Travel Insurance FAQs
Below you can find the answers to questions you may have about our Travel Insurance
Click on the headings to expand the frequently asked travel insurance questions below.
What should I do if my travel is disrupted (including: industrial action, natural disasters, strikes)
All policies
Before you do anything, always contact your booking agent, tour operator or transport provider first to find out the latest information for your travel arrangements. If the transport has been cancelled, indefinitely postponed or the airport / station / port is closed, you may be told not to go to your departure point.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) may provide information (visit www.fco.gov.uk). If the FCO advise against travel to a destination your LV= travel policy will not cover you if you then choose to go there. However, you are covered to make a claim for the cancellation of your trip before you travel.
No cover will apply if you take out a policy or book a trip after the disaster has been reported in the media. In all cases, if you’re unsure if you can make a claim, please call our claims line on 0845 640 5194.
Essential policies only
There is no cover provided for any claims arising from delayed departure, cancellation (abandonment) or additional transport and/ or accommodation costs.
Premier policies only
Delayed departure benefit - If you are delayed for more than 12 hours at the place your transport is meant to go from, we will pay you £25 for each 12 hours you are delayed (£250 max.).
Cancellation cover - If the departure of your transport is delayed for more than 24 hours or cancelled and this cannot be rearranged for more than 24 hours, cover is provided for costs up to £5,000 if you decide to cancel or abandon your trip.
Additional transport and accommodation cover* - If you decide to continue with your trip after being delayed for more than 24 hours or because your transport was cancelled and no alternative could be found within 24 hours of your original departure time, we will reimburse you up to £1,000 for additional transport and accommodation costs (to a similar standard of your pre-booked arrangements) you have to pay to reach your destination or to get home.
Lost accommodation costs* - If you continued with your trip after being delayed for more than 24 hours or your transport was cancelled and no alternative could be found within 24 hours of your original departure time, we will reimburse you for each full day (24 hours) that you could not use your pre-booked accommodation.
*Please note that we won’t make any payments which are not additional to costs you were expecting to pay, eg if you get a refund and the cost of alternative transport or accommodation is less than the refund.
What should I do if my travel is disrupted by severe weather?
All policies
Before you do anything, always contact your booking agent, tour operator or transport provider first to find out the latest information for your travel arrangements. If the transport has been cancelled, indefinitely postponed or the airport / station / port is closed, you may be told not to go to your departure point.
If you booked all elements of your trip through a tour operator as a package, you should be able to get a refund for these through them. Some of your costs may not be met if you have booked elements of your holiday separately. As soon as you are aware that you may have to reschedule your trip, you should contact the provider of each element of your trip to see what alternative arrangements can be made.
Essential policies only
There is no cover provided for any claims arising from delayed departure, cancellation (abandonment) or additional transport and/ or accommodation costs.
Premier policies only
Delayed departure benefit - If you are delayed for more than 12 hours at the place your transport is meant to go from, we will pay you £25 for each 12 hours you are delayed (£250 max.).
Cancellation cover - If the departure of your transport is delayed for more than 24 hours or cancelled and this cannot be rearranged for more than 24 hours, cover is provided for costs up to £5,000 if you decide to cancel or abandon your trip.
Additional transport and accommodation cover* - If you decide to continue with your trip after being delayed for more than 24 hours or because your transport was cancelled and no alternative could be found within 24 hours of your original departure time, we will reimburse you up to £1,000 for additional transport and accommodation costs (to a similar standard of your pre-booked arrangements) you have to pay to reach your destination or to get home.
Lost accommodation costs* - If you continued with your trip after being delayed for more than 24 hours or your transport was cancelled and no alternative could be found within 24 hours of your original departure time, we will reimburse you for each full day (24 hours) that you could not use your pre-booked accommodation.
Missed departure - If you are unable to reach your departure point because of severe weather, regardless if you are still in the UK or already on your trip, and you miss your pre-booked transport we will reimburse you up to £1,000 for additional transport or accommodation costs you had to pay to reach your destination/ return home.
*Please note that we won’t make any payments which are not additional to costs you were expecting to pay, eg if you get a refund and the cost of alternative transport or accommodation is less than the refund.
How do I know if my pre-existing conditions have been covered?
Your policy schedule will show the medical information that you've declared about your pre-existing conditions. If we're unable to provide cover for these conditions it will be shown as endorsements that will explain that there is no cover in any way related to the pre-existing conditions or symptoms.
What is your definition of a pre-existing medical condition?
Our definition of a pre-existing condition is explained in detail under the Important Information about ‘Health declarations and health exclusions' in the document of insurance. Basically it is:
- any heart condition, breathing condition (including asthma), circulatory condition (including strokes or high blood pressure), gastrointestinal (digestive tract) conditions, bone or joint conditions or any type or form of cancer, regardless of how long ago these were suffered.
- Plus any medical condition or ailment an insured person is suffering from or has suffered from in the last 12 months. This includes (but is not restricted to) a condition or symptoms for which:
- Any investigation, tests, results or advice have been had or are being waited for.
- Treatment or surgery is needed or has been given.
- Prescribed medication has been advised .
Do you cover pre-existing medical conditions?
Cover for pre-existing medical conditions isn't automatic but can be selected. If cover is needed, all medical conditions for everyone named on the policy must be disclosed. If we’re unable to provide cover for anyone’s specific conditions these will be shown as removed from cover in the endorsement sections of your policy schedule.
We may charge you for providing cover for pre-existing conditions. To remove any confusion at the point of claim, we’ll either be able to provide cover for all of a person’s pre-existing conditions or none of them. This means we won’t cover some conditions and not others. For this reason it is very important that we're told of all conditions (for everyone on the policy), including symptoms and any investigations. If we're unable to cover a person’s pre-existing conditions the premium will reflect that this cover has been removed.
What is the maximum age limit?
Our annual multi-trip policy is available for purchase by anyone who is over 16 years and under 80 years of age. Our single trip policy is available for purchase by anyone over 16 years of age - there is no upper age limit on our single trip policy.
If you're under 65 years of age, our single trip policy can cover you for up to 366 days. If you're 65 years of age or over, our single trip policy can cover you for up to 90 days.
These age limits and policy restrictions apply to both Essential and Premier levels of cover.
What happens if the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to my holiday destination while I'm there?
Cover is provided to cut short a trip only if the FCO advice is to leave the area you are booked to stay in. But there's no cover under the policy for cutting your trip short if the FCO advise against travel to that destination. If this situation arises and you need assistance, please contact the 24 hour assistance helpline.
Can I change my single trip policy to an annual policy?
No, you can’t change the type of policy that has been set up. The only way to change the policy is to cancel the original one and set up a new one. This must be done within 14 days of you receiving your policy documents for a refund to be given, and only applies to single trips with a cover period of more than 28 days.
How do I make a complaint?
We hope that you won't have any reason to complain. However, if you do need to complain, please contact us by phone on the following numbers. For Sales and service complaints - 0800 232 1404, lines are open Mon to Fri 8am - 9pm, Sat 8am - 5pm, Sun 9am - 5pm, bank holidays 9am - 5pm. For Claims complaints - 0800 232 1404, lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For Textphone call 18001 followed by the advertised number. Your call may be recorded and/or monitored for training and audit purposes.
If you prefer to write, please address your letter to Customer Complaints, PO Box 2, LV=, County Gates, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 2NF.
Please supply us with your name, address, policy number and claim number where applicable.
You can read more about our complaints procedure here.
