Features

Take cover from air rage violence

1 Dec 2004 by business traveller

Chubb has become the first UK insurance company to protect travellers against the physical and mental effects of being caught in an air rage incident.
According to a report commissioned by Chubb, air rage incidents are risings by 7.4% a year and 15% of incidents involve actual physical violence.
Chubb's head of personal insurance in Europe, John Sims, said: ?We commissioned this report to evaluate the risks our clients face when they travel, and these figures show that we were absolutely right to do so. It also raises the question of whether the airlines themselves are exposed to the threat of litigation from passengers or flight crew for failing to tackle the problem robustly enough.
?I'm a regular flyer and frequently see passengers who've clearly been drinking heavily before they've even boarded the plane. This report paints an all too vivid picture of how alcohol, combined with a range of other factors associated with modern air travel, can create a volatile cocktail of emotions.?
Report authors Professor Canter and Dr Youngs identify the main causes of air rage as: aggressive marketing by the airline industry, producing increased delays and crowding while increasing customer expectations; the banning of smoking on flights (this led to an instant doubling of incidents on UK flights in 1995); excessive alcohol consumption; flight delays and dissatisfaction with in-flight service; and seating arrangements (in particular issues regarding reclining seats).
According to the report, offenders are usually men in their 30s, travelling alone, especially stressed businessmen as they ?drink heavily and acquire an inflated sense of self-importance from constantly being waited on by the air crew?.
Both physical and mental abuse are covered, and policy holders will be able to claim for counselling and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorders.
The air rage cover is part of Chubb's Masterpiece policy covering home, contents, motor, travel, identity fraud and car-jacking. Premiums start at £2,000 per year and the air rage cover includes up to £10,000 for expenses related to an air rage incident, including medical expenses, psychiatric services, rest and recuperation.
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