Worth claiming on travel insurance for bereavement?

AM1991_2

Hi.
My wife and I have have an annual travel insurance policy and while we were away last weekend her grandfather passed away. Her family is outside the UK in a different country to where we were visiting so she booked a flight to there and then another one back to the UK. I flew home as planned and to Easyjet's credit they gave us a voucher for the cost of her unused return leg no questions asked.

The total cost incurred was in the region of £250-£300 so I'm wondering whether it's worth bothering. Do past claims have to be disclosed at renewal like they would for car insurance for example? If so it's probably not worth the potential for increased future premiums but if not then I may as well try. I will call them to see if it's even covered which I suspect it might not be tbh. Thought it was worth asking here first cos I won't even bother ringing them if it's not worth it.

It's not the end of the world either way as we thankfully are just about able to take it on the chin but if we can get it back without disadvantaging ourselves in future then all the better. Obviously we have kept proof for the costs etc and can get a death certificate for any potential claim.

Thanks.

p00hsticks

Is the expense you mention for the additional flights she took, and was this was to visit the bereaved family / attend the funeral ?



I'm not an expert, so this is just my opinion, but I can't see it being covered.

Quentin

Making a claim on your travel insurance doesn't affect future travel insurance premiums irrespective of whether or not the claim is successful

elsien

Aside from whether grandad was already in poor health, and whether this had been disclosed or not, insurance would normally cover the costs of cancellation or holiday being curtailed. She's not lost out on the return leg thanks to easyjet, and I can't see additional flights to get her somewhere other than home being covered.

lisyloo

What were the flights for?
To attend a funeral or to see family?
You could consult the policy detail or ask the insurer.
I don’t think she’ll be covered for a family vsisit unless it was actually a funeral but the only way to know for sure is to find out from the insurer

AM1991_2

Yes the flights were to attend the funeral as unlike here they are nearly always held within a few days. There was also a hotel stay as she arrived in the country late in the day with no onward travel available until the next day. He died on the Saturday, she flew on the Sunday and I came back on the Monday on the originally booked flight. The policy document does say that there is cover for cutting a trip short due to the death of certain family members (to be fair the list is quite extensive and bizarrely it even mentions colleagues) although it mentions returning home and doesn't say either way about getting to a third country and then home.

Not sure if they'd count his condition as pre-existing but I don't recall them asking me about the health of the potentially dozens of family members that they cover for.

Thanks everyone, as there's nothing to lose I'll call tomorrow (closed today) and report back.