Victims of the volcano caused travel chaos may be better off insurance wise than previously thought, says a Wimbledon law firm.
By Monique Simpson, Samantha Webster, Tom Uden, Edd Gent and Howard Lloyd
Victims of the volcano caused travel chaos may be better off insurance wise than previously thought, says a Wimbledon law firm.
Jean-Paul Davies-Morgante, of DaviesmorganteLAW, has challenged the view that most insurers will avoid paying out due to a technicality.
“Some insurance providers seek to hide behind clauses to avoid paying any claims. You should look more closely at the clauses and the event itself, and how these as a whole affect your individual claim,” he said.
The fact that the travel chaos has been caused by a supposed ‘act of God’ has created the popular view that insurers are not bound to honour contracts.
Stranded teacher Michelle Durham barely got back in time for the start of term.
She said: “We stayed up all night. There weren’t any hotels in Paris because everyone was doing the same thing.
“We had to go from café to café until each one closed until we found one that was open all night.
“I was one of the lucky ones, though 14 teachers at our school aren’t back yet.”
A spokesman from Sovereign Travel and Leisure Ltd said: “It is very unlikely insurance companies will pay out because otherwise they would be inundated with so many claims because of the amount of people affected.
“They would claim it was an ‘act of God’ which would make any claims invalid. People would probably just get refunds on airfares.”
The Wimbledon travel agents has been trying to provide for its stranded customers by arranging special accommodation rates and booking flights where possible.
Estimates put the number of affected passengers at 1.2m a day during the chaos while airlines such as British Airways and KLM are losing £130m daily.
Mr Davies-Morgante said individual policies may be worded in a way that would force insurers to pay out and that people should contact a lawyer to assess their claim.
“It is realistic to hold some hope, but it is impossible to say. It would be wrong to make a blanket statement about people not being able to make claims,” he said.
“I would definitely encourage everyone to make enquiries.”
