BA locked in row with insurance firms over payouts for its IT glitch

BRITISH Airways was last night embroiled in a row with insurance companies over who was liable to compensate the thousands of customers left stranded over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The Association of British Insurers has accused the airline of giving passengers the wrong information and complicating the claims process to avoid having to pay up.

It also said that customers were being ‘passed from pillar to post’ after the carrier’s IT power failure cancelled the flights of 75,000 passengers.

BA promised it would compensate people seeking to recoup money for ‘disruption expenses’, which includes the cost of hotels, meals and phone calls. But customers look- ing to claim non-flight related expenses have been told to claim through their travel insurance first. The insurance industry however, claims they should seek compensation from BA first.

Before customers can enter details of their claim on BA’s online compensation form, they are asked if they have travel insurance for the disrupted journey.

If the passenger answers ‘Yes’, BA then asks if they have claimed or intend to make a claim, on their travel insurance.

If the passenger answers ‘No’, the BA website prompts them to claim with their travel insurer first.

Helen Dewdney, a consumer rights activist, said: ‘BA is making it as difficult as they possibly can so fewer people will claim. It looks like they’re trying to get back every penny they possibly can.’ The Association of British Insurers said: ‘Any cover available under travel insurance will usually kick in only if compensation is not available from any other source.

‘Those affected should seek compensation and any refunds of expenses in the first instance from British Airways.

‘People affected by the disruption should be able to claim compensation and refunds for any expenses as simply as possible, not being passed from pillar to post.’

A BA statement said: ‘We will fully comply with all of the relevant EU compensation regulations regarding any cancelled or substantially delayed services and for associated welfare claims (eg hotel accommodation, transport... meals, and telephone costs, while you were delayed).’ Meanwhile a major investor in BA’s parent company IAG said the carrier would have to focus all efforts on protecting its brand to stem any knock-on effects from the power failure.