Post office stops offering new travel insurance policies

The Post Office has joined several other large insurers in suspending selling new travel insurance policies in the face of the current coronavirus pandemic.

The Post Office said it had taken this difficult decision as it is unfair to sell travel insurance products to new customers who may not be able to claim due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Post Office travel insurance products will therefore be unavailable to new customers for the foreseeable future.

Since LV= became the first major name to withdraw from the travel insurance market on 11 March 2020, several household names have followed suit in no longer offering travel insurance to any new customers. These include Aviva, Churchill, Direct Line, Virgin Money, Admiral and More Than.

Some insurers, such as InsureandGo, AA, Axa and M&S are still offering travel insurance but are no longer providing cover for claims related to the Corvid-19 virus or any mutations.

The Post Office has confirmed that customers who have already purchased travel insurance with them will continue to have cover and are unaffected by the withdrawal of Post Office travel insurance.

A Post Office spokesperson said “We recognise that this is an anxious time for travellers. The decision to suspend issuing travel insurance for new customers was not taken lightly. However, we believe it would be irresponsible to sell a product to a customer who would not be able to claim against Covid-19 given the number of countries that the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) is advising against all but essential travel to. We urge all our existing customers to monitor our travel alerts page on our website for all the latest information relating to their policy.”

Further to this, the Post Office is advising existing customers to contact their airline, travel agent, hotel provider or tour operator to try to rearrange their trip to a later date or arrange a refund. In addition, anyone who has already purchased a Post Office travel insurance policy can amend their trip dates to within six months of the original trip. However, if there is a change in destination or duration from the original booking additional fees will be payable.

Currently, the Post Office is still selling foreign currency, but it has advised customers who purchased holiday money and who have subsequently had their trip cancelled that they can claim a full refund. Customers need to submit both their currency purchase and sell receipts and evidence their holiday was cancelled to qualify.