Coronavirus Travel Rights

Most insurers will cover you for cancellation if there is a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advisory in place – as there now is for all non-essential travel overseas, to any destination. But for a rough check, see what individual insurers have told us – though this will vary by policy and can change over time.

To be sure of what's covered, check your insurer's website – many now list their coronavirus cover. If not, and the policy terms are too tricky, call up or use online chat.

The two key questions we'd ask are:

1. Am I covered if the FCO later warns against 'essential travel'?
   
   
2. Am I covered if there's no FCO advisory, but either my flight or hotel is cancelled and I can't travel as a result? If so, what's covered (flights, hotels, car hire etc)? (While right now there's a blanket FCO advisory in place, this may change in future.)

What if I have an annual policy that's about to expire?

While it's generally difficult to get new travel insurance policies at the moment – and virtually impossible to get one that'll cover cancellation costs related to coronavirus – if you have an existing annual travel insurance policy, you may well have more joy.

Several travel insurers, including Axa, Coverwise and Planet Earth, have told us that if you have an annual policy and choose to renew, you'll still get the same level of cover on your renewed policy as you did on the old one. (Don't assume this applies to all policies or travel insurers though – if renewing, check directly.)

That means if you have a holiday booked and your annual policy expires in the meantime, it may be worth renewing with your current insurer rather than looking for a new policy. Make sure you arrange cover from the day after your current policy expires – that way, you'll have continuous cover.

It's worth noting even with policies that will give you cancellation cover for existing bookings on renewal, you won't be covered for any new trips you're planning. That's because travel insurance is supposed to cover for the unexpected. Equally, you won't be covered for trips booked after the FCO warned against travel to a country, or after coronavirus was declared a pandemic.

New. The FCO now advises against travel 'indefinitely', so you should get a refund – for imminent trips at least

On 17 March 2020, the Foreign Office warned UK nationals against all non-essential travel worldwide for 30 days, and on Saturday 4 April this was extended – it's now advising against all non-essential global travel "indefinitely".

As well as being a useful safety guide, Foreign Office warnings are key because they often determine whether or not your travel insurance will pay out if you have to cancel a holiday booked before the warning came into place (or whether travel firms themselves – such as airlines or package holiday companies – will cancel and refund your trip).

In some ways, the Foreign Office now warning against non-essential travel "indefinitely" makes things trickier. When the end date of the advisory was Thursday 16 April, many firms were paying out for all travel booked before this date. But as the warning is now effectively 'no travel until we say so' and we don't know when they'll say so, it's likely you'll need to wait until close to your travel date before airlines, hotels and travel insurers agree to refund you.

No FCO warning in place when you travel? Don't expect to get a refund if you cancel, but check – some firms are now being flexible

Cases of coronavirus have now been diagnosed globally, and the FCO has warned against all non-essential travel. This is due to last indefinitely, and so holidays booked in the relatively near future are likely to be refunded.

If you cancel a trip that's well in the future, unfortunately there's no guarantee you'll get a refund, though some firms are now being more flexible and in particular letting customers rebook.

With insurance, the situation is likely to depend on whether an FCO warning's in place at the point you're due to travel. If not, you almost certainly won't be able to get the money back on your insurance, as the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says travel insurance "is not designed to cover disinclination to travel where the FCO advice has not changed to advise against travel". None of the insurers we've checked with will cover you if you cancel in this scenario.

Some airlines, hotels and other travel firms WILL now let you cancel or rebook

It's worth checking directly with your airline or hotel even if your original booking was on a non-refundable basis, as some have started to introduce special cancellation or rebooking policies to help those affected by coronavirus. And even where firms haven't introduced special policies, it's worth asking anyway if there's any flexibility, as in some cases they'll be willing to let you cancel or rebook.

Here's what firms have told us they're doing (although this changes regularly, so you'll need to check with companies directly for the most up-to-date information).

More refund questions

Below are some answers to more key questions:

Many airlines and holiday companies are now choosing to proactively cancel trips. For example, Easyjet has now grounded all flights, while British Airways has suspended all flights to and from London Gatwick. Meanwhile, Tui has cancelled all holidays until at least 14 May 2020.

If this happens, then in principle you should generally get a full refund – but in some cases that's proving hard in practice.

Many airlines are now only offering vouchers via their website – but you DON'T have to accept 'em

Under EU flight delay rules (which still apply this year despite Brexit, and which cover all flights leaving the UK or EU as well as flights to the UK/EU on a UK/EU airline), you're entitled to choose between:

• EITHER a refund for the flight that was cancelled.
• OR an alternative flight (airlines call this re-routing) to your destination.

However, a number of airlines now appear to be pushing customers towards getting a voucher instead. Easyjet, for instance, will only allow you to get a voucher online – there is no option to claim a refund via the website. Other airlines such, as BA, say that you can get a refund, but anecdotally we've heard from customers who have been pushed to take a refund online and told they'll have to call to get a refund.

You're absolutely entitled to a refund in this situation, but enforcing your rights at the moment is the problem. Here's what to try if your airline's not offering a refund online:

1) Consider whether you 100% need a refund, or if you'd be happy with a voucher. At the moment, many airlines are really struggling. This means of course that it's safer to demand a refund rather than settle for a voucher in case the airline collapses before you can use it. But it's also worth considering whether you're in a position to show forbearance.

As MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis said earlier this month: "Many organisations are struggling to cope. For those that can afford it, even if you've a right to a full refund for a ticket, if the firm is struggling in a struggling sector and it asks you to take vouchers instead, that's worth considering. That may just be what stops that firm from collapsing and its staff from losing their jobs." 

2) Try calling the airline – though there may be long waits. While many airlines are pushing customers to take vouchers online, the big ones we've spoken to (including BA and Easyjet) say they are refunding customers – you just need to call for this to happen. Phone lines are very busy at the moment, which makes it hard to get through and this is understandably putting some off – but the simplest way of getting a refund is to hit the phones and keep at it. If you're not in urgent need of the cash, you could maybe try waiting a little until the phone lines are calmer.

3) If you really can't get through, try chargeback on your card. Chargeback is a type of protection that means if you don't receive the goods you bought, you may be able to get your money back via your debit or credit card provider. It's not a legal protection, so is at your card provider's discretion – but it does cover goods provided, so may well protect you in this scenario. See full Chargeback help. 

4) As a last resort, complain to the airline – then an ADR scheme if there is one. If you've not had any luck with the above, then you can try filing a formal complaint. (Different airlines have different processes for this, so check what your airline says). In your complaint, make sure you explain what went wrong and clearly state what you want in terms of a refund.

If you don't get a response, or do but it's not what you're after, you can try going to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service if your airline works with one (see which airlines are covered by which ADRs). If your airline's not covered by an ADR, you'll need to escalate your complaint to a regulator instead (for any flights leaving the UK or coming into the UK with a UK or EU airline, that's the Civil Aviation Authority).

Bear in mind that the regulator's decisions aren't necessarily binding, and if you take your case to an ADR and lose, you may have to cover costs – so weigh up if it's really worth it. See more info on how this works in the Flight Delays guide.

If you struggling to get a refund, please let us know at news@moneysavingexpert.com (sadly we can't reply to every email).

Note the info on your rights above applies to flights covered by EU law. With other flights, your rights will depend upon the rules of the country which has jurisdiction over the flight – this will vary from country to country.