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'Light touch' advised for travel insurance industry

(23 Feb 2007)

Going on holiday? – Get a great deal on travel insurance

A proposed 'light touch' to the travel insurance sector would extend the cover of more than 4.5 million British tourists, an industry expert claims.

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Financial Ombudsman Service should be extended so as to incorporate customer complaints from those who have bought travel insurance as part of their package holiday deal.

The ABI also reported that trading standard bodies from local authorities should regulate the selling of travel insurancethrough tour operators and holiday agents in a similar fashion to how extended warranty sales are monitored.

Head of property and travel insurance, Jane Milne, said: "Our proposals will ensure that everyone buying travel insurance enjoys the proper level of protection, while also maintaining a thriving market."

She added that there is only a "low risk" that holidaymakers will get the wrong travel insurance deal for them.

The ABI's comments follow research by the British Insurance Brokers' Association, stating some 97 per cent of holidaymakers want the government to protect them from those travel agents who fail to fully explain the details of their travel insurance policies.

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