Travel Insurance Against Terrorist Threats or Events

Travel insurance designed to cover UK residents againt additional expenses (eg re-ticketing, accommodation, subsistence, parking) if travel is interrupted or delayed because of a terrorist threat or event. Situations include the closure of an airport, train or coach station.

Terrorism is in the mind and on the lips of so many people these days and many people like to have travel insurance that includes cover against a terrorist threat or event.

For UK residents, there’s a new type of insurance that’s been developed specifically to cover terrorist threats or events, called Security Delay Insurance. It’s designed to cover you for additional costs associated with re-ticketing, additional travelling, additional accommodation and parking costs, with the aim of enabling you to get out of a terrorist threat situation or event, and find an alternative means of starting or continuing your trip.

Even if we’re lucky not to be directly affected by a terrorist threat or actual event, there are knock-on effects that can inconvenience us at a time when we least need it – when we’re traveling.

Wouldn’t it be great to have insurance against this kind of situation at a time when you want to get away on a break to relax – or even to get back home from a business trip or from visiting friends or family? This may be especially important if you’re traveling with children or someone who is older or who has a medical condition.

Just someone leaving a bag unattended can cause utter chaos at an airport or train station. Who’s to know if it’s something innocent or if there’s a bomb inside, waiting to cause death and injury to those in its vicinity? These days, the entire area will be cleared and it could take hours before things can return to normal.

Then there are the real terrorist threats. In 2007, two men drove a 4-wheel drive into the side of Glasgow International Airport in 2007, with the aim of exploding a bomb inside the concourse.

One of the most frustrating things about a terrorist incident is that there’s no way of knowing how long the delay will last. People often complain about a lack of information but, in all fairness, the police and other authorities often cannot ascertain how long it will be before an area is safe to return to. Security Delay Insurance allows you to meet expenses you incur by getting yourself out the situation and finding alternative means of traveling.

In the UK, the security services are monitoring a significant number of people whom they suspect have malicious intent to cause bodily injury and/or death. Areas where a large number of people congregate are prime targets and, of course, include airports and train stations.

One threat or event causes delay not only to thousands of people in the immediate surroundings but all those whose destination point is where the threat now is.

If you’re in that situation, your route is going to be altered and you could end up a long way from where you need to be. You might miss connecting flights or trains and need to find alternative means of transport.

Security Delay Insurance is a great way of being covered against extra costs associated with buying more tickets or, if the worse comes to the worst, having to stay overnight at an hotel.

The insurance industry can sometimes be pretty slow in responding to changing needs but this time, they have been quick to meet a growing demand – at least in the UK.

By Kevin Waite