Road, rail and air travelers have awoken to yet more chaos as the Beast from the East continues to batter the UK. Heavy snow fall and icy conditions are causing severe delays and many people’s journeys have been disrupted. Tuesday saw a white blanket covering the majority of the country and the conditions are expected to continue over the next couple of days.
Those who are due to travel abroad will understandably be concerned so we have some much needed advice…
Before heading off, be sure to check with your travel operator for the latest cancellations and delays – many companies including Virgin, South Eastern, Arriva and British Airways are keeping their passengers up to date via their social media channels.
If your transport is still running, allow plenty of time to reach the airport, station or port. It is worth bearing in mind that most travel insurance policies will not cover for missed departure due to traffic delays. There are a few policies that will offer this cover, provided you have taken the current weather conditions into account and have left sufficient time to get to your departure point, so if you are looking to travel over the next couple of weeks it is a good idea to look for one of these policies. Not many travel insurance providers offer this extra cover, so you may need to go to the provider directly and ask if they provide this.
Those whose transport has been cancelled should contact their travel company as it is their responsibility to offer alternative transport at a later date. This may mean you miss out on some accommodation or car hire that was already arranged and pre-booked, if you are not able to claim this money back from the accommodation or car hire company you may be able to claim it through your travel insurance provider – but this cover is not routinely available on travel insurance policies – so check your policy wording carefully, and it may be worth looking for a policy which offers this extra cover in future.
The Beast from the East is expected to hit the whole of the UK tonight and continue through to Thursday so make sure you check before you travel and take care on the roads.