Airlines flout EU insurance rules

A number of low-cost airlines are flouting EU rules on automatically adding travel insurance when flights are booked.

An investigation by consumer rights group Which? found that easyJet, Jet2 and Monarch continue to automatically add travel insurance policies at the time of booking.

The cost of this extra insurance is between £7 and £10.49 per passenger.

Travellers booking a flight with these airlines have to un-tick a box to opt out of the insurance policies.

Meanwhile, although Ryanair, British Airways and Wizz stick to the EU rules, insurance policies offered on their websites at the time of booking do not meet Which? Best Buy criteria.

Wizz only provides £200,000 cover for medical expenses, compared to Which?’s recommended £1 million, whilst Ryanair offers just £500 for cancelled or delayed trips, compared to the recommended £3,000.

Lorna Cowan, Which? Holiday editor, said: “With airlines still opting people into insurance, consumers could unwittingly buy a product which is of no use to them, and at up to £10 per person this can add up.

“Buying insurance at the same time as your flights may seem like an easy and convenient option.

“But if you’ve already got an insurance policy, or it doesn’t provide the right amount of cover for you, it’s as useless as no cover at all.”

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