View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2011/09/01/213125.htm
Columbus Direct, part of the Collinson Insurance Group, has launched a new travel insurance policy – Ash Cloud Cover – designed to protect customers in the event of their travel plans being disrupted following a reoccurrence of volcanic ash.
The new policy, with costs starting at about £8.00 (or $13) per trip, provides customers with cover up to the limit stated on their policy for travel delay, abandonment and missed departure caused by volcanic ash.
Columbus Ash Cloud Cover – what it covers
| Silver | Gold | |
| Travel Delay | £150 | £200 |
| – per 12 hours | £15 | £20 |
| Abandonment | £4,000 | £7,500 |
| Missed departure | £500 | £1,500 |
| Note: the amounts are per person amountsWhat it costs | ||
Silver (Ash Cloud cover only) |
Gold (Ash Cloud Cover & ETU* combined) | |
| Single Trip | £8.00 | £12.50 |
| Annual | £12.00 | £20.00 |
*ETU – Emergency Travel Upgrade
David Evans, managing director of Collinson Insurance Group, said: ‘After last year’s volcanic eruption caused such chaos to travel plans, Columbus was honored trip delay payments to its policyholders. Following these events, and in keeping with other market participants, our underwriter was subsequently forced to exclude cover from our standard policy so we took the move to offer additional protection to our clients.
The new Ash Cloud Cover, which is available either on a single trip or annual basis, is designed to offer customers cover for travel delay, abandonment or missed departure as a result of ash cloud disruption. It can also be bought in conjunction with our Emergency Travel Upgrade (ETU) on Gold policies, which provides an addition £4,000 of protection and covers passengers for the cost of alternative accommodation or enables them to travel by alternative means to get home in the event of any unforeseen circumstance, such as ash cloud disruption or strikes by air traffic staff.