Holiday Cancellation and double insurance

mat429

Hi all,

My family and I were supposed to be flying off on holiday on the 9th June. My wife has just had to have an urgent back operation and we have been told that she will be unable to fly for the next 4 weeks - so holiday Cancellation.

I took out an annual travel insurance policy in January which will cover us fine, however due to a mix up last year I also have another annual policy which expires on the 11th June.

I contacted both insurers last week to pre warn them that we may be cancelling. However......

Can I claim on both policy's for cancellation?
Who then owns the holiday? Is it like car insurance where its ownership passes to the insurance company or can I also transfer it into someone else's name?

Thanks for any assistance

Mat

Westin

You can not claim from insurance and be in a better position than before - e.g. no double claim.

Insurers will often ask if you have other insurance cover in place. I think some will then share the claim costs.

Basically one claim. Pick your favourite. Perhaps the one that expires 11 June.

soolin

mat429 wrote: »

Hi all,

My family and I were supposed to be flying off on holiday on the 9th June. My wife has just had to have an urgent back operation and we have been told that she will be unable to fly for the next 4 weeks - so holiday Cancellation.

I took out an annual travel insurance policy in January which will cover us fine, however due to a mix up last year I also have another annual policy which expires on the 11th June.

I contacted both insurers last week to pre warn them that we may be cancelling. However......

Can I claim on both policy's for cancellation?
Who then owns the holiday? Is it like car insurance where its ownership passes to the insurance company or can I also transfer it into someone else's name?

Thanks for any assistance

Mat

One thing occurs to me, firstly I assume the back issue was declared and agreed to be insurable as a pre existing complaint?

As for who owns the holiday, surely if you cancel it and claim on the insurance then there's no holiday to own? You can't cancel the holiday and claim on insurance and still have a holiday to transfer.

mat429

Great, thanks for your help.

11th June one has lower excess, so ideally I'll just use that one unless they have requirement to share

No issue with pre- existing condition, even though there is history it was 3 years ago, so falls outside of insurers constraints.

Thanks for the help

GlasweJen

You might find that if it was pre-existing even if it did arise 3 years ago one or the other company won't cover it unless it was declared and the insurer disregarded it.

maman

Westin wrote: »

You can not claim from insurance and be in a better position than before - e.g. no double claim.

Insurers will often ask if you have other insurance cover in place. I think some will then share the claim costs.

Basically one claim. Pick your favourite. Perhaps the one that expires 11 June.

I don't think it'll happen here as the insurer you choose to use will probably just refund the total holiday cost.


I've had experience of the sharing though. we had some cash stolen one year and there was a limit on the travel insurance so they suggested we claim the rest on our home insurance.


I must admit I've never heard about conditions falling outside a time limit. It seems with my insurers, once something's declared it's there, forever!!:(

soolin

mat429 wrote: »

Great, thanks for your help.

11th June one has lower excess, so ideally I'll just use that one unless they have requirement to share

No issue with pre- existing condition, even though there is history it was 3 years ago, so falls outside of insurers constraints.

Thanks for the help

That doesn't make sense at all. If this has suddenly come up then the illness/condition didn't all stop over 3 years ago. You need to be exceedingly careful here, if insurers see your wife's medical notes are you absolutely sure that they will show no history of any similar complaints or tests , or are you saying that since taking out the insurance something has happened with no prior warning which has necessitated a serious operation.

I'd also check the 3 years requirement as well , as maman says it is unusual not to have declare something that was only 3 years ago.

bagand96

Who then owns the holiday? Is it like car insurance where its ownership passes to the insurance company or can I also transfer it into someone else's name?

It can't be transferred as it needs cancelling.

Typically, if it is a package holiday you will need to cancel it and get a "Cancellation Invoice" or confirmation of cancellation from the holiday company. The insurer will ask for this to process the claim.

If you've DIY'd they will ask for similar from your flights/accommodation etc.

You can't claim for the cancelled trip and then give it to someone else.

Katiehound

To claim on your insurance you will likely need a small mountain of paperwork which includes:

• confirmation of what you paid
• date you booked
• date you paid the balance
• confirmation from tour operator/ airline etc of when you cancelled and the total amount you lost
• Medical declaration usually filled in by GP (£30 from my GP) with reasons/ dates etc

When I made a claim last year I think there were about 13 pages!

IMHO all medical conditons need to be declared. Insurers are very good at finding wriggle clauses so that they can avoid a payout!

mat429

Thanks for the comments. For those concerned about pre-existing conditions, the financial ombudsman state this (which fits my case exactly)

""""""""

historical or dormant medical conditions
We see complaints where the insurer has rejected a claim because of the recurrence of a condition that the consumer considered to be long-since dormant or fully resolved - for example, a bad back or stress.

Usually the insurer will be relying on the part of the exclusionary for pre-existing conditions that relates to the consumer's "awareness". This means we will need to decide whether the consumer could properly consider that they were "cured" at the start of the policy.

We generally take the view that the consumer had no pre-existing condition that could be considered relevant, if - at the start of the policy - they had not consulted their doctor, and had no medication or treatment, for a couple of years or more. The consumer's medical notes are often decisive in showing this.

However, we take into account the nature and seriousness of the condition in each case. Just because a condition is under control - and the consumer has learned to live with it - does not mean that it can be ignored.

For example, if a bad back requires regular osteopathy and analgesics to stabilise the pain, then the condition should probably be excluded as pre-existing.

Similarly, where a consumer has previously had a heart attack, the condition is unlikely to be forgotten and will probably require life-long medication to keep it under control.

”"""""""
]

Policy is with ehicplus who include this wording in their terms and conditions:

"""""""

Pre-existing Medical Condition means any medical condition, defect or disease suffered by you or any other person
upon whose state of health the trip depends:
1. for which advice or treatment (including prescribed medication), or investigation has been received or prescribed in
the twelve (12) months prior to the issue of this policy;
2. of which you are aware or could reasonably be expected to be aware at the time of applying for insurance; and/or
3. is of an ongoing nature or any complication directly attributable to the condition.
A Pre-existing Medical Condition includes complications directly attributable to conditions, defects or diseases described
above.
"""""""""”"""

Taking the two together, I don't believe there will be an issue claiming given our specific circumstances.

We'll find out tomorrow though! Like you say any way they can try to wriggle out of paying!

soolin

2. of which you are aware or could reasonably be expected to be aware at the time of applying for insurance; and/or

This is the worrying clause, however good luck and do come back and update us .