Holidaymakers lodging claims on their travel insurance policies have been given a helping hand by the financial ombudsman service. The ombudsman - the next port of call if policyholders cannot reach agreement with their insurer - said last week that "not enough is done by the industry to explain these policies".
Claimants who are disappointed with their insurer's response frequently find that the ombudsman is more sympathetic to their claim.
In their special report on travel insurance, the ombudsman has laid out its approach to handling different kinds of claim. Although these explanations are aimed at the industry, they could be useful for people making claims which are disputed by their insurer.
Overall, the ombudsman expresses considerable sympathy for people buying these policies, which are often far more complicated and contain far more exclusions than consumers appear to expect. A main cause of problems, according to the ombudsman, is that travel policies are most often sold by travel agents, who are not experts in insurance and who do not draw the buyer's attention to the exclusions.
The ombudsman also gives indications about how it is handling particular types of claim:
"We frequently uphold complaints from policyholders who are seriously unwell and confined to their hotel rooms, even though they have not been hospitalised or repatriated." The sick holidaymaker often returns home early and makes a claim for compensation for the curtailed holiday. They may find the claim rejected because they were not deemed sick enough by the insurer, but then their case is upheld by the ombudsman.
"People requiring cover for 'adventure' holidays should make sure the insurer has full information about all the activities contemplated."
"The benefit of the doubt is normally given to the consumer' in cases where 'the policy does not make it clear what activities the insurer regards as hazardous'.
You need to have given your insurer a fair chance of handling the complaint first. But you can then complain to the financial ombudsman service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR (0845 080 1800).