Cancelled flight-compensation from airline or via travel insurance

spiritus

We had a flight cancelled on Friday night and were lucky to be able to rebook it ourselves for the following Sunday evening.

We have travel insurance and flight cancellations are covered under our policy however I am not sure whether we are obliged to accept the airline's "compensation" figure (yet to be confirmed) or we put a claim through our travel insurance which appears to offer a more favourable amount ?

I think I read somewhere that if an airline offers a compensation amount then the travel insurance company will expect you to accept it.

Justice13075

Please post this on the relevant airline thread.

spiritus

It is a general question and a general answer will help me.

By EU law the airline (any airline) will have to offer us 250 Euros compensation.

My question is do we have to accept the airline's compensation or choose to claim via our travel insurance ?

JPears

You claim both.

EU reg 261/2004 is compensation has nothing to do with what you can claim under your insurance.
The airline are also responsible for your additional flight costs for re-routing. This again is seperate to any compensation.

But don't expect airline to offer you anything. You will most likely have to fight for it.

spiritus

Thanks.

My understanding is that the airline may not necessarily "offer" anything but rather wait for a claim from the affected passenger(s). However, once that claim has been made then they are instructed by law to pay set amounts of compensation dependant on length of delay and distance of flight cancelled.

I understand that travel insurance and claims in respect of cancellation are two different things but I thought I read somewhere that most if not all travel insurance companies won't pay out if compensation has already been "offered" by the airline.

JPears

If you get compensation, this is not to cover expenses etc as a result of delay or cancellation, it's payment for the inconvenience. This has nothing to do with the insurance company at all. If you are concerned, just make your insurance claim first. Then your reg 261/2004 claim once you have received your insurance payout?

Justice13075

Just watched a youtube video of Martin Lewis being interviewed by Phil and Holly. He says that if your flight is cancelled you can have the option of a refund or an alternative flight and even if you choose a refund if the alternative flight you refused arrives late meaning 3 hours or more you can claim compensation for that alternative flight. Did I hear that right
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCyuOOJxhZ4

Tyzap

There seems to be a couple of errors in that article.

He said you can claim back to 2011? No, you can claim back up to 6 years. (The article is dated 2018, 2018 minus 2011 = 7years)

My understanding is that if you are re routed on a completely different flight, and that too is delayed by over 3 hours, you can also claim for that delay too. Martin suggested that if you were offered a replacement flight which was then delayed, but did not take it, you would be due compensation!

It sounded a bit confusing and unclear, mind, he did say it was complicated.

Justice13075

What he is saying is even if you take a refund and don't take the offered flight you still get compensation if that flight is late. Never heard that before