Nationwide Annual Travel Insurance - no refund after death of policy holder

matty_art

Hi all,

I’m executor in my grandparents wills currently - sadly they died very close to each other before Christmas - and dealing with a lot of difficulties with the banks in terms of process and mistakes.

One of the culprits is Nationwide with whom I lodged a complaint. They have upheld a number of elements of the complaint about not closing down accounts properly and poor customer service.

The thing I wanted to check though was this - my grandparents paid for the upgrade for the packaged travel insurance - c£210 for the annual upgrade (travel insurance for older people is so expensive!) back in May, so they’d used c7 months of it.

Nationwide has refused a partial refund for the unused part of the upgrade, on the basis that the policy document says that cancellation will have no refund after the standard 14 day cooling off period, plus they have some non-sterling transactions on their account proving they were abroad (they got charged c£20 for these back in July - I thought that the account was no foreign charges but I’m told this was introduced after July). I would suggest it would be stupid to pay for this insurance and not go abroad but hey!

So what I’m pondering is whether I should raise this with the ombudsman on the basis that although it is legally enforceable, it doesn’t seem like fair practice and treatment of customers.

Does anyone have a view or any experience of this?

I don’t want to put myself through a lot of extra hassle for no reason, so if it’s likely that what the bank says is fair, then I won’t bother and I’ll call it quits. But I guess my experience of the bank so far has been so awful that I don’t just want to drop it if it is unfair practice as they’ve made several unreasonable mistakes so far which they’ve admitted, and it’s been so horrible dealing with them that I’ve felt a duty to pursue this as I don’t want other grieving people to have to deal with the same thing.

dacouch

I don't think you'll get anywhere on cancelling an annual travel policy, but would be happy to be proved wrong.

This link is useful to search for cases the Ombudsman has ruled on, you may find similar situations to yours

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/data-insight/ombudsman-decisions

matty_art

dacouch wrote: »

I don't think you'll get anywhere on cancelling an annual travel policy, but would be happy to be proved wrong.

This link is useful to search for cases the Ombudsman has ruled on, you may find similar situations to yours

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/data-insight/ombudsman-decisions

Ah very useful thanks, you’re probably right, my view of Nationwide has been tarnished somewhat by the rest of the dealings with them

I’ll have a read and let it go I suspect, just wanted to a little reassurance

dacouch

Try reading the ombudsman's rulings on refunds for car insurance which generally carry a penalty. The Ombudsman demands the Insurer give a pro rata refund for car insurance unless they can prove there is genuine business need for it. The decisions for and against will help you see the Ombudsman's view on cancellations and you will probably find a ruling on cancelling an annual travel policy

matty_art

dacouch wrote: »

Try reading the ombudsman's rulings on refunds for car insurance which generally carry a penalty. The Ombudsman demands the Insurer give a pro rata refund for car insurance unless they can prove there is genuine business need for it. The decisions for and against will help you see the Ombudsman's view on cancellations and you will probably find a ruling on cancelling an annual travel policy

Cheers I had a good look but couldn’t find one sadly. Most policies seem to have similar clauses, I guess because you could just cancel after your last holiday of the year and get some cash back otherwise. Death and the packaged account element just made it feel a little different; I think it’s probably one that feels a bit unfair but it is likely to be legal and not unfair enough for the ombudsman to uphold a complaint.

rs65

matty_art wrote: »

The thing I wanted to check though was this - my grandparents paid for the upgrade for the packaged travel insurance - c£210 for the annual upgrade (travel insurance for older people is so expensive!) back in May, so they’d used c7 months of it.

Is it annual travel insurance?

I thought these policies continued whilst the bank account continued.

Is it an annual upgrade or a one off charge? If its a one off charge then that changes the 'used 7 months' argument.

matty_art

rs65 wrote: »

Is it annual travel insurance?

I thought these policies continued whilst the bank account continued.

Is it an annual upgrade or a one off charge? If its a one off charge then that changes the 'used 7 months' argument.

It was an annual upgrade paid as a one-time payment on top of the £13 a month packaged account. The T&Cs say that although the policy only continues while the bank account continues (effectively the bank account ceases to continue after notification of death), there is no cancellation refund unless during the cooling off period. I guess that's generally fair unless the policy holder dies (although given it's a over 75s upgrade, the chances of that are greater than average...maybe that's built into the premium!)

rs65

matty_art wrote: »

It was an annual upgrade

I would pursue it then, out of principle.

If you have made a complaint and been rejected then go the FOS.

lisyloo

Seems rather uncompassionate to me.
I have found most companies (even insurers) to be compassionate about these kind of things so disspointed to hear about nationwide.

noh

I have just paid for my annual upgrade £30 in my case.
The contract of insurance is with UK insurance Limited. It is them that the payment is made to.
Have you been talking directly to UK Insurance?

mufi

lisyloo wrote: »

Seems rather uncompassionate to me.
I have found most companies (even insurers) to be compassionate about these kind of things so disspointed to hear about nationwide.

I agree, having had recent experience of banks, travel insurance etc. after a bereavement.

Nearly every company made mistake after mistake, but not one refused a partial refund or to terminate a contract early. Unexpectedly the only people who made not a single error were my local district council and Sky TV.