Coronavirus continues to affect travel insurance market

ITIJ previously reported that UK insurers Admiral, Aviva and Direct Line were no longer offering travel insurance to new customers, and now a total of 31 UK insurers have temporarily suspended sales of travel insurance policies to new customers, while a further 13 have made their policies more restrictive.

The government, insurers and the travel industry must work together to tackle the huge challenge posed by coronavirus

This is according to Which?; the consumer rights advocate contacted 75 insurance providers in the UK to ask if they were amending travel insurance provision in light of the Covid-19 crisis or stopping sales altogether. Gareth Shaw, Head of Money at Which?, said: “Coronavirus has had a huge impact on the travel insurance market, with dozens of providers amending policies or pulling them all together.

“This is creating confusion and uncertainty for consumers, who may feel they simply cannot make plans for future trips in the circumstances.”

Shaw said that the government, insurers and the travel industry must work together to tackle the huge challenge posed by coronavirus, to ensure people feel confident enough to travel in the knowledge that they will be covered.

Among the insurers no longer selling cover are AA, Admiral, Aviva, CoverMore, Direct Line and LV, while AllClear, Allianz Assistance UK, AXA, Columbus Direct, Saga and Staysure have changed cover details.

Which? has advised consumers that they should carefully check policy details and exclusions prior to purchasing a policy or booking new trips with an existing annual multi-trip policy, due to the rapidly changing nature of the situation.