Topic: Travel Insurance

Should your travel insurer cover your loss when you feel you have no option but to cancel your travel?

Otto travels to the Netherlands when his father falls gravely ill and dies. Can the family claim back Otto’s travel costs on the basis he was an ‘accompanying person’?

Unexpected change of plans impact the decision to travel, but did the unexpected events cause the journey to be cancelled?

Monty sought to be reimbursed for the costs of a trip to Rarotonga. A few days before Monty was due to go, he felt unwell and went to see his doctor. He had low iron levels. The day before he was meant to leave Monty returned to the doctor and it was agreed he was too sick to go. Monty’s claim was declined because the insurer determined that his low iron levels were a pre-existing medical condition.

Sally and her family were unable to get to Vanuatu for their planned holiday because of the impact that Cyclone Cook had on their flights. Sally and her family travelled by taxi from Wellington to Napier in order to try and make their international flight from Auckland. Twenty minutes from Napier, they learnt that the flight from Napier was also cancelled. The insurance company refused to pay for the taxis.

Radisha was on a flight home to NZ. When disembarking she forgot her bag in the overhead compartment. It contained her laptop and $1568 (USD). Hours later, upon arriving home, Radisha realised she was missing her bag. She contacted the airline but a subsequent search failed to find it. Radisha sought to claim insurance for this loss.

Michael and April bought travel insurance for their trip to Georgia months before their scheduled departure (May 2017). In the meantime, Michael lost his job. Michael cancelled the flights in December 2016 because his family had lost their main source of income and he did not find another job until March. The insurer denied the claim for cancellation costs because Michael wasn’t made ‘redundant.’

Ken suffers an injury on the second day of his and his wife’s overseas trip, which was supposed to last 37 days. Can the insurer decline the claim on the basis its policy only provides cover for trips lasting 35 days or less?

A couple cancels their travel plans because of a death in the family. The insurer denies their claim for cancellation costs, saying the couple isn’t covered for the death of any person aged 85 or over. Should the couple have been told about the exclusion?

Holly’s insurer declined her claim for treatment and antibiotics for a urinary tract infection (UTI) while Holly was overseas. Because she had consulted a doctor and received treatment for a number of UTI’s in the two years prior, her insurers classed it as a pre-existing medical condition. Holly believed each infection was an isolated incident.