What most of us get wrong about travel insurance

Imagine the worst holiday ever. Your flight is delayed by strikes, meaning you arrive at your connecting airport two hours late, can't get through security in time and have to pay for a new flight. 

The first morning, thieves break into your Airbnb and steal all your money. The next day a forest fire sweeps across your paradise island, forcing you to flee your apartment, find an expensive last-minute hotel and book the next flight home. The night of your panicky escape, you finally relax with a few glasses of wine, then trip down the steps of the hotel, breaking your ankle. You're rushed to A&E, vowing never to go on holiday again. 

You'd be very unlucky to experience all that. Still, that's what travel insurance is for or should be. But there's no guarantee that your insurer will pay out in the cases we described. Even worse, when you're shopping around for insurance, it's hard to find out whether or not a policy would pay up for specific scenarios. 

This article first appeared in Which? Travel magazine. We don't accept freebies from travel companies, airlines or hotels, so you can be sure our investigations, recommendations and reviews are completely honest. 

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How we investigated travel insurance loopholes and confusion

We recruited a small panel of volunteers to look through insurance policy documents from three big-name brands: M&S Bank, Tesco Insurance and Virgin Money. We asked them to read the policies and tell us whether they thought they would be covered for the scenarios detailed below and several more. After all, if you're buying insurance for a trip, it's crucial to actually understand what you are and aren't covered for. 

Reassuringly, and despite the stereotype of confusing T&Cs, our volunteers told us they didn't find the documents difficult to read. They were people of all different education levels and ages, and most said that they found the three policies 'fairly understandable'. This would be great, except that, for some questions, almost everybody who looked at the T&Cs got the answers wrong. 

Here are the scenarios we asked our volunteers to consider, and tell us whether they thought the policy would cover them and the correct answers, 

Do you think you'd be covered if...?

An aunt, who you've been helping to care for, becomes seriously ill just before your flight, meaning you have to cancel or delay your holiday.

Answer: Tesco and M&S yes, Virgin no. The crux of this is whether an aunt is considered to be a close relative - and whether you should have known that she might get ill. Virgin did say you'd be covered if your aunt was your next of kin. The results for M&S and Tesco might change if you knew your aunt was seriously ill and could have anticipated that you might have to cancel your trip. Our volunteers were mostly able to see that Tesco would cover them (five out of six got it right) and that Virgin wouldn't (four out of six), but only one realised that M&S would pay up-accepting your aunt as a sufficiently close relative. 

You skipped the most recent Covid vaccination offered to you by the NHS, then contracted Covid on holiday and ended up in hospital. Are your overseas medical expenses covered?

Answer: Tesco and M&S yes, Virgin (initially) no. Thankfully, this seems less of a risk than it might have done a couple of years ago. However, Virgin's clause could still have had expensive consequences for an unvaccinated person who ends up hospitalised with Covid while, say, in the US. When we flagged this, it said it was removing this clause from its policy. Our volunteers mostly got this correct with Tesco (five out of six) and Virgin (four out of six). Only half got the right answer for M&S. 

You fall down some steps after leaving a bar, breaking your ankle. You'd had three pints of strong local beer. Are your medical expenses covered?

Answer: Virgin yes, Tesco no, M&S 'maybe, we try to be reasonable'. There are some hints in the policies as to how strict they'll be. M&S's exception talks about the 'misuse of alcohol'. Tesco's is broader, ruling out claims made if you're 'under the influence of alcohol'. Virgin's seems more reasonable, as it says: 'We do not expect you to avoid alcohol on your trip but we will not cover any claim arising because you have drunk so much alcohol that your judgement is seriously affected'. Our volunteers clearly thought that after three pints of strong beer, their judgement would be seriously affected. Five of the six incorrectly thought they'd be turned down by Virgin. Three of the six got it right for Tesco, and two for M&S. 

Your expensive new iPad is stolen from your bag on the bus. Can you claim for it?

Answer: Yes, for all three. It's important that the iPad was in your possession when it was stolen. If it was in the luggage compartment, you'd have no claim. Be aware that some insurers will require you to buy add-on gadget insurance. For Tesco and Virgin, everybody got it right, compared with only half of our M&S volunteers. 

Your Airbnb is broken into while you're out, and thieves steal £250 in cash that was in a coat pocket. Can you successfully claim?

Answer: Tesco yes, M&S and Virgin no. Both M&S and Virgin say you'd need to lock up your cash in a safe for it to be covered - tricky in an Airbnb. With Tesco, you're fine as long as the Airbnb was securely locked. Virgin did say you may be able to claim if you'd tried to hide your money or make it secure. Most volunteers assumed they'd be covered only one got it right with Virgin and only two with M&S. Half got the correct answer for Tesco. 

A forest fire breaks out near your villa. You have to move to a hotel, then book an early flight home. Will insurance cover the hotel and flight?

Answer: M&S yes, Tesco and Virgin no. This sounds exactly like the sort of thing that insurance should cover, so it's no surprise that almost all our volunteers thought they'd get their money back. With Tesco and Virgin, they'd be disappointed. Five out of six got it right for M&S but only one got the correct answer for Tesco and Virgin. 

You become ill on a holiday to Wales, 75 miles from your home. Can you get back the cost of nights in hotels not used?

Answer: Yes, for all three. Only one volunteer got this wrong, on the M&S policy. The rule for all three is that, for UK holidays, the trip must be at least two nights in paid accommodation (not just staying with friends). Some insurers state it needs to be at least a certain distance from your house. 

A delayed flight means you miss your connection for your next flight. Will your travel insurance cover a new one?

Answer: Tesco and M&S yes, Virgin no. None of our volunteers realised they wouldn't be covered with Virgin. All six correctly assumed they would be with the other two. Insurers that have this as an exception need to make that clear. 

Your leg starts aching a few days before your holiday. You can't get a doctor's appointment until after you get back, but it gets much worse while you're abroad and you have to pay to see a doctor. Will your insurer cover the medical costs?

Answer: Tesco and Virgin no, M&S yes. The issue here is whether the painful leg is a 'pre-existing condition'. M&S said: 'As long as the leg ache started after purchase or renewal, they would be covered. Virgin said: 'If this was declared it would require an underwriter's approval, as this is an undiagnosed condition. The likelihood is that it would be declined, and the customer would have the option of going on their trip without cover for the undiagnosed condition or claim for cancellation of the trip.' Tesco said: As the customer has an undiagnosed condition, they would need to declare this.' All the volunteers reading Virgin's policy understood the bad news that they wouldn't have been covered, as did four out of six for Tesco. For M&S, only two out of six got it right - the rest would have had a pleasant surprise. 

How the insurers compared

The most important thing when choosing travel insurance is how much cover you'll have. On this basis, M&S was our clear winner. With Virgin Money's policy you'd be covered for just three out of our nine scenarios initially - later four when it changed its Covid policy. Tesco Insurance would cover six out of nine and M&S seven out of nine. Yet, it's also important that policy documents are clear about what is and isn't covered. Here, M&S wasn't as good: our volunteers only got 55% of the questions right, compared with 57% for Virgin and 69% for Tesco. 

Haven't got your travel insurance yet? See the best travel insurance policies for your trip - and the ones to avoid.

Helpline confusion

You can't blame the volunteers for struggling to find the answers. When we phoned up the insurers' helplines, we found that their advisers were often equally confused. Tesco staff got the answers wrong once (they said we wouldn't be covered for the stolen iPad), and for three of our scenarios they didn't know. M&S said 'don't know' twice and was stricter on alcohol, telling us we wouldn't be covered for our fall after three pints (the press office said 'maybe'). Virgin's team didn't give us any 'don't knows', but incorrectly told us we'd be covered for the delay caused by our aunt's illness and that we wouldn't be covered for the stolen iPad. 

We chose to check these three insurers because they're big brands with huge numbers of customers. Our experience of trawling through other insurance policies in the past strongly suggests that if we'd chosen other brands, we'd have similar results. The insurance industry needs to do more to explain just when and where plausible risks are covered. If even insurance employees are confused, what chance do the rest of us have? 

All three insurers said they'd consider our feedback when reviewing their travel policies. They said they try to make documents as clear as possible. Virgin said it would be working with its underwriter to see if it can make any improvements. It also said that, as each case is different, customers would always need to speak to their insurer to determine cover. 

Unusual exclusions to look for in your policy

Your cover is likely to have at least one of these exclusions. All but one are taken from Ryanair's travel insurance provider, which has the most exhaustive list of unexpected exclusions of the five we checked (easyJet, M&S, Ryanair, Tesco and Virgin). 

Volcanic ash clouds 

The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 caused massive disruption to air travel, and Ryanair's insurer doesn't want to pay out if it happens again. It excludes 'any claim arising from a volcanic eruption (including volcanic ash being carried by the wind)'. 

Jumping from a balcony 

All insurers are reluctant to pay for self-inflicted injuries and won't cover 'jumping from vehicles, balconies or buildings or any other self-exposure to needless risk.' 

Nuclear war 

Many insurers have a bizarre clause relating to radiation, but Ryanair's was the only one we looked at to rule out cover if there is 'use of, release of, or a threat to use any nuclear device, chemical or biological weapon.' 

Sonic booms 

This exclusion, meaning you can't claim if the booming pressure wave of a fighter jet going through the sound barrier smashes your windows, wasn't in the Ryanair policy-but it was in Virgin Money's. 

Lost your phone 

Many policies say you can't claim for lost or stolen phones. Some, such as Ryanair, rule out 'any personal electronics', which includes phones, laptops, smartwatches and games. 

Farmers blockade the road to the airport 

For any claim arising from civil riots or blockades. 

Being sued by somebody you crash into on your bike 

Ryanair has a personal liability exclusion for 'mechanical or motorised vehicles, including pedal cycles, electric cycles and scooters'. 

Lost your false teeth 

'Any claims for contact and corneal lenses, medical and dental fittings, or hearing aids.'

'There's no excuse for leaving it ambiguous as to whether you'll be covered for a delayed flight'

Dean Sobers, Which? Insurance expert says:

'When it comes to understanding insurance policies, the ones you have to watch out for are not necessarily the documents written in stiff legal jargon. It can be worse when they're written in a relaxed style, as they can give the impression that you'll probably be covered when you're not. It's impossible for insurers to predict everything that might happen and, as with our examples of weird exceptions, they look ridiculous when they try. If an insurer can clearly state that you won't be covered for damage caused by a sonic boom, there's no excuse for leaving it ambiguous as to whether you'll be covered for a delayed flight. Insurance policies could and should be a lot clearer, That's the only way for travellers to be confident they really will be covered when the worst happens.'