Claiming deposit paid for holiday cancellation due to medical grounds??

jwatso13

Hi,  hope you can help.
We have been trying unsuccessfully to claim a refund for a cruise as I was unable to travel due to knee surgery (not known this would be the case when cruise booked).  Even though we have annual travel insurance that we renew each year our claim has been declined as the insurers say the deposit was paid in a different year to when the cruise would have taken place.
Is this correct?  Many people book holidays and cruises over 1 year in advance.
as the deposit paid was £1,700 this is a lot of money to lose due to an operation.
Basically the insurers are saying the holiday should be in the same travel insurance period.  Ours runs mid-year roughly so this could happen again if this is correct.  Thank you.

sammyjammy

Hmm so the holiday was booked and at the time the insurance didn't cover that period.  Did it cover the period that you reported you couldn't go?  If not then I agree with the insurance company, you need to look closely and the Ts & Cs.

So if insurance renewed in March 24 for example but cruise was in August 24 and you cancelled before the new policy came into effect then I think its correct you weren't covered.  

eskbanker

jwatso13 said:

we have annual travel insurance that we renew each year

So, just to be clear, you had cover at the time of booking and had retained continuous cover with the same company up to and beyond the scheduled date of travel?

jwatso13 said:

Basically the insurers are saying the holiday should be in the same travel insurance period.  Ours runs mid-year roughly so this could happen again if this is correct.

'Basically' saying that, or actually saying it, i.e. how is it worded?  Which insurer is it?

DullGreyGuy

jwatso13 said:
Even though we have annual travel insurance that we renew each year 

What do you really mean by this? You get an auto-renewal letter each year and you dont respond to it so it just automatically renews or the other end of the spectrum that you tell them to lapse the policy each year and then shop around and buy a new policy from someone else?

Westin

Was it travel insurance that specifically included cruising?

jwatso13

Hi all,  firstly yes the policy covered cruises.  The deposit was paid during last year’s cover as we booked a long time in advance as many people do and the cruise would have been in April 24.  The policy was renewed with same company and we are still covered until April.  I could understand if we had only paid for the exact dates of the holiday.

jwatso13

The insurance company is Good To Go.

silvercar

Start by making a complaint to the insurer. They have 8 weeks to reply and then you go to the ombudsman

jwatso13

I have done this and they have not approved the claim so I will go to the Omsbudman.

Mark_d

So the cruise date was April 2024.  When was the deposit paid?  When did you notify the insurer & cruise company of the need to cancel?  When is your annual renewal of travel insurance?

Like you I also book cruises up to two years in advance.  I know that some cruise lines let you reschedule your holiday if you call them before you pay the balance for the cruise.  Which cruise line were you with?

Robin9

jwatso13 said:

Hi,  hope you can help.
We have been trying unsuccessfully to claim a refund for a cruise as I was unable to travel due to knee surgery (not known this would be the case when cruise booked).............................

Was it known when you auto-renewed the insurance ?