Iceland volcano - travel insurance and your rights FAQs

My flight's just been cancelled. What should I do?

If you've not yet left home, check with your airline before travelling to the airport and follow their advice. If they advise against travelling on their website, print this out for your records – it may come in handy when issuing a claim request.

Am I safe to book a holiday/flight considering the situation in Iceland?

There's always a small risk in booking a flight or holiday – who knows what the weather may bring? If you're booking costs between £100 and £30,000 is best to book on a credit card as you'll have added protection from the Consumer Credit Act should things not go to plan.

I've left it late purchasing insurance for my holiday – will anyone cover me?

If you're due to travel in the upcoming days or weeks, you're highly unlikely to find an insurance company who will cover you for insurance cover relating to the ash crisis.

However, it's crucial to have travel insurance to cover you, your baggage, services booked and most importantly, your health.

Your flight delay or cancellation will be covered by the Denied Boarding Regulations, and if you end up travelling, you'll need to be sure the rest of your trip is covered.

I'm going to make my own way to my holiday destination/home - can I claim any of this back?

Unless your airline suggests you find your own way home and promises to reimburse your reasonable travel expenses, then unfortunately they are not obliged to reimburse you. Ask your airline to explain what you're entitled to in writing – an email is enough to mark a formal record of their agreement.

If you have travel insurance, you may be able to claim under your insurance policy but you'll need to check the fine print of your policy.

I'm going to have to cancel my holiday as my flight has been cancelled. Is there anything I can do?

If you booked a package holiday and your flight was cancelled, you have the option of either cancelling your holiday and getting a full refund, or re-booking for another departure - usually within 28-30 days.

You shouldn't incur any administration charges for re-booking your holiday but, if the new holiday would have cost more money than the original, you may incur some additional costs.

If you booked your flight and holiday accommodation separately, you'll need to be suitability insured to recuperate loses made from bookings outside of your flights such as accommodation, excursions or car hire.