An insurer has claimed any operators or agents taking holidaymakers to Iraq would not be able to provide legal protection for customers.
Campbell Irvine managing director Anthony Kaye said it would be unlikely that a Lloyd’s underwriter would broker a deal and instead holidaymakers would be required to sign a number of legal waivers.
Special report: Tourism to Iraq
However, he warned these might not be worth the paper they are written on should anything go seriously wrong.
He said: “I wouldn’t expect a UK-based tour operator to go there and if a holidaymaker was out there and was injured, there would be hell to pay.
“You can get your client to sign as many indemnity forms as possible but if someone does get injured as a result of travel with the tour operator, there’ll be a big court case.”
Kaye said at the moment the only people who can get travel insurance to visit Iraq are people whose jobs require them to do so, adding: “If someone wants to go on holiday there and see the sites, it is a big fat rejection.”
Hinterland Travel managing director Geoff Hahn admitted he is unable to get group insurance for the ground-handling operation and instead relies on customers to secure their own personal policies.
He added: “The issue of insurance is obviously a very serious point that we’ve got to attend to.”