Preparing small claims court case against Axa travel insurance

stoem

More progress. Ryanair offer a webchat based 'request no show confirmation' service via this page
https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb/sections/12488381174289-Insurance

I've requested this and the latest email from Axa gives me the impression that they will settle the claim once I send them the no show confirmation. They've claimed down from 'cancellation invoices are required for all elements of the trip' and no seem to accept that 

• the accommodation was not cancelled but only partially unused 
  
• the car parking provider clearly states that no refunds are given within 48 hours start time
• Ryanair does not issue cancellation invoices in such cases but will issue a no-show letter which they now accept will be sufficient
  

I'll update here with further info as I get it. 

RavingMad

Hope your daughter is recovered and that those that went on holiday could enjoy it without parents being there. Did they have to pay their own way lol

I do wonder if I should pay extra for a recognised insurance firm when I look at comparison sites. I generally go for a high defacto rating as long as it's not too much above the other quotes.

You'd hope it would be straightforward and sympathetic to your case but having to force them to payout is ridiculous. They should be made to payout extra for the stress 

I remember our insurance not paying out when COVID hit. Luckily Love holidays refunded at the time and the airline.

DullGreyGuy

RavingMad said:

I do wonder if I should pay extra for a recognised insurance firm when I look at comparison sites. I generally go for a high defacto rating as long as it's not too much above the other quotes.

You'd hope it would be straightforward and sympathetic to your case but having to force them to payout is ridiculous. They should be made to payout extra for the stress 

It depends, just because they are a big name doesnt mean they are top shelf. Admiral are a very well known firm but certainly in the Motor space they are firmly in the "cheap and cheerful" category rather than than "all the bells and whistles". Motor is a relatively basic product so is probably ok but for other much more complex products like Home and Travel you may want to consider if it meets your needs. 

Similarly the largest insurers like Aviva do a whole spectrum of products from the "value" proposition all the way up to High Net Worth so the name alone doesnt tell you that much. 

Defacto should be treated in the same way as hotel star ratings; it's ultimately a scorecard of product features and not any comment on the level of service etc. It's very possible to intentionally hit a particular star rating and you may find a lower star rated product which actually gives much better experience. 

As a tangental example, one TV programme a while back was helping B&B owners to improve their business, in one episode they told a 3* place to stop offering their smallest room as it was rarely actually occupied and it dragged down the average room size. Simply by closing that room they were rerated as a 4* and increased their prices by £30 per night. 


Whilst in this case it appears to be Axa dealing with claims there are many examples where an insurer is the ultimate carrier of the risk so their name appears on the documents etc however all aspects of the insurance has been delegated to the intermediary and so all that "Axa" add to the considerations is the financial stability. As a rough guide check the complaints section of the policy book and see if it says for Claims if you go to the seller or the insurer. 

stoem

RavingMad said:

Hope your daughter is recovered and that those that went on holiday could enjoy it without parents being there. Did they have to pay their own way lol

Thanks for asking, yes she's fine and yes the others enjoyed it very much with the help of my credit card 

stoem

Update.

Axa accepted the claim for the flight portion of the holiday and paid this minus the full excess. 
They did not pay for the car hire, accommodation or parking because I couldn't provide 'no-show' documentation. 

The largest outstanding part is the accommodation element. It was neither cancelled nor partially refunded nor can the provider confirm who stayed there as keys were handed over at the airport.
Logically Axa are alleging that we may have stayed in the accommodation despite not having travelled to Spain. 

Since Axa already accepted that my wife and I did not travel by paying the flight element, requesting further unobtainable documents is unreasonable, especially where those elements were non refundable. By paying the flight element they also acknowledged that I have a valid claim and I am covered under the policy. 

Axa I did not uphold my complaint which they initially failed to acknowledge in the required timeframe.

FCA guidance states that 

Insurers must consider the real-world usability of their claims processes and ensure they do not “create barriers” to customers receiving fair outcomes.

I've today filed a claim against Axa in the small claims court. 

I'll post the results here. Could take a couple of months. 

XRS200

I doubt they are challenging whether or not you travelled.   Its reasonable for the insurer to request no show documents for other parts to prove you didn't get a refund, therefore have suffered a loss.

When they refused your complaint, did they advise of your rights to the Ombudsman?

stoem

XRS200 said:

I doubt they are challenging whether or not you travelled.   Its reasonable for the insurer to request no show documents for other parts to prove you didn't get a refund, therefore have suffered a loss.

When they refused your complaint, did they advise of your rights to the Ombudsman?

Yeah they advised me. 

jimjames

DullGreyGuy said:

RavingMad said:

I do wonder if I should pay extra for a recognised insurance firm when I look at comparison sites. I generally go for a high defacto rating as long as it's not too much above the other quotes.

You'd hope it would be straightforward and sympathetic to your case but having to force them to payout is ridiculous. They should be made to payout extra for the stress 

It depends, just because they are a big name doesnt mean they are top shelf. Admiral are a very well known firm but certainly in the Motor space they are firmly in the "cheap and cheerful" category rather than than "all the bells and whistles".

Ironically I've actually found Admiral very good with processing claims despite being the cheap end.

AXA seem to have form for travel insurance claims, slight different scenario but AXA again not listening

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3vl40pvydyo

stoem

Final update.

On July 24th, Axa wrote:

We are pleased to advise you that we have completed our assessment of your claim in accordance with the Policy Terms and Conditions.

We will credit your account in favour of xxxxxx for the sum of £xxx.xx in full and final settlement of your claim, this should be with you within the next 7 working days.

They then paid the flight element of my claim, deducting the full excess. I told them that a complaint was open about this. 

On August 5th, the complaints handler told me:

After completing my thorough investigation and based on the above explanations, I must advise that I am not upholding your complaint. Although I am aware that the explanation within my letter will come as a disappointment to you, I trust you will accept the reasons for not upholding your complaint.

On August 13th, I filed a claim against Axa in the small claims court.

Today I received a letter from Axa (for some reason the quote formatting is not working):

We are pleased to advise you that we have completed our assessment of your claim in accordance with the Policy Terms and Conditions.

We will credit your account in favour of xxxxx for the sum of £xxx.xx in full and final settlement of your claim, this should be with you within the next 7 working days.

They're now paying my claim plus court fees - without further explanation. 

I was never in doubt I'd get this claim paid because it was valid from the start; all this nonsense about 'no-show invoices' and 'thorough complaints investigation' seems to be purely for Axa's benefit to deter customers getting the claims they are due paid out. 

It's a disgrace and I will consider a referral to the ombudsman to spare others this sort of treatment. 

ThorOdinson

Congratulations and well done.