I think it is important to make people aware that a travel insurance policy (or any insurance policy for that matter), has to be limited in terms of scope and cover. It is infeasible to expect any policy to cover every possible outcome and eventuality.

The main issue with the ash disruption actually isn't based on any exclusion or definitions of insured perils or even 'act of god' which has been mentioned in some sections of the media. If you review the travel delay section, the only possible cover for policyholders when abroad is the travel delay benefit i.e. the £20 a day benefit. Additional accommodation and travel costs are not covered under a travel insurance policy as the policyholder is protected for these costs under flight and package regulations. This is similar to a policyholder who is stranded when their airline or tour operator goes bust, travel insurance doesn't cover this as they are protected by other regulations. So when we are saying that we are not covering the travel delay we are actually just not covering the £20 benefit.

Insurers that have said that they will provide cover are actually only covering the travel delay benefit i.e. £10 or £20 a day which is then limited to a typical total of £100. Very few are offering to pay for all accommodation and other expenses, although this subtlety is often being missed. The two main travel insurers on the list, Insure&Go and Mondial, have both said that there is no cover at all under their policies.