Another trap that it can be easy to fall into is convenience, with many airlines and holiday providers urging you to buy their own travel insurance policies as part of the flight or package-buying journey. While such policies almost certainly won't be dirt-cheap, there's still no guarantee they'll provide all the cover you need.
Unfortunately, travel insurers are some of the least likely to pay out – and new Which? analysis has found that they're becoming increasingly stressful to deal with. One contributing factor may be travellers opting for inadequate cover due to rushed purchasing decisions.
Our findings suggest that it's well worth devoting a bit of time to choosing the best travel insurance for your needs – rather than simply the cheapest or most convenient. Here we'll show you how travel insurance goes wrong for many customers, and what you can do to lower the odds of this happening to you.
Rejected claims and practical problems drive travel insurance stress
Unique Which? analysis carried out in May 2024 suggests that interactions with travel insurers have become increasingly stressful in recent years.
We collated the written decisions of 2,933 travel insurance complaints made to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) between 2019 and 2023 (inclusive), and analysed them using artificial intelligence (AI). In upheld cases – where the FOS ruled that the insurer was in the wrong – references to 'distress and inconvenience' increased over the five-year period to reach a peak in 2023. Between October and December that year, it was cited in more than two-thirds of the upheld cases we analysed.
During those three months, the FOS upheld 44% of complaints brought by travel insurance customers. The only kind of insurance with a higher uphold rate was payment protection insurance (PPI).
Our research reveals two key reasons likely to account for many travel insurance customers' stressful experiences: rejected claims, and practical problems.
Find out more:Why do travel insurance claims get rejected?
Travel insurers have a subpar record of paying out for claims, according to claims statistics published by industry regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In its most recent report, based on 2022 data, travel insurers had one of the lowest claims acceptance rates of the 34 insurance areas covered. Claims on single-trip policies were paid 73% of the time, while claims on European and Worldwide annual policies were paid 76% and 82% of the time, respectively. In contrast, most types of insurance pay more than 90% of claims.
Which? research sheds a little light on the reasons behind travel insurance claims being rejected. In April 2024, we surveyed 882 Which? members who'd made a travel insurance claim in the past two years. About one in six (16%) told us they'd had the claim rejected outright, or received only part of what they claimed.
As the table below shows, the most common identifiable reason for claims being rebuffed was policy exclusions, followed by the insurer stating the customer should pursue their losses from another company. However, some reasons for claims being declined remain a mystery: one in five rejected claimants said they either weren't given a reason or didn't understand the insurer's logic.
The five most common reasons claims weren't fully paidSlow speeds and inefficiency cause stress
Having a claim turned down isn't the sole reason you might walk away from your insurer stressed or disgruntled. In many cases, inefficiency and slow resolution speeds are just as detrimental.
A quarter (24%) of the claimants we surveyed were dissatisfied with how the process went. The chief causes of frustration were the speed with which claims were handled (43%) and the efficiency of the process (32%). Claims outcomes took third spot, leaving 31% dissatisfied. A further 25% cited their level of confidence in the fairness of the process as a reason for disgruntlement, while 23% were critical of how effectively the insurer kept them up to date on the progress of their claim.
As one claimant put it: ''The website to enter claim details was useless, and when I did speak to someone, their actions were never followed up.'
undefinedFive tips to get the right travel insurance policy
Price will inevitably be a key part of any insurance purchase decision, especially at a time when travel insurance prices are on the up. According to comparison website Go Compare, in May 2024 the average annual travel insurance policy cost £80. That's 12% higher than the previous year. Meanwhile the average single trip policy premium (£32) has risen by 7%.
But don't focus on price alone, at the expense of features and quality of cover. While there's no sure-fire way of knowing how an insurance policy – or the insurer behind it – will deliver in the event of a claim, there are are steps you can take to zero in on a policy that will meet your needs.
Here are our top five tips to avoiding a poor travel insurance claims experience.
1. Work out what you need for your trip
Everyone's travel insurance needs are different; make sure the cover you pick meets yours. For example, if your trip only costs £1,000, you probably don't need an expensive policy with £10,000 of cancellation cover. Whereas if you're taking your family on a high-end ski trip, you'll need plenty of cancellation cover, and ski cover to boot.
Make a list of everything you consider to be key – or that you expect to be able to rely on – and check the insurer's policy wording to see if it's stated. If anything on your list isn't explicitly mentioned, assume it's not covered until you can confirm otherwise with the insurer.
2. Check our Best Buys and travel insurance reviews
In April 2024, we analysed 129 travel insurance policies, and gave each a score that reflects its overall levels of cover. Our Best Buy travel insurance policies have the most comprehensive levels of cover of the policies we examined.
There was a wide variety in what was available, with our scores ranging from 22% up to 91%. We also checked that policies have specific elements of cover that we consider to be key, such as robust cancellation cover and cover for flights that you miss because of transport delays. If you don't have time to scrutinise the cover details of hundreds of individual policies, checking our Best Buys is a good way to shortlist policies that are more likely to have all the features you need. This could help you avoid buying a policy that skimps on cover and won't pay out when you need it.
We also check the latest data from the FCA and the FOS to look for 'red flags' in potential Best Buy candidates – such as the provider receiving high volumes of complaints, or paying out a low number of claims – and exclude any providers that don't meet our benchmarks.
Find out more:3. Scrutinise the 'General Exclusions'
Few of us find insurance T&Cs an enthralling read. But with policy exclusions lying behind three in 10 claims rejections, it's worth taking time to at least generally acquaint yourself with your policy.
Broadly speaking, an insurer's policy wording presents three types of information:
As the name suggests, 'general exclusions' lists things which the policy typically won't cover, unless it's specifically stated otherwise. Some common general exclusions are war, civil unrest, and pandemics.
Don't overlook this section. It could be sneakily ruling out cover in certain situations that aren't made obvious elsewhere in the policy wording.
4. Declare pre-existing medical conditions
If you haven't told your travel insurer about a medical condition that pre-dated your buying or renewing the insurance, it's almost certainly not covered. If you then have to make a claim because of this condition, it won't pay out.
If you're buying a standalone travel insurance policy, you'll be asked about medical conditions at the point of purchase. If your travel insurance is bundled in with another product (such as a packaged bank account, or as part of your flights or accommodation), you may need to contact the insurer separately to go through a medical screening process. This may bump up the price – but failure to do so could cost you far more if a claim is declined.
Find out more:5. There's time to make changes after buying your policy
Our standing advice is to buy travel insurance as soon as you book your holiday (assuming you don't have annual cover). That way you'll be immediately covered in case you need to cancel.
But this doesn't mean that the second you've bought your insurance, you're wedded to your decision and can't make changes. You still have a two-week cooling off period to peruse the policy at your leisure and ensure it offers the cover you need.
Your travel insurance rights if things go wrong
If you've done all your due diligence, picked a reputable insurer, and done everything asked of you by it, it can be a kick in the teeth to still find yourself struggling with a stressful or unfair claims process.
If this describes your situation, make a written complaint to the insurer. Set out what's gone wrong from your perspective and what you'd like it to do to put the situation right.
This starts an official process, giving the insurer eight weeks to investigate the matter and respond (in practice, this often takes far less time). As 58% of complaints made to insurers are upheld by the insurer, it's worth trying for this reason alone.
If the insurer doesn't resolve the issue to your satisfaction within the deadline, complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It's free, and gives you another (decent) chance of getting your complaint upheld.
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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/why-travel-insurance-goes-wrong-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-azsIq9c9qO4g