The Salary Calculator

How to navigate holiday flights and travel this summer

by Madaline Dunn

As millions of people prepare to jet off for their summer holidays – for some, for the first time in three years- many are troubled by travel anxiety. Strike action at UK airports has been ongoing for some time now, over pay, working conditions and long hours. For these reasons, there has also been an exodus from the sector, leading to staff shortages. On top of these issues, the recent heatwave has added to disruptions, with all-time-high temperatures causing surface defects on runways.

Projections from experts such as Professor Cloke, a Government scientific advisor are also warning that there could be a further heatwave in August, and so it’s wise to prepare for this eventuality when booking upcoming flights. Likewise, while British Airways staff recently announced they had called off their strike after reaching a pay deal, Ryanair staff are set to continue with strike action, as are staff from other airlines.

It can be difficult to know where you stand with regard to compensation and insurance, which can result in a lot of unnecessary stress.

At The Salary Calculator, we’ll walk you through:

• Whether the situation has changed since the UK left the EU
• What happens if your flight is cancelled due to strike action
• Whether or not you’re entitled to compensation if your flight is delayed or cancelled
• Whether you’ll be covered by travel insurance
• What will happen if your flight is cancelled due to the heatwave

Is the situation any different now that the UK has left the European Union?

Prior to Brexit, EU 261/2004 protected the rights of air passengers, and it meant that people could claim compensation for a delayed or a cancelled flight. While the UK is no longer part of the EU, that protection was incorporated into UK law at the end of the Brexit transition period.

This is good news because it means that you’re still protected with regard to flight compensation claims, but now you’ll be paid in UK Pounds rather than Euros.

What happens if your flight is cancelled due to strike action?

Flight cancellations are usually a nightmare to navigate and the last thing you want to encounter when envisioning the expanse of blue sea that awaits you at your holiday destination. However, the good news is that if your flight is cancelled as a result of strike action, legally, your airline is responsible for rerouting you, which could even be with another airline if the airline you booked with is unable to accommodate you. The airline will refund you for the flight cancellation if this option is also not possible.

It’s also important to note that in situations where your cancelled flight is part of a holiday package, you’ll be covered by ATOL. This is a government-backed financial protection scheme that applies to the majority of package holidays. As part of this coverage, if your flight cancellation means you have to locate alternative accommodation, you’ll be covered for this too.

Will you receive compensation?

Under UK law, if you’re due to fly and your flight is cancelled and the airline company you booked with fails to inform you of the cancellation less than 14 days from the date you’re due to fly, you will be entitled to compensation, if the cancellation is the airline’s fault.

That said, if the strike is announced more than two weeks from the date of your holiday and you’re offered an acceptable alternative that doesn’t detract too much from your original flying plans, your entitlement to compensation no longer remains. Adding to this, Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “Equally, if you decide not to travel because you are concerned by strikes, you won’t be covered in this instance either.”

Are you covered by insurance?

Unfortunately, a significant number of insurance policies don’t offer protection in cases of strike action. According to a recent investigation by Which?, four in 10 policies don’t. So, considering the very turbulent nature of travel at the moment, when deciding which insurance provider to choose, it’s important to ensure that they provide as robust coverage as possible.

Likewise, be aware that if, following the news of upcoming strikes, you book travel insurance, you might find that it’s invalidated.

Speaking about this to This is Money, Ceri McMillan, travel expert at GoCompare, ​​said: “It’s so important that you read your policy, so you know what you’re covered for and likewise, buy your policy as soon as you book your holiday as you are more likely to be covered the earlier you bought it.”

What happens if your flight is cancelled due to the heatwave?

Due to the Civil Aviation Authority declaring that the heatwave lies within the category of ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ if a flight is cancelled or delayed due to soaring temperatures, passengers will not be eligible for compensation, which typically works out as up to £500 per person.

Extraordinary circumstances cover situations that airlines deem to be out of their control, and unforseen. Other examples of situations in this category, include: political and civil unrest, security threats, medical emergencies, strikes of airport staff or suppliers, and bird strikes.

Tags: compensation, holiday travel, strikes, Travel insurance

Travel insurance tips this summer

by Madaline Dunn

As the summer goes on and more places open up, the prospect of finally going on holiday is incredibly exciting. That said, with policies around travel changing all the time, it’s also understandable to feel concerned that things might not go according to plan.

At The Salary Calculator, we’ll make sure that you’re all clued up when it comes to travel insurance this summer so that you can take a vacation stress-free.

This article will walk you through:

• What should you look for when choosing travel insurance?
• What situations are not covered by travel insurance?
• What happens if you catch Covid?
• What happens if the NHS app pings you?

What to look for when choosing travel insurance

Luckily, more providers are now offering covid-related travel insurance after initially distancing themselves. Now, there’s a wide range of providers to choose from, but there are a few different aspects to look out for when making your decision.

When searching for travel insurance, ask yourself:

• Does the provider offer coverage if I test positive for Covid?
• Does the provider offer curtailment cover?
• Does the provider offer coverage if I lose a loved one due to Covid?
• Does the provider offer coverage if I miss my flight because my required Covid test has not returned results in time for my getaway?
• Does the provider offer medical cover if I fall ill with Covid?
• Does the provider offer protection from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice changes?

Equally, to ensure that covid doesn’t catch you out, it’s best to keep updated with any rule changes and travel guidance. So, before booking a holiday, it’s wise to check in with the UK’s traffic light system.

It’s also important to remember that just because a country is on the UK’s green list, you may not be allowed entry as a holidaymaker. Checking the Foreign Office website and checking in with a country’s UK embassy website will keep you in the loop.

When am I not covered?

There are some situations where your travel insurance won’t offer coverage. If the FCDO changes its travel advice to warn against all travel, holiday providers will likely cancel and refund your trip. That said, while policy providers covered cancellation based on FCDO advice before the pandemic, now fewer policy providers are doing so. This will vary depending on your provider, so it’s important to check the details.

Also, be wary of accepting vouchers or Refund Credit Notes (RCN) from airline and holiday companies for cancellations. If you do, you can’t claim from your travel insurance cover as this is viewed as a double claim.

Additionally, you won’t be covered for ‘disinclination to travel’, which essentially means you have personally made the decision not to travel. So, for example, if you’re due to travel but hear that pandemic cases are rising in the area you are staying, you no longer wish to travel and cancel your holiday, you won’t be covered. Equally, if your hotel informs you that some of its facilities will be closed due to Covid, and as a result, you no longer wish to travel and cancel your holiday, you won’t be covered here either.

Am I covered if I catch Covid?

While coverage will vary from provider to provider, there are quite a few out there that offer Coronavirus trip cancellation cover. So, if you or a household member falls ill with Covid within 14 days of your holiday, and you have to cancel, you will be covered.

Some providers offering this coverage include:

• Co-op
• Asda
• Nationwide
• JustTravelCover
• Staysure

Likewise, if you have booked activities for when you are on holiday, and they are disrupted due to Covid, there is Coronavirus excursions cancellation coverage.

What happens if I’m pinged

Recently, more and more people are being ‘pinged’ by the NHS app. So much so, the phenomenon has been dubbed the ‘Pingdemic,’ with record numbers reaching 689,313 in one day at the end of July.

So, it’s understandable to be concerned that your holiday may be jeopardised by coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.

If you do find yourself pinged before you set out on holiday, you should identify whether or not the Test and Trace service is instructing you to isolate. While you do not legally have to isolate yourself if you have not received instruction, it is advised to do so. Subsequently, most providers will offer cover for ‘advised’ isolation. Staysure, for example, offers cancellation cover if you are unable to travel due to receiving contact from Test and Trace.

Tags: holiday, Travel, Travel insurance

The FCA ends price-walking

by Madaline Dunn

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is introducing new rules to tackle “price-walking,” which sees consumers pay more and more for insurance each year despite no increase in risk.

This move follows a super-complaint made by Citizens Advice to the Competition and Markets Authority back in 2018.

But, how exactly does this mean, and how will these changes affect your personal finances?

At The Salary Calculator, we’ll make sure you have all the information you need to discover how these changes will affect you!

This article will explain:

• What price-walking is
• Why the FCA stepped in
• What the changes mean
• How to launch a complaint against an insurance firm
• Responses from across the industry

What is “price-walking”?

Price-walking, otherwise known as the loyalty penalty, refers to the phenomenon where insurance companies charge long-standing customers more to renew their cover while new customers receive cheaper premiums.

According to the FCA, customers lose out on £1.2bn a year due to what Citizens Advice has called a “systematic scam”.

Why has the FCA stepped in?

Back in February 2021, the FCA released its Final Report on general insurance pricing practices. In this report, the regulatory body outlined that general insurance markets must deliver “good outcomes” for all consumers, but that it had found that this is not the case due to price-walking.

One example used to demonstrate this is that while new customers for building insurance pay just £130, customers who have been with the same provider for five or more years pay £238.

Ultimately, it outlined that the practice “distorts competition” while increasing costs for both customers and firms, with higher overall prices for customers. It also highlighted that many insurance firms are not transparent about their price-walking practices.

What do the changes mean?

On 28 May, the FCA published its collection of new pricing practices rules, which primarily placed a prohibition on price-walking for home and motor insurance.

Other changes include giving customers easier methods of cancelling the automatic renewal of their policy and making sure insurance firms do more to “consider how they offer fair value to their customers.

Commenting on the changes, Sheldon Mills from the FCA said: “These measures will put an end to the very high prices paid by many loyal customers. Consumers can still benefit from shopping around or negotiating with their current provider, but won’t be charged more at renewal just for being an existing customer”.

The changes will come into effect from 1 January 2022, and insurance firms will be required to report data to the FCA for improved supervision.

How to launch a complaint against an insurance provider

As a customer, if you become aware that your insurance provider is continuing with a banned practice, you must first complain to the firm directly.

Following this, the firm must respond to your complaint within eight weeks or explain why further investigation is required.

If the firm does not remedy the situation, you can then take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. This must be done within six months of the final response from the firm. Citizens Advice can also provide a helping hand.

The last resort is taking the firm to court.

How has the industry responded?

The announcement of the rule changes has been welcomed across the board. A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said that it means firms will no longer be able to offer “unsustainably low-priced deals” to their customers.

Insuretech UK, meanwhile, said that the practice of price-walking has “damaged” customer trust in insurance products and “undermined the credibility” of the industry and voiced support for the changes.

Elsewhere, Rodney Bonnard, UK head of insurance at EY, said that the ban on price-walking points to a “new era of transparency”.

Finally, Matthew Upton, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said that price-walking had been particularly harmful to individuals on low-income and noted that the organisation was “pleased” to see the FCA set the bar “so high”.

Tags: 2021, Citizens Advice, Competition and Markets Authority, FCA, Insurance

Why under employment bumps up insurance costs

by Admin

[Guest Post]

Unemployment in the UK has edged closer to the three million mark, and is at its highest level since 1996. As well as not having a regular source of income, unemployed drivers are more likely to be hit by higher payments for car insurance. Motorists who are out work are being advised to shop around for better deals on websites such as moneysupermarket.

An investigation carried out by the BBC revealed that car owners without a job are, on average, paying around 30% more for their insurance than motorists with full-time jobs, while their premiums are potentially 63% higher. There are a few reasons why unemployed drivers are seen as risky by some insurers.

Peter Harrison, an expert on motor insurance from MoneySupermarket explained why: “This is partly because unemployed people are more likely to use their cars during the day and to drive up and down unfamiliar routes to a job interview. Also, some insurers perceive a drop in financial security as a result of losing a job means someone in that situation is more likely to make a claim, hence the rise in the price of premiums”.

When out of work, your car is vital in helping you find a new job, but the impact of losing income means you might struggle to keep up with payments on credit cards and mortgages, which could hit your credit rating. A poor credit rating could also impact upon the price of car insurance. This is why it pays to look for the best deal possible.

With the help of a price comparison site like MoneySupermarket, you can find a car insurance deal which can save you much-needed cash, but there are other ways to help you keep the cost down at a time when you need to tighten your belt. Getting a new quote could save money, as it could go down every year (£2.4bn is wasted by motorists by accepting renewal quotes). Adding someone with more driving experience to your policy could also drive the cost down.

Reducing your mileage could prove helpful. As well as saving on fuel costs, your insurer could take notice and slash the cost of your policy. Keeping in touch with the insurer about your current circumstances is also a good way to save money. Telling them about losing your job as soon as possible is important, as failing to do so could invalidate your insurance.

Tags: car insurance, Economy, guest post, Insurance, unemployment