Lost luggage payment vs airline payment

helenjones833

I recently went on a long haul air journey and my luggage did not make it - was delayed for three days before I got it.

I had to buy lots of stuff to cover the things that were missing.

When it finally came, the airline gave me a payment of $100 as compensation, but I'd also like to make a claim from my insurance provider (I think they would provide a higher figure than that). Is the fact that I received that money likely to mean the insurer won't pay out?

hugoshavez

They will still pay if you have the right cover (travel insurance or personal belongings/possessions) and the airline payment didn't cover all of the loss.

If you tend to check in items with a significant value, it's worth letting the airline know in advance. Under the Montreal Convention they would then be liable for the whole amount of your loss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Convention

mkknrtn

Hello,

I'm a travel insurance claims assessor (amongst others) and this is my advice...

If you have a baggage delay benefit on your policy then your travel insurance providers will be able to consider a claim for you. Please note, this is usually a benefit on your policy which means there will be a set amount of money you can claim per completed set of hours you are delayed. For example, benefit is £20 per 12 hour period up to £300 in total. These sections are not usually subject to an excess and they are applied per person. The only catch is the benefit is for the cover of emergency purchases which you mentioned you made. Provided you kept all the receipts and can provide these, you will be fine. No receipts however, no claim. In addition, if say you only purchased £10 of emergency purchases and the daily limit is £20, you will only get £10 for that day.

Most insurers will ask if you've made a claim with your airline too,but this doesn't mean they won't consider a claim for you too. The reason they ask is because 9 times out of 10, it's the airlines fault the baggage has been delayed and you only have 7 days in which to make a claim with the airline. We're human beings too and want you to get the money your owe'd from the people at fault! You will need to have a letter from the airline confirming what time your baggage was due to arrive and what time it actually arrived, that's so the insurers can calculate your benefit correctly.

If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to help

helenjones833

Hi and thanks for the answers,

So just to confirm,

Will the insurance company deduct from the total the amount already paid out by the airline, and only reimburse costs for items bought over and above that total?

Thanks.

mkknrtn

Hi Helen,

As all policies are different, you would need to speak to your insurer and they can best advise you what your likely outcome will be.

Let me know how you get on.

hugoshavez

helenjones833 wrote: »

Hi and thanks for the answers,

So just to confirm,

Will the insurance company deduct from the total the amount already paid out by the airline, and only reimburse costs for items bought over and above that total?

Thanks.

Yes, they'll deduct any payment you've already received.

irisreds

My luggage went missing on a flight to Nice. We were going on an 11 day cruise and had no clothes etc. for nine days. The airline will refund expenses but nothing more. Is there any other claim we can make? Our insurance only covers baggage loss for £150