Travel Insurance firms address alcohol-related claims

Travel insurance providers are now taking steps to prevent payouts to claimants that had an accident while drinking.

Travel Insurance News - 18/06/2012

<< Britons planning travel around Olympics | Travel News | Ministers ask government to secure NI flight routes >>

Travel insurance providers are now taking steps to prevent payouts to claimants that had accidents while drunk.

The BBC reported this week that officials from the British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) have noticed that insurance companies are adding new restrictions to policies in regards to claims that are filed as a result of intoxication.

The report said that Biba officials studied a set of 20 different travel insurance polices and every one of them had stipulations that mean that alcohol use could effect the outcome of a claim.

Graeme Trudgill said on behalf of Biba that many providers provide exact blood-alcohol content numbers to define negligence. Similarly, she said that others are now including language that states if alcohol causes policy holders to have had “seriously affected judgement” or to have taken “needless risks” then coverage may not be applicable.

Meanwhile, recent estimates from the British Embassy in the Balearic Islands, which has jurisdiction in Majorca and Ibiza, say that around 90 per cent of accidents seen in the popular holiday region happen when holidaymakers have been drinking heavily or have taken illicit drugs.

Despite the news, the UK Foreign Office continues to urge travellers to take out travel insurance and to always carry a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) when travelling in Europe.

<< Britons planning travel around Olympics | Travel News | Ministers ask government to secure NI flight routes >>