Travel Insurance claim

majeedk

Hi..

I recently bought Post Office Elite for a single trip to Pakistan to cover period of my travel from 13/03/2020 to 22/03/2020

Unfortunately, Pakistani Gov suspended all air travel from 8pm 21st March which was just few hours before my scheduled return flight. My airline (Etihad Airways) offered my alternate flight on 6th April which was cancelled by Etihad Airways. (they were only offering vouchers and no refunds)

So I had to buy new ticket to take a special evacuation flight run by another airline to return back to the UK on 19th April.

Now I want to claim back the extra money which I paid to return home.

Can I make a claim in this situation... I am asking this because at the time of booking return tickets I had checked the policy booklet provided by post office and it said my cover will automatically extend. Below is text from page 7 of their policy booklet (not allowed to past link)

Automatic extension of cover  In the event that You are forced to extend the duration of Your Insured Journey beyond the Policy Period as a result of an insured medical emergency or other insured cause, Your cover will be automatically extended until You are able to return to Your Home or to a medical or care facility in the United Kingdom (whichever is sooner). 

I am bit confused because in the FAQ section of their claim page (postoffice[dot]claimhere[dot]co[dot]uk) it says that if i am stuck abroad because my return flight is cancelled then my policy doesn't extended

Your travel insurance policy does not automatically extend in these circumstances. You may need to purchase a new policy if your current policy has or is due to expire while you are abroad.

What is purpose of taking a travel insurance if i can't claim on cancelled flights? Doesn't it defeat the purpose of insurance?

Any advice will be really appreciated

davidmcn

Insurance only covers the specific risks stated in the policy. The bit you quoted only applies where you fall ill while abroad. But I don't think this is relevant anyway, as you should be entitled to a refund from the airline for the cancelled flight.

sheramber

Period as a result of an insured medical emergency or other insured cause
Did you miss this ?
It wasn't a medical emergency so will only be covered if  your policy covers cancelled flights. You need cover for travel disruption. 

majeedk

sheramber said:

Period as a result of an insured medical emergency or other insured cause
Did you miss this ?
It wasn't a medical emergency so will only be covered if  your policy covers cancelled flights. You need cover for travel disruption. 

Post Office Elite travel insurance includes Scheduled Airline Failure - up to £5,000 among others scenarios..

Will it work for me to make a claim?

davidmcn

You'd need to read the full policy, not just that summary, but "failure" usually means the airline going bust. Like I said, if they cancel the flight then you should get a refund from the airline. There's a coronavirus travel forum here which might be more useful 

uk1

As an additional complication I believe that this is administered/owned by TIF.