A YORK couple’s dream trip to Japan has turned into a nightmare after their insurance company said it would not pay out for cancellations caused by the recent earthquake.

Lee and Linda Maloney were due to set off to Japan on March 31, 20 days after the country’s devastating earthquake.

However, after reading Foreign Office advice, they decided to cancel their trip and have lost the £1,380 they saved for the holiday.

The couple, from the Hull Road area, say some major insurers have paid out, and have now accused their own insurers, Nationwide, of “splitting hairs” over travel advice from the Government.

The Foreign Office said at the time of the quake that UK residents should not travel to some specific ares of Japan unless it was essential.

Mrs Maloney said: “They (Nationwide) are going against the spirit of the Foreign Office advice. There’s no way a holiday can be regarded as essential travel.

“All the other clients of the particular agent we have gone through have been paid out without fuss.”

After writing to the Nationwide, the Maloneys received a response saying that Nationwide’s usual policy was to pay out only when Foreign Office advice was to cancel all travel. In the case of last month’s quake, it advised people not to go to Tokyo and north-east Japan unless it was essential.

Mrs Maloney said: “We have been saving a long time and have wanted to go to Japan for years. We have hosted Japanese students before and had arranged to meet them while we were there.”

She agreed it would have been wrong to go to Japan at that time, but said: “I think the insurance company is playing with words.”

Nationwide was unable to provide a response before The Press went to print last night.

However, in a letter to the Maloneys from UK Insurance/ Nationwide, they said that for the claim to be covered the Foreign Office would have had to “advise against all travel”.

The letter said: “As the Foreign Office are advising against “all but essential travel” we are unable to offer any financial assistance on this occasion.”