Holiday Insurance refund credit card fees

StockportGerbil

Hi!
I had to claim the cost of a holiday back from my insurance company due to my wife having an accident a few weeks before we were due to go.

After alot of aggravation I've got the cost of the holiday back minus the excess and minus credit / debit card fees I paid when booking the holiday.

The insurance company say it is not their practice to pay those fees even though there is nothing in the policy stating this.

Are they within their rights to do this and if not do you have any suggestions how I can pursuade them to give my £15 back!? :-)

Thanks

Kevin

dacouch

What does it say in the cancellation part of your policy as to what they will cover eg does it say something along the lines of "The cost of the holiday" or something else

Quentin

Your insurer wouldn't normally cover these fees which were the cost of you arranging credit to pay for the trip.

If this charge was a compulsory extra (ie you were forced to pay it as no alternative means to pay was offered then point this out to the claims dept and complain if they continue to refuse to pay it.

StockportGerbil

Hi!
Thanks for the replies.

However you booked the holiday I was liable for some form of card fees and this has been pointed out to the insurer. I can't find anything in the policy that excludes such fees (the cancellation and curtailment section is pasted below.) When I challenged the person I spoke to on the phone about this practice she just said it was company policy and there was nothing she could do about it.

Thanks

Kevin

Cancellation and Curtailment
What You Are Covered For:
The Insurer will reimburse you up to the amount shown in the Schedule of Benefits if your trip is cancelled
or curtailed due to any one of the reasons listed below occurring to you, or your travelling companion
during the covered period. The Insurer will reimburse you up to the amount shown in the Schedule of
Benefits:
• Cancellation for travel and accommodation expenses (including pre-booked ski pass and ski tuition fees
where you have paid the appropriate additional premium for winter sports cover) paid or contracted to
be paid by you in respect of your own trip (prior to any occurrence giving rise to a claim under this
section) which are not recoverable.
• Curtailment for travel expenses to your home and pro-rata amount of the total pre-paid or contracted
cost for each complete day of the trip which is foregone and which are not recoverable (excluding prepaid
or contracted costs for transportation to return home and used travel ticket costs).
Reasons for Cancellation and Curtailment:
a) Death, serious illness or serious injury, occurring during the period of insurance, to you, your
travelling companion, a relative or close business associate of you or your travelling companion,
or the person with whom you have arranged to stay whilst on the trip;
b) Your being called for jury service or witness call;
c) Accident to your vehicle within 7 days prior to intended date of departure (applicable to self-drive
holidays only);
d) Your posting overseas or emergency and unavoidable requirements of duty in the Armed Forces, Police,
Fire, Nursing or Ambulance Services;
e) Your Redundancy notified during the period of insurance which qualifies for payment under the
Redundancy Payments Act;
f) Fire, flood or burglary at your home or place of business occurring or becoming apparent within 5 days
prior to the commencement of the journey or holiday;
g) Your presence being required by the police following burglary at home or your place of business;
h) Cancellation or curtailment of any one component part or series of parts of the booked trip travel
arrangements arising solely from the error, insolvency, omission or default of each provider on which the
performance of any other component part or series of parts of the itinerary depends.
What You Are Not Covered For:
In addition to the General Exclusions of the policy, the Insurer shall not be responsible for:
1. the excess as shown in the Schedule of Benefits, unless you have purchased the excess waiver;
2. disinclination to travel or continue travelling;
3. claims arising from a pre-existing medical condition which is specifically advised as excluded under the
'Pre-Existing Medical Conditions' section and where you do not comply with the conditions laid out in
this section;
4. normal pregnancy, without any accompanying bodily injury, illness, disease or complication;
5. claims arising which are not supported by written medical confirmation and clinical reports from medical
service providers, as well as all other proof of the happening of an event causing Cancellation or
Curtailment;
6. claims for any costs associated with unused timeshare property;
7. claims arising where you have not been able to receive the necessary inoculations or vaccinations or obtain
necessary visas;
8. claims arising from your financial circumstances other than due to redundancy where you qualify for
redundancy payment under current EU legislation;
9. claims arising from a change in work commitments or holiday entitlement;
10. claims arising from any loss resulting from the cancellation or delay of a flight, subsequent to your initial
international departure or return from or to your country of residence.
11. claims arising for the direct losses incurred as a result of scheduled airline failure.

StockportGerbil

And in the definitions

Cancellation Costs
Travel, accommodation, car hire and excursions paid or contracted to be paid by you in respect of your trip.

Quentin

They don't need to say card fees are excluded as they say they only cover travel and accommodation costs.

(Ie they never offered to cover cc charges.)

Presumably you wouldn't have paid so much had you not wanted to use credit ?

If they stick to the no refund of cc charges stance then maybe see if they will refund whatever you would have been forced to pay using the cheapest method of paying.