large discrepancies as to what precisely they policy included.

News consumer expert Richard Thomson said the ongoing threat of travel disruption posed by the Covid pandemic required insurers to present their policies setting out boldly the degree of cover provided by the policy.

‘Getting the right insurance cover is a top priority for holidaymakers,’ he said. ‘It’s important they’re not caught out by the very real chance they’ll be confused by the insurers’ sales pitch and hung out to dry again this summer.’