How to protect your holiday booking when it’s not a package
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With more and more of us booking holidays that are made up of many different parts as opposed to a full package holiday, it is becoming more and more important to ensure that you have adequate financial cover should anything go wrong, such as the collapse of a company.
Many customers were left high and dry with the end of well known names such as XL.com, Zoom, Flyglobespan and the Libra Holidays brand as they did not have sufficient cover to help them avoid financial loss of the loss of their holiday.
And with the recent volcano problems, many companies are facing huge bills to reimburse expenses to passengers as well as slow booking levels which could affect their ability to continue trading and lead to company collapses.
There are now a number of ways to protect yourself against the problems that this may bring to your plans. Here is a quick guide to help you buy the right product.
Travel Insurance with ‘Supplier Failure’
Recently many companies have introduced a clause in their policy that covers you for end supplier failure. So if an airline you have booked a ticket on goes under, you can either receive a refund of your trip should your holiday be dependent on that flight, or be able to claim the extra you need to spend to keep your holiday on track. The same would apply to a hotel booked or maybe a tour you had arranged as part of your plans. There is always an excess, however it is a small price to pay rather than lose your hard earned holiday.
The comparison service offered on our site includes a number of companies that have ‘Supplier Failure’ as part of their policies. This is detailed on the DETAILS section of each policy with some including this cover free of charge. Look out for companies such as Insure With Ease, Protect Your Bubble, Swiftcover, Columbus, MRL Travel Insurance, OUL Direct and Multitrip. Not all policies include this option, especially the cheaper ones, so be sure to check the details section for cover levels.
Travel Insurance with ‘Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance’ (SAFI)
This cover is limited to airline bookings only and there are some airlines that an insurer will not cover you for. It is either included within the policy detail itself or is sold as an add on to the main policy during the purchase process. This costs around £4 for a single trip and £7 for an annual policy.
Stand alone ‘Supplier Failure’ is also available and can be tailored to meet your needs. A company called Protectmyholiday.com offers the ability to build up a policy to cover as much or as little of your trip as you like. Prices start from around £4 per person.
Finally you should always pay for your arrangements using a credit card or Visa Debit card. This gives you protection under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 when your purchase price is over £100 or through the Visa Chargeback scheme.