Advice on Bereavement / Cancellation Travel Insurance Claim

jumpedtheshark

My OH was due to fly to his home country for a combined grandparents' 65th anniversary / granddad's 90th birthday party at the end of this month. We took out travel insurance for him (with Avios, if it's relevant?) just after we bought the tickets months ago.

Very upsettingly, his granddad suffered an unexpected stroke last Friday and passed away on Monday. We tried our best, but OH didn't make it back before he passed away - Monday was Thanksgiving in Canada, and we struggled to get tickets.

Anyway, OH is now back after the funeral and I am trying to help sort out the insurance so he doesn't have to think about it. The office for "travel-claims.net" is closed, but I will call on Monday. I just wondered if anyone had any insight on the following:

1. What would usually be covered? - Just the penalty, or also the difference in the cost of the flights?
- The flights were originally £475 return with IcelandAir; they imposed a penalty of £110 for changing (they didn't care about the reason) and a fare difference of £462, i.e. a £572 total charge. The insurance policy talks about "cancellation", but as this was really a cancellation-and-rebooking, I am not sure what it covers. I suspect only the £110, but wanted to check just in case.

2. Will he need to include a copy of his granddad's death certificate? What about proof of relationship (that he was his granddad)?
- We really don't want to upset his grandmother with the paperwork, and OH is minded not to claim at all if we need to trouble her. I wondered if they might accept a copy of his obituary from the local paper in Canada, which also names OH and that he is his grandson. Do you think this might be OK?

Thanks in advance.

littlereddevil

No they always need a death certificate.
Only the insurance company can answer your questions.
Usually there is someone you can talk to at all times.

Caz3121

I would speak to the insurance company first before asking for death certificate (which as you say may be upsetting)
If I understand correctly OH was due to travel later this month and had insurance for that trip which would have covered him should he have needed to cancel for medical reasons etc and would have covered him whilst away
Instead he needed to bring the trip forward. Did you notify the insurance company of the new dates of the trip or was this an annual policy?
Much will come down to the wording in the policy, some ask if there is anyone that is not travelling that the travel is dependent on and, if so, whether they have any preexisting conditions which could have added a significant premium but we don't have the policy details to see if that is the case
I have seen situations where insurance have been involved in getting people home sooner than planned when there has been a bereavement at home but not come across those that cover getting you out on trip sooner. Only the insurance company will be able to answer

jumpedtheshark

It was a one-off policy. The policy suggests it covers cancellation caused by the death of a close relative in your home country, and that "home country" includes both where you live and the country of your birth, if different. OH has dual citizenship for Canada and the UK, and literally all of his very large family live in the region in Canada where he grew up. So this is also going home in a sense, rather than just a trip.

We didn't notify the insurance co. in advance of cancelling/rebooking/changing but we did try to. We found out about the stroke late Friday afternoon. At first they thought it was one type of stroke, which is treatable, but then they realised it wasn't (it was a brain haemorrhage). Initially, OH's parents said not to book, but to wait and see. Then, on Saturday, once they knew it wasn't treatable, they said come asap, so we just organised the flights. We did on the Saturday call the only 24-hour phone number the insurance company provided, but it only dealt with situations where an airline had gone bust, so we decided to just deal with it when he got back.

I guess I will just have to call on Monday and see.

Alan_Bowen

There should be a 24 hours call centre for these claims, not just airline failure. What worries me is that may be the type of insurance you have, not full cancellation and medical insurance but simply airline failure cover? Having said that there is a claim form for cancellation on line at the website you mentioned and I am afraid if the reason for cancellation is death of a relative, and you need to read the policy to see if Grandfather is included, some limit to husband/wife/child/parent and they will need a copy of the death certificate. I am sorry you have such worries at this difficult time

Errata

The policy suggests it covers cancellation caused by the death of a close relative in your home country, and that "home country" includes both where you live and the country of your birth, if different.

A close relative is usually classed as a parent, child or sibling, not a grandparent.

Wammer

Errata wrote: »

A close relative is usually classed as a parent, child or sibling, not a grandparent.

On really cheap policies perhaps, but I've had policies that covered Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

gettingtheresometime

I don't want to add to the OP's worries but would insurance even cover this?

peachyprice

jumpedtheshark wrote: »

1. What would usually be covered? - Just the penalty, or also the difference in the cost of the flights?
- The flights were originally £475 return with IcelandAir; they imposed a penalty of £110 for changing (they didn't care about the reason) and a fare difference of £462, i.e. a £572 total charge. The insurance policy talks about "cancellation", but as this was really a cancellation-and-rebooking, I am not sure what it covers. I suspect only the £110, but wanted to check just in case.

I think you will be covered for the original flights, so £475, less your excess. I don't think you will covered for the rebooking as the insurance covered a specific journey.

jumpedtheshark

I wanted to update on the outcome in case it helps anyone searching for answers. The insurance claims handler settled this last week. Just as a reminder, the policy was with Avios (with no excess), though another company handled the claim itself.

The insurance claims handler required both the death certificate and a medical questionnaire completed by his grandfather's regular doctors (who charged for completing the form). OH's parents helped secure the paperwork so that we didn't have to upset his grandmother with it.

In terms of what was covered, they covered the larger amount - the penalty for rebooking and the fare difference for the more expensive fare for the last-minute flights OH took. I.e. £110+£462 (if you look at my earlier post).

This is probably most helpful to people reading this, as it means that you can trust the insurance to pay out if you end up in circumstances like OH's and need to pull forward a trip at the last minute to try and get abroad to see a loved one who's just become seriously ill. We would have paid it just to get OH home in time - which we couldn't - but I imagine there are some families who couldn't afford to 'eat' the fare difference and would need to be able to rely on the insurance to come through.

littlereddevil

Glad it worked out for you. But it does depend on the insurance policy one has.