Travel insurance reimbursing flights when cruise line has cancelled

[jkerr]

Ok..so Viking cancelled my cruise. I paid for airfare coverage long before Coronavirus was a word in my vocabulary. Booked business class with Singapore Air to the tune of $7800. Paid for travel insurance and had to cover the full amount of the airfare.  Now the story is...travel insurance  will only cover the cost to rebook even though I cannot take this trip. I don’t want to rebook. 
There are no destinations that I want to use $7800. In flights that Singapore Air offer.  Can this be true?? 

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by jkerr
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[Jersey42]

25 minutes ago, jkerr said:

Ok..so Viking cancelled my cruise. I paid for airfare coverage long before Coronavirus was a word in my vocabulary. Booked business class with Singapore Air to the tune of $7800. Paid for travel insurance and had to cover the full amount of the airfare.  Now the story is...travel insurance  will only cover the cost to rebook even though I cannot take this trip. I don’t want to rebook. 
There are no destinations that I want to use $7800. In flights that Singapore Air offer.  Can this be true?? 

Wow, that does not seem fair but it may be true. Look at the policy document and see if it addresses this situation. You may also try talking with the airline and see if they will do anything. 

 

What insurance did you buy and who did you buy it from?  I would go back to who you bought it from and ask for their advice.  Hopefully they can intervene for you.  

 

FYI:  Here is the wording that Nationwide uses in at least one of their plans:

c) If the Travel Supplier cancels Your Covered Trip, You are covered up to $100.00 for the reissue fee charged by the airline for the tickets. You must have covered the entire cost of the Covered Trip including the airfare. 

[jkerr]

Yes, this is the exact wording of my policy. I am holding off contacting the airlines and the insurance company. Singapore airlines has cancelled several flights and their list is growing. 
I am especially bothered by the fact  you must cover the cost of the entire flight, but we will only pay out $100. Rebooking fee. Really??  The fee to add the flights was much more than $100. 
just wondering what other travel insurance companies are telling their clients.

 

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, jkerr said:

Ok..so Viking cancelled my cruise. I paid for airfare coverage long before Coronavirus was a word in my vocabulary. Booked business class with Singapore Air to the tune of $7800. Paid for travel insurance and had to cover the full amount of the airfare.  Now the story is...travel insurance  will only cover the cost to rebook even though I cannot take this trip. I don’t want to rebook. 
There are no destinations that I want to use $7800. In flights that Singapore Air offer.  Can this be true?? 

 

What policy did you purchase.

Who you purchased from, the exact wording of the policy, and when you purchased are extremely important.

 

What's "fair or unfair" is not in the terms and conditions of coverage. Only what's defined as a covered reason.

[jkerr]

I bought this policy in June 2019 when I booked my trip through Travel Insured International. The front page says  up to 100% refund if trip is cancelled. My trip was cancelled. 

Viking is refunding me the cruise portion. My comment is why do I pay for coverage of 100% of my airfare if they only cover rebooking fees? Better to save my $535 bucks for rebooking  fees.  
Really...fair, unfair..this is an insurance scam. 

[klfrodo]

2 hours ago, jkerr said:

I bought this policy in June 2019 when I booked my trip through Travel Insured International. The front page says  up to 100% refund if trip is cancelled. My trip was cancelled. 

Viking is refunding me the cruise portion. My comment is why do I pay for coverage of 100% of my airfare if they only cover rebooking fees? Better to save my $535 bucks for rebooking  fees.  
Really...fair, unfair..this is an insurance scam. 

See, I'm not understanding what you are talking about.

Here is what I can only surmise with the limited information you are providing...

 

You booked a Viking cruise,,,, okay,, go that.

You purchased insurance,,, okay,,, got that

 

Here's what I don't get

1. Did you buy the insurance thru Viking? And the policy is with Travel Insured International?????

or 2,, did you buy the policy directly thru Travel Insured International??

 

 

Also, what I don't understand

1. Viking won't reimburse you for the airfare??

 or 2. You filed a claim with Travel Insured International and they are denying your claim?

 

 

Viking and Travel Insured International are 2 complete different entities and 2 complete different businesses. Sure, Viking "may have" sold the policy but they have nothing to do with Travel Insured International.

[jkerr]

First, I understand who the insurance company is and that they not part  Viking.

 I purchased the travel insurance through my travel agent with Travel Insured International.

Viking has cancelled their cruise. I paid $7800 for flights.  I purchased separately and included the cost in my insurance policy. 
I have not filed my claim as of yet because my travel agent is being told that the insurance company will not pay. 
I am trying to inform others that you might think that the cruise line cancelling would trigger flight reimbursement ( don’t miss the point that my insurance fee was raised to include  the cost of my flights). That’s all! 
 

[klfrodo]

Come back after the travel insurance company has officially denied your claim and we can try to help.

Right now, nobody has denied you anything. The cruiseline cancelled the cruise and refunded your money.

Your next step is to file a claim for the airfare. You need to read your policy. It should even tell you what documentation you need to have to be reimbursed.

If the airline offered a credit to be used in future travel, then the insurance will not pay.

[jkerr]

Klfrodo, we have decided rebooked the same trip for next year and transfer our insurance to that trip. We will pay the rebooking fee with the credit that Viking gave us.

FYI we received notification from Travel Insured that the coronvirus would an exemption for reimbursement for flight expenses. 
My point is to let people know that your travel insurance does not cover all that you think it does. Buyer beware. 

[LDVinNC]

15 hours ago, jkerr said:

 

FYI we received notification from Travel Insured that the coronvirus would an exemption for reimbursement for flight expenses. 
 

What does this mean?  I do not get what you are saying.

[luv2trvlnow]

I can't remember what insurance company we had back in 2015.  But Carnival cancelled our cruise and we had airfare to Puerto Rico.  We were told that the airfare was still usable since the airline hadn't cancelled the flight. They would only cover the change fee up to the cost listed in their policy.  I know it seems totally unfair.  No reason for the airfare without the cruise.  We were lucky enough to find another cruise line that had a cruise leaving the day before the one Carnival cancelled. So we booked with them since we were coming in 3 days early. Really makes you think when planning a trip.

[Babr]

10 hours ago, LDVinNC said:

What does this mean?  I do not get what you are saying.

Agree. Exemption which way? Will reimburse?  Will not? 

Would airfare normally be covered if the cost was included in the amount insured?  Is it not covered because the cruise line cancelled, not the policyholder?  What is the exemption because of the coronavirus?

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Babr

[luv2trvlnow]

Our airfare was covered in the amount insured.  But they still said since the airline didn't cancel we would not be reimbursed for anything more than the change fees up to the amount stated in the policy.  A lot of airlines charge $200 per person and our policy would only cover $100.  It seems you would have to have 'cancel for any reason' and then only get back about 75%.  The only way you would get the money refunded is if the airline gave you that option.  Which might be the case during the coronvirus if you are traveling to or through an area they say they will allow cancellations without penalties.

[SG65CB]

The question is why do you have to insure the total cost of the flight tickets if the policy only covers the change fee? It does not seem right that you have to pay a lot more for the policy to cover $7800 plane tickets than if you are covering $800 plane tickets, yet in both cases the policy only covers $100 of the change fee. 

 

Yes, if the cruise is canceled then the insurance company will only cover the change fee for the flights because the plane tickets are still usable, you have not suffered a financial loss other than the cost to change the tickets to a new flight. 

 

The reason you have to pay more is because they are also insuring you against problems with your flight. If your airline goes bankrupt and shuts down, or a blizzard closes the airport, etc. then the insurance company is going to have to buy a very expensive plane ticket to get you to your cruise. This is covered under "Trip Interruption", and policies usually pay for airfare in the same class of service as the original ticket. 

[Roger88]

Usually Air companies are not responsible for cancellations that occur with a passenger on his route. I mean its a totally different story. Sometimes tour agencies who make a plan of your tour include such a thing in your insurance plan but its very rate. Its also very expensive. So its all up to you and only your expenses. Make sure to choose a way less complicated routes when you travel. Try to minimize the plane and just leave a hotel+taxi+liner 

[Babr]

A couple of people have posted on other threads that you could file a claim for the cost of the tickets once they have expired. If you are not able to use them, then you have suffered a loss.

 

I’d be curious to know if insurance would still pay that claim a year later.

 

Anybody?

[gmros]

Thank you for the heads up.

 

This is one reason why we rather buy our own travel insurance coverage via insuremytrip. You get different plan options and you see the policy before buying the plan. One insurance company can offer different plans with different coverage and price points.

 

I think you need a better TA.