Help - who is liable. 21h flight delay & missed excursions

paulcalf_2

Please help:
I booked a 7 day scuba diving holiday including flights.
I paid on my credit card.

The flight was delayed by 21 hours (Thomson)
I missed lots of pre-booked and pre paid Scuba diving

But i don't seem to be covered by anyone! Please help

I tried to claim for the missed scuba diving 'excursions' on my '5 star' travel insurance policy. I was told i was only covered under the delay section of the policy. The insurance paid out £60: £40 for the first 12 hours and £20 for the next 6 hours of delay. I was originally told that i was covered for the missed 'excursions', but once i submitted the claim they told me that pre-booked 'excursions' were only covered if the holiday was cancelled or curtailed. They said my holiday was only delayed and therefore i wasn't covered for the diving excursions that i missed.

My question is who should cover my costs for the missed scuba diving?
I would argue my flight was, delayed and my holiday was curtailed.
Insurance: They don't consider that my holiday was 'curtailed' and im not covered by the delay section.
Thomson: They tell me they are only liable if the delay is over 24hours - is that true?
Travel company: Should they cover me as i didn't get the holiday i paid for? That doesn't seem fair as they couldn't have done anything about the delay.
Credit Card company: Am i covered by them as i didn't get what i paid for?
Me: Do i simply have to accept that no one covers this situation and accept that i take the hit despite paying on credit card and having a '5 star' insurance policy that i thought would cover me for this sort of problem
Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated

Thanks

Paul

Optimist

It really depends on the wording of your policy but to my mind curtailed means shortened, cut short or reduced. Delayed falls under those headings

Go back to the insurance company and go through their complaint process ending up with the ombudsman if required

paulcalf_2

Thanks for the reply

The insurance company say curtailment means cut sort once on holiday and that my holiday was delayed by 21 hours rather than curtailed.

They say i can only claim under the delay element of the policy but that bit of the policy doesn't cover pre booked trips.

fluffnutter

No wonder insurance companies get such a bad press. They try to wriggle out of anything by using some technicality. You bought what's advertised as a 5* policy. You effectively missed an entire day of your holiday through no fault of your own and incurred costs as a result. Write to them again, and keep on at them. It's ridiculous that people pay good money for stuff like this, particularly as it's advertised as being 'premium' and then they (the insurers) just hide behind some 'interpretation' somewhere or other just to avoid paying out. You could try the national newspapers - The Guardian, Telegraph and Observer (probably others too) have Consumer Rights columns where they'll take up your case on your behalf. They love ones like this. Or try the Financial Ombudsman.