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Hi all,
I booked a family holiday in January for 8 of us to Portugal. Both myself and another family member had a big birthday year so it was a good excuse. Obviously covid had other ideas.
Anyway, I paid the deposit for the villa who refused to refund, or move the deposit to next year. Consequently, I had to submit a travel insurance claim to Halifax(AXA). After 5 months and losing the documentation multiple times and never calling me back when they said they would, they have decided to only refund mine and my wife's portion of the villa deposit. Everyone else, has to claim from their own travel insurance, apparently.
This is a problem for a number of reasons: some of the family members are elderly, some aren't residents in the UK and others will greatly struggle to submit the claim/chase it and go through the all crap I've had to. Meanwhile, I'm a couple of grand down. Not to mention, starting the process so late after all this kicked off.
Is my travel insurance right to do this?
Thanks.
Assuming you've told them there were 8 due to go rather than just the two of you staying in a big place and that your own travel insurance is just in you and your wife's name then I doubt they'll budge - they'll just reimburse your proportion. Think you'll just have to suck it up and ask everyone to chase through their own insurance or cough up their share if they've not got insurance.
This is partly why it's good that everyone pays their own share directly or if you are organising any paying for everyone then you arrange travel insurance for everyone on a single policy.
Yes, that's probably the mistake I made, telling them it was for 8.
Can't see how other's can claim having not paid for anything directly?
the policy is there to reimburse losses for the policy holder, i.e. you and your wife. so if you have paid the deposit and the other members of the travel party haven't recompensed you, then it should cover the whole deposit not just your share - what's to say you weren't paying for the other people as gift for example. however if the members of the party have paid you their share of the deposit, then your only loss is you and your wife's share of the deposit and that all the policy will pay
Is my travel insurance right to do this?
Yes
if you have paid the deposit and the other members of the travel party haven’t recompensed you, then it should cover the whole deposit not just your share – what’s
to say you weren’t paying for the other people as gift for example.t
Eh?
Totally disagree. Why would the insurance company cover people who aren't insured with them?
Why would they pay out for his gift?
I can see their point - you paid the premium for 2 and are claiming for 8. If they make their own claims they can say "This is what had to be cancelled, my share of it was £xxx." If necessary, they can say that you booked it and your policy doesn't cover their share. Possible problem if their names are not on the booking; they will need some evidence that that they were in the party. Whether the money you paid was your or theirs is between you and them.
Yes they are correct.
Good thing is they have a backdoor way of other insurers looking at the claim so you don't have to re-send all the docs (happened to me before).
Yes they are correct.
+1 sister booked and paid for flights for us but we will have to pay her & claim off our insurance.
Shitter that you told them that it was for 8 people 🙁
Oh well it is, what it is.
Wouldn't be so bad if it was a mate's holiday, I'd tell them all to get on with it. Elderly, less-switched-on and non-UK relatives just makes it 10 times harder.
Totally disagree. Why would the insurance company cover people who aren’t insured with them? Why would they pay out for his gift
they wouldn't be, they would be covering the loss of the insured. eg insured is paying for all of the holiday and the other party members aren't paying anything, then it is only the insured that has a had a loss. the other party members wouldn't be able to claim as they weren't paying anything in the first place and therefore there has been no loss. ultimately the insurer is only interested in the size of the loss, who has had the loss and if that person is insured when it comes to cancellation.
real world example for you, we had to cancel a holiday at the start of lock down. i paid for the flights for me & my partner and she paid for most of the accommodation, both of us on separate travel insurance policies. i claimed for the non refundable portion of the flights as i was able to evidence that I paid for them and therefore it was my loss, and she did similar with the accommodation
obviously different matter if they were making a claim for medical expenses etc on a travel policy