Holiday Extras has introduced an AI tool called Syd to help customers and travel agents to check terms and conditions of travel insurance policies.
The new tech service comes as the ancillaries provider revealed research showing 55% of holidaymakers do not read their travel insurance documents properly.
Furthermore, three quarters of travellers assumed their insurance would cover them in an event of a natural disaster – such as wildfires – which is not always the case.
The survey of 1,000 holidaymakers found a quarter (24%) only skimmed the small print, 28% referred to a brief online summary and 3% did not reading the policy at all.
Two-thirds (68%) assumed their insurance covered disruption from strike activity and 62% assumed that their insurance would cover them when travelling in any type of size of vehicle, which is not always the case.
The new AI Insurance Explainer tool named ‘Syd’ (Search Your Documents) uses artificial intelligence technology to find specific details quickly within their insurance documents and check what their package covers.
The tool is available to all Holiday Extras customers and can be found on its app as standard after booking.
Holiday Extras also highlighted how the number of travel insurance claims has risen by 148% since 2021.
Howard Dove, managing director insurance at Holiday Extras, said: “We have seen a steep rise in insurance claims across the market and have been surprised to see the results of our own research which show how many travellers misunderstand what the policy they’ve purchased covers – this, in most cases, is the main reason why claims are denied.
“We are therefore very pleased to bring Syd to the market. It will be revolutionary in improving the experience of travellers across the country and it demonstrates how AI can be used to make simple technology that has a big impact.
“Most vitally, it ties into our ethos of making holidays hassle-free, which has been at the heart of Holiday Extras since the day it was founded.
“Holiday Extras is confident that the tool will make understanding the intricacies of travel insurance easier and mitigate the number of claims being made due to simple misunderstanding of documentation.”