Do you remember singing that rhyme when it was raining, or is it just me? It went “Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come again another day!”. And this is the rhyme we are probably all singing now, but talking about the snow. See the snow is all very nice, but not so much when you have work to do. But it would be lovely if we had snow over the Christmas holidays, and most importantly on Christmas Day, when we are all cosy and warm inside, and don’t have anywhere we really need to go.

 Some people who really might not be enjoying the snow, are people who have a holiday booked, and have had their flight cancelled or their airport is closed. And there are a lot of mixed messages out there, as is always the case in these situations, about what you as a customer can do.

 So we at AllClear wanted to help you out, and let you know your rights, in terms of your travel insurance, and making a claim. This information applies if you hold an AllClear travel insurance policy.

• FIRST CONTACT THE AIRLINE/TOUR OPERATOR BEFORE LEAVING HOME: If you have a booked flight, which is cancelled due to the airport being closed, you should contact the airline you booked with. You have a contract with the airline to provide a flight, and in most cases the airline will be offering alternatives. But please keep a note of names and calls that you make, as claims may be considered if flights are delayed for more than 12 hours. If you booked with a tour operator, they will provide a refund or alternative arrangements
• MISSED DEPARTURE: If you are late in reaching the airport, you are covered for necessary hotel and travelling expenses to reach you holiday destination. This applies if the car you are travelling in breaks down or is involved in an accident or the public transport being used is delayed, resulting in you arriving too late to commence your booked journey. But make sure that you leave sufficient time to make your journey in the snow, as otherwise you are not covered. If you were delayed by trains in reaching the airport, you will need to get a letter from the public transport provider to confirm that the service did not run on time.
• AFTER CHECK-IN: If you have turned up and checked in for your flight, and it is then delayed for over 12 hours, you could claim under the Travel Delay/Abandonment section of your policy, section 4, they are covered under section 4 – Travel Delay – of their policy. If you abandon your trip after the first full 12 hours, you can claim up to the amount under section 1 – Cancellation. Remember you will need to obtain written confirmation from the airline, shipping, coach or train company stating the period and the reason for the delay.

 Remember if you have contacted the airport prior to travelling and been told not to turn up, then it’s down to the airline/tour operator to compensate or offer alternatives.

 Any questions about your cover, please do just ask us below.

Tags: AllClear Travel, snow travel disruption

This entry was posted on Friday, December 3rd, 2010 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Holiday Stress Buster. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.