Insured travellers who were impacted by the chaos at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 should have no problem making a claim for lost or delayed baggage.
Many people feared that baggage related claims at the notorious terminal may be rejected outright after a group of insurers – including Direct Line and Churchill – withdrew cover last week for T5 passengers for risks such as lost baggage and delays.
But this group has since been forced to backtrack on that decision, and the humiliation they suffered in the process makes it unlikely that any others will try the same trick.
That means your policy should cover you regardless of which insurer you bought it from.
So what went wrong?
Direct Line and other insurers in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) group announced early last week that, because the problems with lost baggage and delayed flights at T5 were so well known, it would be considered a “pre-existing condition” which did not qualify for cover.
As a result, travellers who took out a policy with these insurers after the terminal had opened would not be eligible to make a claim.
The group were no doubt expecting other insurers to follow suit and put a blanket ban on T5 claims.
A massive backfire
Instead they were left standing alone, and became an easy target for competitors looking to earn a bit of positive PR at their expense.
Spokespeople at various rivals lined up to condemn Direct Line, Churchill and their RBS cohorts, describing their decision to refuse claims as “scandalous”, “outrageous” and “bizarre”.
Just two days later and the group had been forced to backtrack in order to avoid further criticism.
Make your claim now
“As a gesture of goodwill, we will be taking a sympathetic view of any claims made against flight disruptions or lost and delayed baggage at the Terminal since its opening - irrespective of when the policy was bought,” Direct Line announced on Thursday, with the rest of the group following suit shortly after.
Direct Line added that it has paid all claims made to date in respect of lost luggage at T5, and it’s unlikely that any insurer will want to attract criticism by rejecting similar T5 claims.
So if you’ve been putting off making a claim due to the confusion created last week, there’s no need to delay any further.
Not just T5 that’s a nightmare
The anguish suffered by T5 travellers is by no means unique - nearly 200,000 UK passengers have their luggage lost or misplaced at airports every month, according to research by Insure&Go.
This really highlights the importance of travel insurance. When shopping around for a policy, keep in mind that many insurers don’t include baggage cover as standard, so be sure to read the fine print before signing on the dotted line.
