How the election of Boris could affect your holiday

Conservative leadership: what could a Boris Brexit mean for my holiday?

 Boris Johnson has just been elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party after a win over the current Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. Between the two, Boris Johnson was the one who has taken a more hard-line approach to Brexit, having been a big name in the Leave campaign and supporter of no-deal Brexit as an option. He would prefer to avoid a no-deal outcome, however, he has not ruled it out and says he will execute a no-deal Brexit ‘if need be’.

How can you ensure that you have bought the right policy to cover you should there be travel issues due to Brexit – Fiona Macrae from travelinsuranceexplained.co.uk answers your questions.

If something happens on my holiday or before I travel which isn’t my fault, including a no deal Brexit, then should my travel insurance policy cover that? Unfortunately no, most travel insurance policies will only cover you to claim for specific causes listed in the policy document, and if the cause you are claiming for, such as Brexit, isn’t listed then you won’t be able to claim.

So how do I get a policy that will cover me for Brexit?

You need to look for a policy that will offer you cancellation and delayed travel cover for anything ‘which you could not have been expected to foresee or avoid’ or anything ‘beyond your reasonable control’.

 I’m due to travel abroad in the autumn, and with the suggested Brexit dates being 31^st October, is there anything additional I need to look for on my travel insurance policy?

Yes, ensure that you have the cover for anything beyond your reasonable control, but also check that this covers delays on both the outbound and return journey, as not all travel insurance policy offer this cover for return journeys.

What about the EHIC?

It is currently thought that the EHIC will not be valid post-Brexit. The government is seeking agreements with countries on healthcare arrangements for UK nationals after Brexit; however nothing is yet in place. To protect yourself, ensure that any travel insurance policy you buy doesn’t insist you use your EHIC card for emergency medical treatment. If the UK does leave Europe without these arrangements in place and you have purchased the wrong travel insurance policy, you could find yourself with a hefty medical bill.

 What if I am denied entry to a European country because my passport hasn’t got enough time remaining on it?

Not having the correct documents to enter a country, passports, visa etc., is not something that you can get cover for from any travel insurance policy. Check your passport is valid for your planned trip – you can check this on the passport service website https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/check-a-passport

However, you may need to be patient as the sheer volume of people checking their passports has caused the system to crash in the past and as we got closer to the latest Brexit deadline the same may happen.