Ocean harbor casualty insurance fresh information.

The charity says that disabled people encounter difficulties from the moment they try to make a booking.

It is calling on tour operators, the government and the EU to improve access in a number of ways.

The industry admits that there is room for but says some progress has been made.

Taken for granted

Leonard Cheshire is publishing its report - called Wish You Were Here - to coincide with the return from the August bank holiday weekend.

Last year more than 1.5 million people flew out of UK airports during the last bank holiday of the summer.

The charity points out that while many people take foreign breaks for granted, disabled travellers are faced with a series of obstacles which can put them off foreign travel altogether.

It more than 100 disabled people to ask about their holiday experiences.

The report found that:

• A quarter of those surveyed who had not taken a holiday in the past year said it was because of problems with accessibility
• Almost half of those who did take a holiday thought their travel agent or tour operator lacked basic disability awareness
• Almost 60% of those who has taken a holiday had problems with transport
• Nearly a quarter had had a wheelchair or other mobility aid damaged in transit
• Almost one in three people found their accommodation inaccessible
• Nearly a quarter had difficulty obtaining travel insurance

“The package holiday has been around for over 50 years, so why should disabled people still find travelling abroad difficult?” said John Knight, Leonard Cheshire’s head of external policy.

“Disabled people have a right to holiday outside the UK and the travel industry must improve accessibility to ensure they can.”

Barcelona has good accessibility, beaches included

The charity is calling for the introduction of pan-European standards of accessibility that all member states will recognise.

And it says the government must bring air and sea travel within the scope of existing disability legislation.

It wants travel industry staff to receive compulsory disability awareness training, and wants the providers of travel insurance to deal with disabled people on a basis.

Long-standing disability legislation in the US means that disabled travellers have tended to report more positive experiences, a state of affairs with which Europe has yet to catch up.

Industry efforts

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) says it has been encouraging the tourism industry to make for many years.

ABTA’s head of consumer affairs, Keith Richards, admitted that there was “still much room for improvement”.

“It is clear that increasing numbers of people who have some for of disability are taking holidays, and many more want to spend their money on travel but currently don’t,” he said.

Fear and ignorance surrounding disability issues was being compounded by air transport and overseas accommodation not being covered by UK disability legislation, Mr Richards said.

But he cited several steps ABTA was taking to improve the situation, such as providing training, using the voluntary Air Access Code, encouraging tour operators to carry out access audits on hotels and developing a checklist for disabled travellers.

Only firms authorised by the Financial Services Authority can now trade, and they are subject to strict guidelines on how policies are promoted and sold.

Insurers’ extra costs are expected to be passed on to consumers, and a 2.80 average policy price rise is estimated.

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association said the new rules would “protect consumers”.

‘Firms not ready’

Firms will be legally required to issue documents that clearly and simply explain policy details, provider and price.

It is virtually impossible to see what element of the premiums charged is due to the increased cost of regulation Nick White Head of personal finance, Uswitch.com

The regulation is aimed at stopping people buying too much or too little cover.

Some 9,700 firms had last month been approved to continue trading by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

But a survey by information solutions company Docucorp found that 92% of senior insurance managers were concerned firms would not be ready for Friday’s new regulations.

The same percentage thought the FSA had the cost of the new rules.

Nick White, head of personal finance at Uswitch.com, said: “The increased cost of such regulation does mean that insurance providers and brokers will look for ways to pass on the cost instead of eroding the profits they make.

“Whilst the introduction of the ‘initial disclosure document’ and of price’ means that some of these costs will be visible, it is of course virtually impossible to see what element of the premiums charged is due to the increased cost of regulation.”

More complicated?

This will raise the professionalism of the whole industry and consumers will be able to better compare products and price How insurance regulation will affect you

Firms awaiting a final decision by the FSA are granted interim authorisation, and consumer groups warned that people using these firms would not be entitled to if they lost money because the company folded.

Travel insurance bought with a holiday through a travel agent also does not have the protection of the FSA.

Which? magazine expressed concern that complex policies like income protection, critical illness and life insurance were now treated the same as simpler products like house and car insurance.

Louise Hanson, Which? head of campaigns, said: “This is a major concern, as it’s much harder for people to choose the right product in these areas and there’s a greater risk if they’re sold the wrong policy.”

Source:

The West Yorkshire-based firm was placed into provisional by the High Court at the FSA’s behest.

The FSA told the court that Whiteley - a brokerage - was selling travel insurance which was not underwritten by an insurer, invalidating the policies.

The liquidators have set up a hotline, 08705 234803, for policyholders.

‘Worthless cover’

Whiteley also traded as Kingfisher Travel Insurance and Kingfisher Insurance Services.

The very early indication from the liquidators is that thousands of people could potentially have invalid insurance Caroline Feltham, PricewaterhouseCoopers

The major concern, with one of the busiest travel weekends of the year approaching, is that many people who had bought travel insurance from Whiteley could now be left with worthless cover.

The High Court appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to act as provisional liquidators. It will deal with the affairs of the company ahead of a possible winding-up order.

PwC Caroline Feltham told BBC News that it was too early to say how many of Whiteley’s policies are not underwritten by an insurer.

“The very early indication from the liquidators is that thousands of people could potentially have invalid insurance,” Ms Feltham said.

Ms Felthan advised Whiteley’s policyholders to call the special hotline and, if necessary, arrange new travel insurance cover.

Whiteleys employs 40 staff, all of whom are being kept on by the provisional liquidator on full pay.

As services slowly return to normal, many people are counting the cost and wondering whether or not they can claim money back from their travel insurers.

Does my insurance cover terrorism?

Unfortunately, not in the majority of cases.

Terrorism is what the industry calls an exclusion, meaning that most policyholders cannot claim for delays, lost hotel bookings, or incurred costs such as food and drinks.

Some policies do offer cover for disruption caused by the threat of terrorism or acts of terrorism, but they are generally more expensive and harder to find than the standard cover offered by most firms.

So I am going to be out of pocket?

Don’t panic, you won’t have to write off your hard-earned cash.

Airlines such as British Airways, Easyjet and Ryanair have been doing their best to get people on their way and are offering to rebook and even refund tickets for flights that were cancelled or delayed.

If you organised a holiday through a travel agent or tour operator, you should also be OK.

The main thing to do is get in touch with the companies involved and find out what they are willing to do.

Also, keep your receipts and proof of spending - they probably will be asked for by the insurers in the event that the firms do offer to pay out.

But what if I booked the holiday myself?

This is where things get a bit trickier.

While you should still be able to fly to your , you would not be able to claim for any add-ons such as lost hotel bookings or car hire.

A lot will depend on the terms and conditions of your insurance policy and how willing the provider is to try to help out.

Stephen Thorley is managing director of Travellers Protection Services, the company that provides insurance products for companies including budget airline Ryanair, cruise firm P&O and the Telegraph newspaper group.

Mr Thorley recommends calling your insurer directly and discussing your circumstances.

“We are all human,” he said. “And we have a sympathetic claims department.”

Mr Thorley said that his company had already taken steps to help clients, changing the policy on valuables so that they would be covered when a traveller’s entire baggage had to be checked in to a plane’s hold.

Travel insurance, what a rip-off!

It may seem that way, but the industry argues that it is doing its best to meet the needs of customers with policies that offer enough cover without breaking the bank.

Offering protection from terrorism “is one area we freely admit that even governments run scared from”, Mr Thorley said.

Consumer groups aren’t sitting quietly, however, and have pressured the government to look into the possible mis-selling of insurance by travel agents and tour operators.

The problem is that while many of the biggest insurance companies, such as Travellers Protection Services, are regulated by the Financial Services Authority, many of the smaller firms can operate without any supervision.

One area of concern is that many customers don’t get given enough about the policies they are being sold by tour operators and travel agents, causing them to believe they are covered when in fact they aren’t.

So how can I make sure I am protected?

The Association of British Insurers recommends that you work out the type of cover you want and what best suits your travel needs - for example, you may find that an annual policy works out cheaper than buying separate insurance before each trip.

Then, when you get a price, shop around in what the ABI describes as a very competitive market.

And finally, make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully. It’s not small print, it’s the difference between getting proper insurance cover and finding yourself footing the bill instead.

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The study, by Direct Line Travel , found 15% of respondents had made a fraudulent claim.

The fraud is often in the form of extra items being added to a genuine claim, or the values of lost items are inflated, the survey found.

Direct Line warned that dishonest claims could mean honest policyholders would end up paying more.

‘Designer’ shades

Four out of five of those who admitted making a fraudulent claim refused to elaborate on what they had done.

But 15% admitted inflating the value of their claim, while 5% said their claim was totally fabricated.

Honest policyholders could end up paying higher premiums for dishonest claims Chris Price, Direct Line Travel Insurance

The most popular item for over-claiming was sunglasses, with 27% they had lied about how valuable their shades were.

Other popular areas for values were luggage, medical bills, mobile phones and cameras.

But it would appear many attempts at making a fraudulent claim fail.

The survey found that 62% of those who tried to put in a bogus claim failed to get a pay out after their insurer became suspicious.

“From our research it is worrying to see that so many opportunists don’t think twice about making a spurious claim,” said Chris Price, business manager at Direct Line Travel Insurance.

“Unfortunately, honest policyholders could end up paying higher premiums for dishonest claims.”

Travel insurance will be worth more than 650m in 2006, the Treasury said.

However, despite paying out large sums, too many people will find they are not properly covered, it warned.

The worry is that people may be sold travel insurance without having the terms and conditions properly explained to them.

Ed Balls, the new treasury minister for regulation of financial services, said the first step would be to talk to the industry to collect information.

‘Without a hitch’

More than 20 million people buy travel insurance every year, and based on consumer research many policies for the same trip offering similar levels of protection can vary in price by more than 200, the Treasury said.

Our investigation will ask whether it’s fair to put all the pressure on ordinary families to read the small print Ed Balls, Treasury Minister

“Millions of British families have worked hard all year to pay for their summer holidays and are hoping they pass off without a hitch,” Mr Balls said.

“But thousands of holidaymakers will suffer cancelled flights, lost valuables, and even medical problems,” he added.

Should the probe uncover evidence of mis-selling then the Treasury said it would have a number of routes to consider.

One option would be to require stronger self-regulation by the travel industry, while another may be to include it under the control of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Although travel insurance providers are regulated by the Financial Services Authority, travel firms selling policies as bolt-ons to their holiday packages are not.

The Treasury said the government was “prepared to introduce new regulation if there is evidence of problems in the selling of these products, which cannot be adequately dealt with by self-regulation”.

Industry standards

The consultation process will be launched in early autumn, the Treasury said, adding that it will talk to stakeholders, including travel agents, travel reps, insurers, trade bodies, consumer associations and consumers themselves.

The government last looked at the issue of travel insurance in 2003 but decided against imposing regulation because of concern at the impact on the cost of package holidays.

It also shied away from regulation because travel agents insisted their own industry code was providing sufficient consumer protection, the Treasury said.

“Our investigation will ask whether it’s fair to put all the pressure on ordinary families to read the small print and ask the right questions to make sure they are properly covered,” Mr Balls said.

“It will ask whether the travel industry should be doing more to ensure families are not left high and dry on their holidays and whether we need to strengthen regulation to protect them,” he said.

Source article

“We’re capable of doing it - we`ve done it in the past - but I would like to think we can give Hearts and something to think about over the coming weeks.”

McLeish is taking heart from his side’s performances in other big games this season - the Old Firm derby win and the Champions League success over Porto.

“There is extra pressure but I think you only have to look at how we have handled the bigger games,” he continued. “We have done well.

“The irony is that the games we were expected to do better in we have under-achieved and that will be significant.

“Hearts are a good side. They have a great solid base, which George inherited, and the he has built around that unit have been very impressive.

“When you go on a run like they have you start when you will drop points and you start to have wee doubts.

“It’s only human and we hope we can put the doubts in their head for the next part of the .”

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