Holiday insurance refused claim

Harveyt2

My holiday accommodation in Tenerife was cancelled due to Coronavirus, I had booked insurance through esure before the government advised against all travel. Has anyone else experienced this? I went through there complaints dept as well to no avail.

[Deleted User]

Have your read your insurance policy and what was covered Harvey?   I also took out holiday insurance before Coronavirus was even thought about and thought I had read the t's and c's but I was only looking for specifics and lo and behold in the small print, it excludes pandemics!   (who would have thought eh?)   

If you would like to give more info like when/where/how booked/paid/and who with.   People may be able to help you more.  Not a lot to go in  your original.    But in answer to your question, I am sure more people will have experienced 'this'.

Harveyt2

I checked through the whole policy there’s no mention of pandemics or virus I wish I knew how to post a part of the policy on here for all to see but not very good at all this stuff.sorry

Harveyt2

I managed to attach below some of the policy 🤣

QuackQuackOops

Most insurance policies exclude Pandemics.

Nebulous2

Look for a section which probably says ‘cancellation’ and see what it says. It will list that it covers you for things like taking ill and not being allowed to travel, your house burning down, jury duty etc. 

You are are looking for it to specify that you are covered for FCO advice against “all but essential travel” to the location you are travelling to. If it doesn’t say that then it is unlikely you are covered. 

What were the the dates of your holiday? The FCO gave a worldwide warning against all but essential travel on the 17th of March. 

Hasbeen

This is what it says on the Esure site under FAQ:

Will my policy cover me if I need to change or cancel my trip due to the coronavirus (COVID-19)?

We would advise travellers who have booked package holidays to a destination affected by the viral outbreak, who are looking to cancel their trip or amend their travel plans, to contact their travel agent or tour operator in the first instance.

If you are offered an alternative destination and/or dates from your travel agent, we are pleased to advise that we will shift your insurance policy to fit the new trip without any administration charges, providing the new trip is for the same duration or geographical area. If you are not able to amend your trip and have a medical justification for having to cancel, we would be happy to discuss your situation on a case-by-case basis.

Please call the customer service team on 0345 600 3950.

You will be covered for cancellation of your trip if you, a travelling companion, a family member, a close business colleague, or the person you were going to stay with became ill before you leave the UK.

There is no cover provided if you choose not to travel due to the coronavirus, this is because your policy has specific reasons for cancellation and FCO advice is not one of those reasons.

If you cancel your trip due to a health professional or official Government advice telling you to self-isolate/quarantine at home but you are not ill, you will not be covered for cancellation under your policy.

Harveyt2

Hi Hasbeen,,, I bought the insurance on the 7th March before the government announced against all travel on the 17th March. Esure is the company I purchased from the underwriter is the Tifi Group who have declined my claim. I put a complaint into them to no avail. I have now taken this to the financial ombudsman fingers crossed they can help.

Thrugelmir

Harveyt2 said:

Hi Hasbeen,,, I bought the insurance on the 7th March before the government announced against all travel on the 17th March. Esure is the company I purchased from the underwriter is the Tifi Group who have declined my claim. I put a complaint into them to no avail. I have now taken this to the financial ombudsman fingers crossed they can help.

When you bought the policy is irrelevant. As @Hasbeen has posted the reasons for cancellation are clearly specified in the policy document. Pandemics aren't covered. 

jcrennie

Harveyt2 said:

Hi Hasbeen,,, I bought the insurance on the 7th March before the government announced against all travel on the 17th March. Esure is the company I purchased from the underwriter is the Tifi Group who have declined my claim. I put a complaint into them to no avail. I have now taken this to the financial ombudsman fingers crossed they can help.

Well my experience with the TIF group so far is it's taken them 8 weeks to convince them I have a valid claim after being rejected 3 times. They won't pay out unless they absolutely have to.