Travellers whose holiday plans have been affected by cancellations due to the volcanic ash that grounded UK flights may not have their travel insurance claims paid.

While airlines have said they will refund or rebook flights, other costs such as hotel rooms and car hire, may not be repaid because many insurance policies do not cover claims arising from ‘adverse weather conditions’.

“Travel insurance policies will differ in this situation,” said Nick Starling of the Association of British Insurers. “There is no standard set of conditions which applies to a situation of this kind. Therefore customers should check their travel insurance policy, and speak to their travel insurer to understand what their individual policy covers them for in this situation.”

Most flights in the UK will remain grounded until early Saturday as ash from the volcano continues to drift across Europe.

Industry experts said that some of the cheaper insurance deals will have less cover themselves, so will not pay out to customers. “Part of the problem with UK travel insurance is that premiums are so low that most policies are written for specified risks only and are not designed to cover ‘all risks’”, said Antony Martin, managing director of insurefor.com.

Direct Line, however, has confirmed that its customers will be covered for travel delay and missed departure. Jennifer Thomas, spokesperson for Direct Line Travel Insurance, said: “If an airline cancels a flight, then customers should claim for a new flight from their airline. If they have booked the flight on their credit card, the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) could help with any claims made.

“If a customer has a flight cancelled and is refunded by the airline, but still has accommodation that they can’t cancel or use, these claims can be considered under travel delay leading to trip abandonment. Customers will need to provide written official evidence to support any claims where it is reasonable to request such evidence. In this case, information from official airline websites is acceptable as evidence.

“As with all insurance policies, you are unable to insure for an event or incident after it has happened. Therefore, customers wishing to buy travel insurance today will not be covered for travel delay or missed departure arising from the volcanic ash as they are buying cover in the knowledge that there is a problem. This highlights the importance of buying travel insurance as soon as you book your holiday or flight.”

Customers with Saga Services will also be covered. The company said if a flight was merely delayed, after 12 hours a benefit of £35 is payable and a further £15 for each 12 hours thereafter, up to a maximum of £215. However, for both these measures to apply customers must have checked-in for their flights in line with original booking conditions.

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