The British Insurance Brokers' Association has warned that there is a dangerously low level of terrorism cover in the UK travel insurance industry, after conducting research that revealed that 78% of surveyed travel insurance providers have a terrorism exclusion.
Further to this, the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) found that only 29% of those providers that do not offer terrorism cover allow a ‘write-back’ facility for medical expenses and repatriation. This means that half of travelers have no terrorism cover at all.
BIBA surveyed 75% of providers offering travel insurance to determine what proportion of the industry offers terrorism cover to consumers purchasing travel insurance. The results show that, of the companies involved, 78% exclude terrorism cover.
The research also revealed that 49% have a total exclusion with no write back, 29% have an exclusion but write back medical expenses (and sometimes other areas), and 7% of companies did not make the policy information available to the public.
Commenting on the findings of this research, Graeme Trudgill, technical services manager at BIBA, said: We find these figures striking. They clearly demonstrate that there is consumer detriment around the provision of terrorism cover in travel insurance policies.
This new data increases our concern that many people are not being made aware that their policy excludes terrorism cover, he continued. It is absolutely vital that travel insurance providers inform consumers of all significant exclusions.