Help Please - Resort Closed On Arrival - March 2020

SteveSki

Hi All.
I was one of the reported 30,000 Brits in the French Alps this weekend when the news broke Saturday night that France was closing all public places. I am sure there are many others with similar questions I will outline the sequence of events. 
On Friday 13th the French Government assured all the agents that the Ski resorts would remain open. With this in mind all the agents flew the paying customers out. We arrived about 7pm, then at 9pm the news broke, resort closed. At this point all the companies then scrambled around trying to get us back to the UK asap, mostly by coach. 
So we ended up doing zero skiing, stayed 2 nights in the accommodation, delivered home by coach rather than booked flight.
So i guess the questions are;
- Are the travel insurance company liable for anything?
- Is there a specific category on my travel insurance I should look for? - under closure of resort it specifies 'due to adverse weather conditions' but could this come under anything else?
Many thanks, Steve

rachelwolsey83

Hi Steve,
I would also be interested to hear how you get on with this! We also travelled out on Saturday, and found out the resort would be closing within an hour of our arrival. When I phoned the insurance company they said I would only be able to claim for the additional cost for the return flight, which we had changed with EasyJet so that was only £30, and we can also claim for the un-used accommodation - which was 3 nights of the 7 we had booked. We had called the hotel prior to leaving and they wouldn’t refund us if we cancelled. 

The entire point of going on a winter sports holiday was to ski, which never happened as the pistes were closed and then France was in lockdown from midday Tuesday.
I know insurance company will fight us, they’ve already said £100 excess per person, for each section we want to claim against, and they’ve quoted ‘terms and conditions’ at me hundreds of times already! 
If honest I am a little disappointed with Martin Money Saving Expert, we we went with the Coverwise Bronze Insurance on his recommendation in an email sent out a couple of weeks ago
I just wish I knew how to read the cover terms and conditions, it’s so complicated it’s impossible to know what to do in this situation!
Best wishes
Rachel

SteveSki

Hi,
I have looked through my insurance, and cant see a scenario which this would fall under, and it obviously states anything not detailed isn't covered. The travel company is operating unsurprisingly deferring any responsibility too.
"As your holiday was curtailed whilst you were in resort due to circumstances completely beyond our control, any claims for refunds of your travel, accommodation and any other elements/excursions should be addressed to your insurers."

rachelwolsey83

So frustrating isn’t it! 

You might be able to claim a small amount for pistes closures? I mentioned that on the phone to the insurers but they didn’t send the relevant forms so I’m going to go back to them about that?  Worth a try hey!