Travel insurance questions (my parents unable to come to family holiday they booked)

dunroving

CSI_Yorkshire said:

dunroving said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

dunroving said:

insurers will do everything they can to wriggle out of paying anything. 

This often gets brought up, and it simply isn't true.  It wasn't even true in the dark days of the past when policy breaches didn't need to be particularly pertinent.

Insurers are not allowed to pay for things that are not covered by the policy.  That's why it's so important to read the policy documents.  It's not a negotiation or based on how sorry the case handler feels for you.

The process is just validating that what has happened and what you are claiming is actually covered by the wording that was agreed.

Sometimes mistakes get made, or wording is vague and down to interpretation, but that's why there is the complaints process and the ombudsman.  About 30% of insurance complaints are upheld by the ombudsman according to the most recent figures - of which quite a lot were complaints about the settlement value for written off cars or complaints about buildings guarantees (note this is not buildings insurance).

I beg to disagree. If you had heard the conversation I had with the call handler a few days ago, I think you might take a different view, also. To be most charitable, I'd say the person didn't understand the policy T&Cs himself. Every time, I'd recite the T&C, he would put me on hold and come back saying that Yes, I was correct. This happened regarding four different things he originally said would not be covered. It certainly felt distinctly like his stock response was along the lines of, "Computer says no ...."

So, it was exactly as I said then.  Working to the T&Cs.  Call handler was ill-informed or mistaken, and when challenged the T&C wording wins out.

It's not "wriggling out of paying" if you say "the T&Cs say X" and they say "ok, then you get X"

Also, your single anecdote does not prove the general statement that "insurers will do everything"..

We'll have to agree to disagree. When the customer has to repeatedly remind the insurer of the T&Cs, that's exactly what I'd describe as an example of the insurer trying to wriggle out of their responsibilities.

mavenmim

dunroving said:

I don't know if this will help any, and I'm not seeking advice myself or trying to hijack your thread. I'm just having a similar experience and thought it might shed some light on the issues with travel insurance, the need to check T&Cs, and the fact that T&Cs are often not specific enough to determine what's covered.

Similar to your parents, I was in Ireland, but for a "point to point" (bottom to top) cycling holiday, moving every day to a new hotel along the 10-day route. On Day 8, I and one other cyclist came down with a nasty food poisoning/vomiting bug. From that point onwards, both of us (a) were unable to cycle (obviously), or participate in any of the other package holiday benefits like food, transport, etc, because we (b) were told we had to stay away from the rest of the group.

I called my insurer's (Post Office) medical emergency line, and they gave me the location of the hospital at my next scheduled stop (50 miles away). I went there by taxi, spent 10 hours in A&E, was treated (anti-emetics and saline drip) and discharged close to midnight. Next day, I travelled again by taxi to the next/final scheduled stop, in Belfast, from where I made my way home two days earlier than scheduled, by a re-arranged flight. (Long story, I had planned to stay on in Belfast for a couple of days after the package holiday finished).

The insurer's call handlers have nickled and dimed all the way, saying I couldn't claim the costs of the taxis, nor the loss of two days' package holiday, because I didn't return before the end of the package holiday - but clearly, an airline will not allow a vomiting passenger to board a plane, so I couldn't have returned earlier! Anyway, long story short is that through determination and persuasive argument, they are gradually accepting that I had no choice but to follow the course of action that I did. Time will tell whether I recoup any of my expenses.

Similar to your father, I have another holiday booked, in a month, to cycle France end-to-end. Ironically, it turned out after my return from Ireland that I caught Covid, almost definitely in A&E in Ireland, and am in no fit state to ride a bike 1,000 miles, even though it's in 3+ weeks (if it were a "normal" holiday, I'd probably be OK). At the moment, it looks like cancelling this next holiday will cost me 80% of the total holiday cost (package holiday cancellation policy if cancelled < 60 days ahead). Additionally, I likely won't be eligible to recoup any of that cost from insurance as (a) I probably *could* go on holiday, just not a cycling holiday, and (b) their policies state I'd have to test Covid positive within 14 days of the scheduled departure date.

Anyway, the key take-home messages I've learned are: to check T&Cs very, very carefully (if they even have enough detail to do so, that is); "travel" insurance companies seem to have difficulty responding to issues with non-"holiday" travel, (c) certain types of holiday issues (like your parent's inability to access the holiday services they had planned) throw another spanner in the works; and, of course, insurers will do everything they can to wriggle out of paying anything. I think they just hope you'll throw your hands up in despair and give in.

Thanks for sharing, and I can see there are similarities to your experience. I'm sorry to hear you've been unwell and your planned holiday did not go as you had wished. I hope that you are able to recover your costs from the insurance, and that you are able to either convert your trip to France to something that would feel more enjoyable, or get a doctor's note that you are not fit enough for the cycling component that your insurance will accept.

We had a lovely time on our long weekend, and the holiday park wrote a confirmation that we had only half the planned occupancy, but that they were unable to provide a smaller option or offer a cancellation at short notice, so I hope that my parents will be able to claim at least a proportion of the costs back.