Travel insurance customers need to watch out for insurance small print resulting from claims made in light of the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland, cautions an expert.
The volcano that shut airports across Europe and grounded flights will also be the cause of more exemptions added to Travel insurance policies.
Laurence Price, director of aviation strategy at Mott MacDonald, called for clarifications over 'force majeure' and incidents that can be tackled by organisations.
He said: "Clearly when a regulatory authority says 'you are not flying' – then how is that down to the airline? So it is the regulator then the government who have made that decision."
Mr Price set the time period for two weeks and longer to deal with all of the claims that have resulted from the many flight cancellations and delays.
He acknowledged the fact that UK has one of the busiest and most constrained air-strips. However, he was not convinced that proper use had been made of the airspace and believed more could have been done.
On the other hand, Siim Kallas, European Commission vice president for transport, praised the work done by governments and airport authorities dealing with the situation.
He said: "The volcanic ash cloud is a very significant threat to air safety. National authorities are required to take decisions to ensure safety under international law, such as closure of airspace and airports, without discrimination between airlines."
Mr Kallas went on to congratulate the member states on their prompt action and hailed their co-operation as a success for the combined effort of the eurozone.
Back on home turf, the Association of British Insurers had issued guidance for travellers affected by the volcanic dust cloud closures.
BIBA, Age Concern, HSBC, M&S Money, first direct and many other companies also came out in support of their travel insurance customers inconvenienced by what was described my Mr Laurence Price as an example of the "acts of god". |
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