Updated 31/12/2020

If like us, you are dreaming of a holiday in 2021, now could be a great time to book. There are some great offers to be had and travel providers are offering more flexible terms and conditions than they ever have before, such as the option to change your destination or dates with no penalty only a few weeks before departure.

If you are booking a holiday for later this year, it’s important to protect your investment as much as you can, because as we all know, things can change unexpectedly.  

Here’s our run down on the protection that is available for your holiday:

Package travel arrangements

Package travel means booking your flight and accommodation through the same provider at the same time and being charged an overall price for the trip.

Package holidays offer the best level of protection for you and your holiday if something goes wrong.  

For instance, if the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice changes for your destination, or if quarantine restrictions are put in place, you are likely to get much more support from a package holiday provider than if you have booked all the elements of your trip separately.

Package holiday providers have to abide by the package travel regulations which means they have a duty to provide the holiday that you booked, if they are unable to do that, for instance because of a change in FCDO travel advice, they have a duty to provide you with a full refund or an alternative trip.

More information: https://www.abta.com/tips-and-advice/is-my-holiday-protected/new-package-travel-regulations

ATOL Protection

Booking a package also gives you more protection if your holiday provider becomes insolvent.  If you book a flight and accommodation together through an ATOL bonded travel provider your trip will be ATOL Protected. ATOL Protection means that if your travel provider becomes insolvent, you will be able to claim a refund from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), or if you are already abroad, they will arrange your transport home.

More information: https://www.caa.co.uk/ATOL-protection/Consumers/About-ATOL/

ABTA bonding

Many travel agents and tour operators are also members of ABTA, this means they have to abide by its code of conduct which offers further protection for customers.  

More information: https://www.abta.com/about-us/code-of-conduct

Pay by credit card

Using your credit card to pay for your holiday also gives you another level of protection. 

If you use a credit card to buy goods or a service, including holidays, costing between £100 and £30,000, you’re covered by ‘section 75’ of the Consumer Credit Act.

The credit card company has equal responsibility with the seller if there’s a problem with the things you’ve bought or the company you’ve bought them from fails, meaning that you are able to make a claim from your credit card provider if your holiday is not provided as promised.

More information: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act

Buy travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked your holiday

If you are planning a holiday it’s a good idea to buy travel insurance as soon as you’ve booked.  That way the money you’ve invested is protected against the risk of you having to cancel.

Gold and Platinum policies from Goodtogoinsurance.com provide cover if you have to cancel your holiday for the following reasons:

- Illness or injury (incl. contracting covid-19 if you have Covid+ cover), redundancy, your home becoming uninhabitable, requirements of HM Forces, court appearance or jury service.

We are flexible.  

If you need to change the dates or destination of your trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can move your single trip insurance to match, with no admin charge*.

All of our policies include Emergency Medical Expenses and Repatriation (bringing you home) if you contract COVID-19 abroad.  Covid+ policies also include cover for cancellation if you, or anyone insured on the policy contract COVID-19 before you travel.

*The new dates must be within 12 months of the original issue date. If the new trip is for a longer period or to a different destination, there may be an additional premium.