Travel agents 'failing' on holiday insurance

Many travel agents are selling potentially unsuitable policies and offer poor value for money, Which? says.

All 29 travel agents secretly visited by researchers were uncompetitive on price, says the report. One travel agent quoted as much as 80.99 for insurance on a two-week trip to Spain for two. In comparison, a Which? best-buy policy, found from 3,600 quotes from 196 travel insurance policies, would have cost as little as 20.

The 29 agents visited included three branches each of First Choice, Going Places, Thomas Cook, Thomson and Co-operative Travel, as well as 14 independent agencies.

Which? said that 17 of the 29 travel agents visited failed to provide even the most basic details about the insurance policies they sold.

Independent travel agencies performed better overall, with nine out of 14 meeting the Which? benchmark. Three of the 15 chain branches of travel agents met the same criteria.

Their consumer magazine's report says that few of the 29 agents checked that the cover available under a policy would be sufficient for the customer, other than to cover the cost of the holiday itself in the case of ill health prior to leaving.

Six travel agents failed to inquire about pre-existing medical conditions, while not one explained the significance of failing to declare pre-existing medical conditions.

Less than half of the travel agents gave researchers a copy of the insurance policy to take home, and only six mentioned the 14-day cooling-off period within which the customer could cancel the policy and get a refund.

Rochelle Turner, head of research for Which? Holiday, said: "Not surprisingly, you expect travel agents to be experts in all aspects of booking a holiday, but our research shows that's not always the case when it comes to insurance.

"The recent disruption to flights has demonstrated just how important it is to have adequate cover. If travel agents want to sell insurance, they must train their staff properly so customers can feel confident they've bought the right policy. Otherwise, they should stop selling it altogether and leave it to the experts."

Which? has set up a web page for travellers affected by delays caused by the volcanic ash cloud. It advises travellers to retain a complete record of all expenses incurred during delays.

However, they also warn claimants that what counts as "reasonable" varies widely depending on the circumstances.