BA passengers urged to check insurance

Wednesday, 16 December 2009 12:00

British Airways (BA) passengers affected by cabin crew strikes over Christmas are being urged to check their insurance policy in case they are entitled to compensation.

There are fears many passengers may receive no reimbursement after it emerged a number of insurers were refusing claims on travel plans taken out before November 2nd, the day the Unite union announced its strike ballot.

However, according to comparison website GoCompare.com many passengers may still be able to make successful claims.

And Direct Line announced it would compensate anyone provided they took out their policy before December 14th.

People taking out an insurance policy with delayed departure or abandonment cover, said Go Compare, could receive help to cover the cost of having to delay or cancel their trip.

It warned the cover offered by travel insurers varied widely, with some being more generous or useful than others.

It highlighted American Express's cover, allowing claims of £20 per insured person after six hours of delay and an additional £20 for each further 12 hour delay up to a maximum of £200, as a more useful cover.

It also praised Virgin Gold's travel insurance and Endsleigh's Essential cover. However it warned AIG's Direct Platinum cover required passengers to have been delayed for 25 days before they could claim the maximum allowed.

AIG Direct's Silver cover and Virgin's Red cover had no departure delay cover said GoCompare.

Lee Griffin, of GoCompare, said: "It's always innocent passengers who are affected most when airline staff take industrial action.

"Although having travel insurance won't guarantee your flight takes off on time many policies do offer useful cover for delays and some even give you the option to completely abandon your trip if the delay is more than 12 hours."

Direct Line said customers with policies purchased before December 14th would be covered if their flights were delayed or cancelled by BA.

A spokesperson said because the strike details had not yet been finalised, customers would have to wait for a decision on the status of their flight before claiming.

"We advise that they contact BA or their travel agent first to get full details of the situation before calling their insurer," the spokesperson added.

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