Totally Insured launches terrorism delays policy
An independent financial adviser claims to have launched the UK’s first travel insurance product to cover delays in the event of a terrorist attack.
Totally Insured Travel, part of the Totally Insured Group, said the product would cover costs for additional travel, overnight accommodation, alternative re-ticketing and subsistence if a terrorism or security-related delay spans more than six hours.
Managing director Ron Moonesinghe said: “It is the first and only one of its kind and took 18 months to develop simply because of the difficulty of finding an underwriter to take the first steps in the post 9/11 era.”
Moonesinghe said the company had been turned down by many underwriters, including some in the Lloyd’s market, because there was limited data on the risks associated with the policy.
The company found an insurer in Gibraltar, Professional Travel Insurance – also regulated in the UK – to underwrite the product.
The product does not replace travel insurance. It can be purchased as an add-on to an existing policy, or as a stand-alone product.
The company hopes to sell two million policies in its first year of business.
The product will be distributed through travel agents and brokers at 25% commission.
