Booked with Thomas Cook, will we lose our money?

[Twopeapods]

We booked a holiday to Cyprus for next May for me, DC and our two DDs, BIL and his wife and one DC.
They told us tonight that they are unexpectedly expecting again due in May. We are super happy for them, but we don't know what are options are now for the holiday. We paid £200 per person so far with the rest due in February. My BIL said not to take out cancellation insurance when he went to travel agent to book so I'm bloody kicking myself now as I wanted to and should have insisted. Will that be our £800 gone?

They should pay you the money if they aren't going and you should still go surely.

Can't you go without them?

I think that, given you didn't take out insurance at the same time of booking, they won't get their deposit back.

Holiday insurance always needs to be taken out around the same time as booking because things can go pear shaped before a holiday as well as during.

We could go without them and they would lose their deposit, but we were all set for Euro Disney by ourselves, and we changed the holiday to do something with them. They have said if we change it to September they would go with a 5 month old. I honestly don't know what to do. If we go later they wouldn't lose their deposit I suppose.

Suit yourselves not them

Go in September then.
Or go without them. No need for your family to lose any money

You can probably change it, but will end up paying a fee ( I paid £200 last time I changed a holiday from Egypt to Greece).

Insurance probably wouldn't cover you cancelling anyway. Pregnancy is often an exception. See if you can transfer the deposit to another holiday of your choice.

Are you happy to go in September ? Do you have school age kids?

An admin fee of £50pp would apply if you changed date (plus any increase in the holiday cost which really your inlaws should cover (will be cheaper than loose all their deposit).