This is the rejection letter from my travel insurance company

mitch123

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my mother was stranded in New Zealand during the coronavirus our break and her flight home was cancelled and she has to wait for the next available flight with an airline still operating once NZ government allowed travel to restart for essential reasons ie stranded visitors. She paid for another flight home. The travel company who organised the trip said they could not refund as they had exhausted all avenues ( not sure what that means) and said she should claim through her travel insurance policy (see letter below). Unfortunately she cannot go to her credit card for a chargeback as her travel companion paid and she reimbursed. Please see letter from travel insurance and any advise welcomed.

Thank you for telling us about your cancellation claim. We are sorry to note the circumstances involved. Unfortunately, your claim has been declined, the reason we have not covered your claim is because the costs you are looking to claim for are either recoverable from one of the following sources:

 The providers of the accommodation, their booking agents, travel agent or compensation scheme.

 The providers of the transportation, their booking agents, travel agent, compensation scheme or ATOL.

 Your credit or debit card provider or PayPal.

The policy exclusion(s) we have applied to your claim is:

"Any unused or additional costs incurred by you which are recoverable from:

 The providers of the accommodation, their booking agents, travel agent or

compensation scheme.

 The providers of the transportation, their booking agents, travel agent, compensation

scheme or ATOL.

 Your credit or debit card provider or PayPal.”

“Any amount recoverable from any other source.”

We realise that you may be disappointed with our response, however we trust our position has been fully explained to you. If we have failed to note additional information, which may affect the assessment of your claim, please send this to us for consideration.

Please find some links that may be useful to understand why the various providers listed above are liable for the loss you have incurred, and how some of them work.

eskbanker

mitch123 said:

The travel company who organised the trip said they could not refund as they had exhausted all avenues ( not sure what that means)

I'd echo the insurance company's expectation that the travel company should refund a cancelled flight and potentially accept responsibility for repatriation or the costs thereof - is it regarded as a package holiday and was it booked with a UK/EU company (which one?)?

Nebulous2

I’m in a similar position, in that I was stranded in New Zealand with a cancelled return flight. My insurer has taken responsibility, under curtailment, but expects me to recover what I can from my credit card or travel agent. My agent is last-minute.com and they have been spectacularly bad, but at least they haven’t denied all responsibility. My insurer has made an interim payment, for return flight and a non-refundable trip we had paid for, but they have deducted the full cost of our original return flights, pending a settlement from lastminute or Barclaycard, who have been equally rubbish. 

I’d say she needs to claim from the travel agent first. They need to at least refund the cost of the original return flight. If it was an EU airline then they have more responsibility than if it was another one. If your mother’s companion paid by card then they could do a chargeback, for both tickets. Then the insurer could be responsible for the balance - look at her policy, probably under a section called curtailment. 

mitch123

yes it was booked through a uk travel company , flights and accommodation were booked so I would say yes it’s a package. The travel company said they could not recoup any further funds?

sheramber

What company did you book through? Are they a travel operator or a booking agent.

eskbanker

mitch123 said:

yes it was booked through a uk travel company , flights and accommodation were booked so I would say yes it’s a package. The travel company said they could not recoup any further funds?

If it was a package (she should have an ATOL certificate confirming this) then the travel company are legally obliged to either get her home or refund her costs if she had to pay for another flight herself, under the Package Travel Regulations 2018, regardless of whether or not they can recover funds from their suppliers:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/regulation/15/made

macman

As above, look at the ATOL certificate.
If necessary get her companion to do the chargeback.