Thousands of people could lose their travel cover after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) took action against Whiteley Insurance Consultants.
The West Yorkshire-based firm was placed into provisional liquidation by the High Court at the FSA’s behest.
The FSA told the court that Whiteley - a brokerage - was selling travel insurance which was not underwritten by an insurer, invalidating the policies.
The liquidators have set up a hotline, 08705 234803, for policyholders.
More: news.bbc.co.uk
Related Travel Information
Thousands of people have been left holding worthless travel insurance policies after one of the UK's biggest travel brokers was last night forced into provisional liquidation for selling policies not underwritten by an authorised insurer.
The Financial Services Authority yesterday used its "public interest" powers to force Whiteley Insurance Consultants into liquidation at the high court.
The group, which traded as Kingfisher Travel Insurance and Kingfisher Insurance Services, and is based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, mostly sold policies through specialist travel agents and tour groups.
The provisional liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers said their appointment does not mean Whiteley Insurance Consultants is insolvent.
To mark the significant increase in the number of people booking their holidays via the internet, Bradford & Bingley has launched a new online travel insurance package.
In conjunction with First Assist Insurance Services, the travel insurance policy for etravellers offers immediate cover, at a ten per cent discount.
It is available online 24 hours a day and offers comprehensive cover at some of the most competitive rates around - almost half the price of a leading competitor for seven days' individual cover within Europe.
"The ease of organising a trip from your own home or office desk attracts millions and we were
Saga Travel Insurance has introduced automatic cover for a wide range of leisure activities as holidaymakers continue to seek travel and adventure.
The insurer has added higher-risk activities to travel cover and now covers wide range of activities as standard, with additional options to cover scuba diving and winter sports, as over-50s are increasingly embracing higher-risk sports and activities on holiday.
Saga found that, if money were no object, nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of over-50s would take extended time out to travel the world, while nearly half of all 55-64 year olds questioned (47 per cent) said they were currently planning
Yahoo's decision to send a war correspondent to cover every armed conflict in the world within a year is little more than a stunt. It's a slightly tasteless way to let people vicariously engage in war tourism.
True, the award-winning correspondent, Kevin Sites, is well-respected, courageous, and has covered wars in many continents for many outlets including CNN, NBC, ABC and MSNBC.
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Travel insurance is the type of insurance purchased by travelers to cover them in case of cancellation, loss, theft or costs incurred through medical bills. All travel insurance plans are different and some costs and cancellations aren't covered by all insurance policies.
"The main insurance we sell is cancellation insurance," said Carolyn Howard, travel agent at Global Express.
Cancellation insurance covers trips canceled for a valid reason, as stated through the policy's guidelines. It is what many people are offered when booking a trip.
Howard said most cancellation insurance would not cover the bombings in London because flights and tours were not significantly
