Travel Insurance will not cover Riots, War, Civil Commotion & Coup D’Etats

Insurance Blogger has just got back from holiday on the Balearic Island of Majorca for a bit of winter sun. I managed to get one of those last minute cheap flights for under a tenner!  So I don’t mind blatantly promoting that type of offer. That’s cheaper than the travel insurance and the airport transfer costs!
While I was out in Majorca I couldn’t but notice what was going on in Tunisia, a popular haunt of mine since the days of the dictator Habib Bourguiba in the 1970′s!
Looking at all those tourists stranded at Tunis Airport got me thinking - ‘None of them are covered!‘
They probably all have travel insurance but how many can actually claim?
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) draws up an extensive list of countries that have seen recent war or riot or civil commotion or is currently at war. Subsequently they advise these areas should not be travelled to.
As this is advised by Government most Travel Insurance policies will not cover you if you visit these countries.
Check that the country you are travelling to does not appear on either list, as they are likely to be excluded from travel insurance policies.
Here is the current Government advice for travelling to Tunisia for example:

Travel Summary

• We advise against all but essential travel to Tunisia.
• If you are in Tunisia, register with our service to tell us when and where you are travelling or where you live so our consular and crisis staff can provide better assistance to you. You can register on the FCO website at: https://www.locate.fco.gov.uk/locateportal/ or by calling: (00 216) 71 108 713. Those in the UK should ring the FCO on 020 7008 1500.

Nearly all Travel Insurance policies exclude war riot, terrorism and civil commotion which is rather worrying given all the media talk of domino effect trouble, and the numbers of people that travel each year to Egypt for example!
Always check the policy wording clearly of any travel insurance policy before you buy it and remember that if a travel insurance policy is cheap you may have problems when you try to claim.
If you do find yourself stranded in a war zone try to contact the British Embassy initially and at the same time your travel agents or tour operator who will help in these sort of non covered events and situations.

Source: www.insuranceblog.co.uk