Research published by the British Insurance Broker's Association has revealed that a massive 97% of consumers are offering their full support for the UK government's plans to implement new regulations to protect consumers from travel agents that fail to disclose all details of their travel insurance policies.
The research, which was conducted by Populus, also indicated that an astonishing 72% of customers who had recently purchased travel insurance had not been advised whether terrorism cover was included in their policy.
The research follows the launch of a government inquiry into the sale of travel insurance as part of a holiday package. Travel insurance sold independently is subject to the same regulatory controls as other insurance products, but travel insurance sold as part of a package is currently exempt from those controls.
The campaign to ensure customers are treated fairly when purchasing travel insurance has been a continuing affair for the British Insurance Broker’s Association (BIBA) and the association has given its full support for the government’s inquiry.
Other key findings of the research include that 56% of travel agents and tour operators failed to advise on how to make a complaint, while 45% of travel agents and tour operators failed to advise of the policy excess. Furthermore, just 44% of travel agents and tour operators explained how to go about making a claim, compared to 69% from insurance brokers and an average from the FSA regulated market of 62%.