The Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) has officially warned travellers not to visit Mexico due to the risks of contracting swine flu and to slow down the global spread of the virus. The affect of this announcement has seen holidaymakers scramble to buy travel insurance policies in the hope of being protected against cancellations to their holiday plans. Not the wisest move - if you had plans to travel to Mexico, here's where you stand:

Those scrambling to buy travel insurance after the announcement from the FCO in order to recoup the cost of their holiday are wasting their time. The travel insurance companies will not provide you with cover if you've purchased the policy after the event. This highlights the importance buying a good travel insurance as soon as you book your holiday - even better if you've got an annual travel insurance policy which covers the regions you're likely to visit.

For those who had booked their holiday AND already had a travel insurance place, your position is much more rosey. The swine flu outbreak will be deemed to be not in any customer's control, so your travel costs should be refunded by your tour operator. Those who have booked flights through independent companies should speak to those providers first. This is the case for any traveller.

For any outstanding costs which may be left uncovered by the airline or tour operator, it's possible to claim those back from your travel insurance provider. Those without travel insurance will fall short here.

The added importance of travel insurance

The swine flu outbreak simply goes to highlight the importance of buying travel insurance as soon as you book your holiday. Not only are your cancellation costs sure to be covered, but if you happen to be in the region and in need of medical attention, you won't need the added stress of incurring a massive medical bill as a result. UK residents tend to take the NHS for granted and aren't usually aware of the cost of medical care around the world - it can easily reach the ten or hundreds of thousands of pounds depending on the length and type of treatment required. Not something you want to gamble on by not buying a travel insurance policy.

You can read the Foreign Commonwealth Office official announcement here.

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