‘BIBA Protect’, the travel insurance policy from the British Insurance Brokers Association’s (BIBA) has been extended to protect independent travellers against the financial risk of airlines and end suppliers going into liquidation.
The policy offers protection for travellers who are not protected by the Government’s ATOL ( Air Travel Organisers Licencing ) arrangement, which only covers those who have booked a holiday through an ATOL tour operator .
It is estimated that at least 50 per cent of trips from the UK fall outside of the Government’s ATOL arrangement. BIBA has therefore decided to incorporate this cover into its insurance policy, sold exclusively by BIBA brokers, to recognise the changing purchasing habits of travellers and to protect customers from the effects of the recession .
Examples of trips which fall outside of the ATOL agreement are direct bookings with airlines or trips which have been put together and paid for separately by the traveller. The need for financial failure cover was highlighted with the recent Sky Europe collapse, an airline that marketed directly to consumers and sold its flights online.