Unfortunately a lot of holidaymakers are finding out that normal travel insurance does not cover oil spills. This is because spills are being classified as man made disasters. Most policies only cover natural disasters. Once again it seems as if travel insurance companies are finding ways not to cover travelers.

One traveler, Kathryn Calley, got a very unpleasant shock when she canceled her Florida beach vacation because of the oil spill. It was at this time that Kathryn was told by her travel insurance company that they would not cover her airfare.

Calley went on to say that she figured that they would be qualified to receive reimbursement or credit for a future flight as she had purchased a travel protection plan. However, as she found out, her travel protection plan only covers natural disasters. The oil spill is classified as man made, and experts say that most standard travel insurance companies do not cover such things.

Judy Sutton, the director of product management for Travel Insured International said that if she was heading for a beach that has globs of oil on it, she would be distressed as well. However, this is not a natural disaster, it’s a man made event.

Ed Perkins, who is a contributing editor at SmarterTravel.com, said that the hard facts of the insurance business are that, in any policy, the consumer does not collect on trip cancellation insurance expect for covered reasons. People who get caught by a natural disaster, like volcanic ash or hurricanes, are normally covered by standard travel insurance.