Travel insurer warns booking online is a concern
T5’s troubles have highlighted huge concerns for holidaymakers packaging together their own holiday from the internet – says travel insurance specialist Acumus Travel Solutions.
Their hotel, holiday transfer or car hire may still be charged despite the fact they were languishing waiting for a flight or their luggage.
Independent tourists boast about the price of their holiday, which may be dramatically cheaper than someone else’s. A few quiet days in the middle of the high season can produce surprising last-minute bargains, particularly online - which is great for holiday-makers sourcing airline travel and hotel rooms, perhaps with a hire car from different suppliers.
“But pitfalls occur when something goes awry with one component, such as the huge delays at T5” warns Acumus managing director, John Bibby, whose online insurance company partners with Jet 2, Ryanair, P&O Ferries and Travel City Direct.
"Websites selling packages tend to aggregate from different sources - airline, hotel, transfer company or whatever," he explains. "Once they've booked what they want from each - that's the end of it. Passengers can certainly save money when everything works smoothly but if something goes wrong, these websites don't talk to each other. If a flight is cancelled or suffers the kind of delays we are seeing, the airport transfer company isn't advised - nor is the hotel where the passengers are deemed no-shows. And if the hotel has credit card numbers they can just debit the card.
“It's okay for the savvy traveller who knows the risks and takes out appropriate insurance," says John Bibby. “But when a freewheeling consumer finds themselves in freefall, they need a parachute. Microsites that help tourists sort out their cover provide excellent ancillary revenue for the operators. Or annual multi-trip insurance can save a lot of heartache for the travel company and the individual alike.”
In fact, up to one in five independent travellers forgets to sort out insurance, leaving them exposed to high risks and much greater expense. Those most affected are likely to be broadsheet readers and ABC1 family members.
“Relatively affluent groups are among the most likely to travel to far-flung locations, where insurance is particularly important,” says John Bibby.
“But independent trippers who bolt holidays together overlook the essential insurance element. This is clearly not cost related; simple forgetfulness could be the main concern.”
