News article, 16 April 2010
If’s travel insurance covers travel interruption damages resulting from the ash cloud
Due to the ash cloud caused by the eruption of a volcano in Island all air traffic in the Northern Europe has been suspended. If’s travel insurance will cover expenses caused by cancelled or postponed flights as a result of the movement of volcanic ash.
According to Terje Rabe, the Personal Insurance Product Manager at If, hundreds of concerned clients have contacted If so far asking advice on how to deal with the situation and whether travel insurance will cover the damages occurred.
”The two main problems at the moment are the following: either people are unable to start from Estonia their vacation trip due to the postponed or cancelled flights or the people on vacation are unable to return home from another country. Due to the extensive problem we have received calls from all over Europe, mostly from Paris, Belgium, Milan and Prague. The farthest destination where If has been contacted from so far is Malaysia,” Rabe said.
Firstly, the clients have to contact their travel agent or flight company, which will then try to find the quickest solution. The flight company will provide information on how to exchange tickets or apply for ticket refund.
For a smooth loss adjustment we kindly ask our clients to request a certificate from the flight company proving that a particular flight was late, cancelled, or postponed and upon arrival the expense receipts connected with the insurance event should be presented to the loss adjustment.
We kindly suggest our clients to forward the primary notice of loss to If Kindlustus as soon as possible via Internet on our webpage www.if.ee. Let us remind you that a valid travel interruption insurance policy concluded in If Kindlustus before April 15, 2010 is the prerequisite for indemnification.
In case of any further questions please contact If’s 24h insurance phone 1211 or if calling from a foreign country please dial +372 669 6684.
