Travel Insurance - not paying out for hotel cost as "staff shortages" aren't included

lisyloo

onashoestring said:

Grim72 said:

lisyloo said:

Grim72 said:

Thanks for the feedback so far guys - I suspect there will be a lot of people like myself that assumed their policy (which does include hotels) would get compensation without realising that "staff shortages" were an exemption. I've contacted a few other insurance companies to ask the question if their policy would cover the hotels etc if the same were to happen in July but not found any that will cover it. So be warned people - you might get your cost of flights back but any hotels/excursions etc you have booked are likely not going to be paid back to you. I mean - not as if when you book a flight that you are goign to be booking hotels too for your holiday is it lol. So blooming annoying!

This is why it’s loads better to book a package if you can.

It is but by booking everything myself individually I saved over £500 (in the misguided assumption I'd be covered by my travel insurance). Can't win really lol

The only way around this is to book accommodation that permits last minute cancellation ( this  usually cost more ) or a travel insurance like Nationwide Flexiplus that covers abandonment .

I’ve not seen many that allow last minute cancellation.
some are 2 weeks, some 48 hours, some 24 hours. Are there many that are really
last minute?

why didn’t you include get a package for £500 more?

Grim72

onashoestring said:

Grim72 said:

lisyloo said:

Grim72 said:

Thanks for the feedback so far guys - I suspect there will be a lot of people like myself that assumed their policy (which does include hotels) would get compensation without realising that "staff shortages" were an exemption. I've contacted a few other insurance companies to ask the question if their policy would cover the hotels etc if the same were to happen in July but not found any that will cover it. So be warned people - you might get your cost of flights back but any hotels/excursions etc you have booked are likely not going to be paid back to you. I mean - not as if when you book a flight that you are goign to be booking hotels too for your holiday is it lol. So blooming annoying!

This is why it’s loads better to book a package if you can.

It is but by booking everything myself individually I saved over £500 (in the misguided assumption I'd be covered by my travel insurance). Can't win really lol

The only way around this is to book accommodation that permits last minute cancellation ( this  usually cost more ) or a travel insurance like Nationwide Flexiplus that covers abandonment .

I'll check out the Nationwide Flexiplus to see if we'd be covered for the summer holiday if I go with them and the airline decides to cancel. It doesnt help when my wife is a teacher and she is not normally allowed to take holidays during the school holidays as she is contracted to cover the other teachers. She was given permission for this one week window in July which is why I have booked but if the flight is cancelled then we wouldnt be able to rearrange for a different date - just another hurdle to try and get over for us. I remember the days (pre covid/pre brexit) when we could book a holiday and have now worries about whether we'd actually get to take it lol

onashoestring

lisyloo said:

onashoestring said:

Grim72 said:

lisyloo said:

Grim72 said:

Thanks for the feedback so far guys - I suspect there will be a lot of people like myself that assumed their policy (which does include hotels) would get compensation without realising that "staff shortages" were an exemption. I've contacted a few other insurance companies to ask the question if their policy would cover the hotels etc if the same were to happen in July but not found any that will cover it. So be warned people - you might get your cost of flights back but any hotels/excursions etc you have booked are likely not going to be paid back to you. I mean - not as if when you book a flight that you are goign to be booking hotels too for your holiday is it lol. So blooming annoying!

This is why it’s loads better to book a package if you can.

It is but by booking everything myself individually I saved over £500 (in the misguided assumption I'd be covered by my travel insurance). Can't win really lol

The only way around this is to book accommodation that permits last minute cancellation ( this  usually cost more ) or a travel insurance like Nationwide Flexiplus that covers abandonment .

….

why didn’t you include get a package for £500 more?

… because you had already made that point very eloquently 🙂

Sandtree

onashoestring said:

Grim72 said:

lisyloo said:

Grim72 said:

Thanks for the feedback so far guys - I suspect there will be a lot of people like myself that assumed their policy (which does include hotels) would get compensation without realising that "staff shortages" were an exemption. I've contacted a few other insurance companies to ask the question if their policy would cover the hotels etc if the same were to happen in July but not found any that will cover it. So be warned people - you might get your cost of flights back but any hotels/excursions etc you have booked are likely not going to be paid back to you. I mean - not as if when you book a flight that you are goign to be booking hotels too for your holiday is it lol. So blooming annoying!

This is why it’s loads better to book a package if you can.

It is but by booking everything myself individually I saved over £500 (in the misguided assumption I'd be covered by my travel insurance). Can't win really lol

The only way around this is to book accommodation that permits last minute cancellation ( this  usually cost more ) or a travel insurance like Nationwide Flexiplus that covers abandonment .

Most insurance companies cover abandonment for delays over 24 hours however most list a set of causes that must be the reason for the delay of which airline staffing shortages or overbooking isn't one of them

On the Nationwide policy in particular they exclude:

4. Any claim where compensation is available from your transport operator (for example due to EU Passenger Rights) unless you have a document from them explaining why no compensation was given.

6. Any claim for Abandoned Departure due to the failure of your transport operator or their agents

4 doesn't state that the compensation has to be for the complete cost of the holiday and so could be a get out on the £5k limit if they pay €250 for the short haul under 14 days notice

6 is unclear by what "failure" means... is it just if the company has gone into financial failure (eg administrators/bankruptcy) or if they've had a failure like not getting enough staff for the flights they've sold.

onashoestring

Sandtree said:

onashoestring said:

Grim72 said:

lisyloo said:

Grim72 said:

Thanks for the feedback so far guys - I suspect there will be a lot of people like myself that assumed their policy (which does include hotels) would get compensation without realising that "staff shortages" were an exemption. I've contacted a few other insurance companies to ask the question if their policy would cover the hotels etc if the same were to happen in July but not found any that will cover it. So be warned people - you might get your cost of flights back but any hotels/excursions etc you have booked are likely not going to be paid back to you. I mean - not as if when you book a flight that you are goign to be booking hotels too for your holiday is it lol. So blooming annoying!

This is why it’s loads better to book a package if you can.

It is but by booking everything myself individually I saved over £500 (in the misguided assumption I'd be covered by my travel insurance). Can't win really lol

The only way around this is to book accommodation that permits last minute cancellation ( this  usually cost more ) or a travel insurance like Nationwide Flexiplus that covers abandonment .

Most insurance companies cover abandonment for delays over 24 hours however most list a set of causes that must be the reason for the delay of which airline staffing shortages or overbooking isn't one of them

On the Nationwide policy in particular they exclude:

4. Any claim where compensation is available from your transport operator (for example due to EU Passenger Rights) unless you have a document from them explaining why no compensation was given.

6. Any claim for Abandoned Departure due to the failure of your transport operator or their agents

4 doesn't state that the compensation has to be for the complete cost of the holiday and so could be a get out on the £5k limit if they pay €250 for the short haul under 14 days notice

6 is unclear by what "failure" means... is it just if the company has gone into financial failure (eg administrators/bankruptcy) or if they've had a failure like not getting enough staff for the flights they've sold.

Agreed - I quoted part 4 above  in my post#5 of this thread

- Nationwide Flexi plus is the most comprehensive policy that I have seen including abandonment departure which includes the cost ( up to £5000 ) of:

• Deposits.

• Commercially operated accommodation and travel costs.

• Car hire.

• Excursions and activities.

• Kennel, cattery, professional pet sitter costs.

• Car parking charges.

• The value of used points or miles if you booked your flight or accommodation using Avios or a similar promotional scheme.

As always it’s the responsibility of the purchaser to check the T&Cs and any exclusions to ensure it covers what you need .

It’s my understanding that “failure “ of transport operator or it’s agents - refers to an airline that goes bankrupt. 

Sandtree

onashoestring said:
Nationwide Flexi plus is the most comprehensive policy that I have seen including abandonment departure which includes the cost ( up to £5000 ) of:

Its often 6 of one and half a dozen of the other with these things... its broader than most by not specifying the reason for the delay that results in abandonment in the same way that others do but at the same time items 4 and 6 are much more restrictive than other insurers offer.