The cost of
travel insurance is likely to increase significantly in the coming months, an expert has claimed.
During the last three years, a healthily competitive market had ensured that such premiums were kept relatively low and affordable.
However, Peter Hayman, director of specialist
travel insurance provider P J Hayman, explained that there have been a number of changes in the industry which could prove costly for consumers.
Mr Hayman said the insurance market has become highly unpredictable “almost overnight”, due to low interest rates, an abundance of claims and the need for capital returns.
“Insurers are forcing through increases that would previously have been unthinkable in a competitive market,” he said.
“Rate increases of 20+ per cent are not untypical coupled with other limitations such as restrictions on age and degrees of acceptance for medical conditions.”
Mr Hayman added that consumers should still ensure they have adequate cover in place despite increasing restrictions and rising costs, and advised them to read the small print carefully to establish there are no “harsh exclusions that could come back to haunt them”.
