travel insurance settlement very low, less than half

bequia_2

Hello all,

Can I ask some general Travel Insurance advise please.

We have placed a claim for a holiday that had to be cancelled as my wife broke her foot. The figure was some £5400ish, we were then told were would not be paid for an excursion (hot air ballong trip) for some £700 (since they only cover flights and accomodation), which we can accept, so the outstanding amount being around £4700, so with a mandatory excess of 120, I was expecting
about £4580.

This was a holiday organsied through Trailfinders with Exodus travel, using flights from Trailfinders and not Exodus. It was a African Safari trip to Kenya and Tazania, with last few days in Zanzibar, which includes food and game trips as per Exodus standard package.

As you can imagine Im gutted enough from missing out on the trip.

Our Insurance is with a 3rd party who I wont name at present.
The Cancellation cover is up to £5000 per person.

In the post we got a settle to say they have settled and are sending a cheque for £1920.

Can anybody explain? I tried to call them but could not get through, I should get a callback tomorrow. The letter gives no explanation at all.

Is this a genuine mistake? or have they ripped me off somehow with small print?

thanks to all who can help!

MrsManda

I think the answer to your question depends on what the T&Cs of your insurance policy are.
Looking at your holiday plans what would £2040 pay for? (£1920+ excess)
Would it cover your flights and the accommodation at Kenya and Tanzania?

bequia_2

MrsManda, thanks for replying.

Our Trailfinders invoices dont breakdown anything, as this is a package with food included.

I just dont get it.

bouncydog1

You will have to speak to Trailfinders as it is unusual for travel policies to cover costs such as food and excursions. Could the insurers have contacted trailfinders for a breakdown in the package cost?

You may also find that the insurance excludes other items - who is the cover provided by - there are experts on here that have knowledge of lots of different policies.

samdriscoll

travel insurance settlement is never going to be an easy task, because of the rude behavior of the insurance agents.

bequia_2

Thanks for replies again.


The policy was taken out with Travel Insurance Web

The letter arrived entitled Global Claims Direct.

Voyager2002

I think the insurance company assumes that you are able to obtain refunds on some elements of the package, such as taxes on the flights. Anyway, rather than messing around with telephone calls I suggest you ask them for a written statement explaining how they calculated the settlement figure. You may find some simple mistakes or misunderstandings, otherwise there will be plenty of points to argue.

Norfolk_Jim

did you buy your insurace with your holiday, at the same time as booking and through your travel agent, or did you look elsewhere for your insurance and buy it independently?

bequia_2

Thanks for the advice, I will await the letter of explaination. The trouble is I'm away for the next couple of weeks on a holiday I thought I could afford to make up for this missed trip

This is an annual multi trip policy, not purchased at the time of the trip or with that agent.

Its taken them since July to get this far, which is why we booked a trip away on an interest free credit card.

Hopefully its a mistake, I can understand the flight taxes, is this something I'll have to write to the carrier about?

thanks!