Travel insurance - can you claim on several policies?

emfro

I have a claim to make on our travel insurance (weather caused us to miss our plane home from the Alps) and on investigation, I have discovered my husband and I have two travel insurance policies which would cover this matter.

given that we have been paying two insurance premiums, am I allowed to claim on both policies for this matter?

Am not clear whether this is allowed or not, but was thinking since we pay for two policies, it would be nice it if it was!

thanks in advance for any advice.

Quentin

Obviously you can't legally claim off two companies! (And you are naive to think you'd get away with it)

Smiley82

There's actually a question on Claim Forms that asks this specifically. You can only claim under one policy, so worthwhile checking which one will provide better cover (less excess??) and claiming through them.

dzug1

Delay insurance is a set sum payable per n hours of delay, regardless of any expenses you may (or may not) have incurred. It doesn't normally have an excess.

It's not the same as claiming for losses, when you cannot for example claim the same hotel cancellation costs from two different policies.

In the absence of anything on the claim form to the contrary (and you may never see one if it's all done over the phone) I'd say this was legitimate.

emfro

Thanks Smiley82 and dzug1 for your advice (Quentin - slightly odd to assume I might be trying to 'get away' with something - I'm just looking for advice!). A quick update for anyone else with a similar question - having just spoken to both my insurance providers, it seems that when you submit the claim, as Smiley82 notes, you are asked to provide details of any other policies. This is so the insurance companies can look to each other to split the cost of any insurance payout. This does make sense as it would seem a bit strange to have to take a risk as to which policy had a better chance of a successful claim.

Quentin

emfro wrote: »

Quentin - slightly odd to assume I might be trying to 'get away' with something - .

You seemed to be thinking along those lines when you posted this:

emfro wrote:

Am not clear whether this is allowed or not, but was thinking since we pay for two policies, it would be nice it if it was

What did you think would be "nice" (if you weren't thinking of making two claims)?????

lisyloo

It doesn't mean they were hoping to break to law.
It means they were hoping the facts came out in their favour.

FH_Brit

Don't forget though, if a claim, or part of is denied by one ins co (not covered under that policy) you can then put a claim into the other IC for thew denied part.

Multiple claiming for the same loss is, I beleive, Insurance Fraud and you could end up being prosecuted if you are found out.

nl6843

Out of interest why is it illegal to claim twice.
If I have 2 life insurance policies and I die, my wife can claim for both
If I have 2 critical illness policies, I can claim on both.
It is my choice to have 2 policies, and my choice to pay the premium on both.

Will they drop my premiums by half if I they know I am double covered, sounds like they are having their cake and eating it.

I am interested because I have just damaged my laptop, and it falls under both my business and personal insurance

Any thoughts

Nick

Tammer

Check the wording of the insurance policies.

Many travel insurance policies say "insurance cover does not apply where the customer is covered by another insurance policy".

Tammer

luci

Correct. I have SAFI, but didn't use it when Flyglobespan went bust as

1) I would have had to pay the excess per person; and
2) They wouldn't pay out if it was covered elsewhere. As I had used a credit card to pay for the flights then it was already covered there.