Lost £700 on a closed hotel due to traveling with a carer. Credit card say it’s gone over 90 days

vikki_louise

Hello, I booked a trip with Agoda for middle of March, for myself and my carers. I booked the hotel for 2 weeks in my name only, and they booked their travel, each doing 1 week and switching over part way through.

In early March it was becoming clear how bad covid was so I cancelled, my doctor wrote a letter to my travel insurance saying it wasn’t safe for me to travel. A week or so later the hotel closed. It’s been backwards and forward with travel insurance as they wanted new evidence, more info etc. Today they have said they will only refund half as its up to the carers to claim their half (or to he more precise their 1/4!).

I can’t see anyway in hell their travel insurance would pay out. My name was the only name on the booking, the only evidence they have is they had booked their travel. They hadn’t made a payment to the hotel or to me (I also paid them wages from another account which obviously I said to keep as they had turned down other work to go with me). As travel insurance have just made their decision we rang the credit card it was booked on but they say it’s over 90 days.

Do I just have to give up on seeing my £700 again?

[Deleted User]

If the other party won't claim on their travel insurance then yes, the money is lost.

rosiesposies

It’s up to the other parties to claim on their own insurance no matter who funded the trip 

vikki_louise

They are willing to try but they aren’t named on the hotel in anyway and didn’t pay any money for it 

kimwp

I'm not an insurance expert but to me it makes sense that if you cannot go on the trip then the insurance company has to refund the cost to you of the trip. Which includes the cost of the rooms for the carers that you need. The question is whether the insurance company could reasonably be expected to know that those costs were being incurred ie that you needed to travel with carers. If so, I would have thought their current response is discriminatory, may be worth mentioning that to them.

[Deleted User]

This topic of insurance has been raised before.    It seems pretty standard for insurance companies to only pay out for the portion of the holiday in the insureds' names (i.e. whoever is named on the policy).   I am assuming you booked more than one room which is how insurers have picked up on other people going? 

Some people think this is unfair and have stated they are going to the ombudsman (on the basis that they are the only ones losing money).    I think there would have to be a test case in court,  but personally I can't see it being ruled unfair.   All persons who are going on the holiday should be named on the policy and the relevant premium paid.  Obviously this would be much higher than the premium for a single person.   What I don't understand is how the insurers know exactly who is staying with you (similar question on here about a villa)   Somewhere along the line you must have told them there were two more people staying with you at the hotel if there is no note of them in the hotel booking?    I have never claimed for anything so don't know the questions they ask.   Good luck if you decide to take it to complaints.   Maybe let us know?

sheramber

You will probably find that your policy states it will only cover those  named in the policy.
I   expect a hotel bill for 2 rooms would indicate more than one person staying.
The others should claim on their own insurance.   for their share. You need to give them proof of their share.
If you had taken out a group policy for all three of you you would  have been able to claim for the full amount.

spiro

There may also be the issue that you are going on holiday but they are working so would probably require business travel insurance. 
I have always understood that either everyone needs to be listed on travel insurance or everyone has there own insurance.

kimwp

I did wonder whether it would be considered a business trip for the carers.  It remains a mystery though how to provide evidence of payment to the insurance companies if you have paid for everything together (and it would be a faff to book hotel rooms separately given that you would want to be adjacent)

Another possibility (for next time) could be group travel insurance:
https://www.travelinsuranceexplained.co.uk/group-travel-advice
"if you are all covered under the same policy and one of you needs to cancel due to illness then the whole group will be covered to cancel – if you are on separate policies, or with different travel insurers, this may not be the case."