Cancel for any reason disaster

[textom]

Last month we booked a trip with Viking Travel and insured our trip with their insurer TripMate/Generli's "Cancel for any Reason" policy ( GR425V). Don't buy this policy. We were unable to make the cruise because an air carrier cancelled the flight. Unbelievably this is not a "covered event" under this policy despite the fact that they have a "failure of common carrier" section in the policy. Their policy is so narrowly written as to exclude this ever increasing event. They have rejected our claim in whole.

[canadianbear]

I find insurance policies so annoying as you almost have to be a lawyer to go through all their zillion pages of stuff.

 

I’m so sorry this happened to you.  We all buy insurance in good faith but it seems we are the ones that suffer. 

[Babr]

I, too, am sorry for your frustration, but I don’t have enough information about your situation to offer any helpful comments. I fear you did not fully understand the policy when you bought it.

 

It does have a section addressing failure of services by a common carrier. It may depend on whether you purchased your flights through Viking or on the reason for the cancellation.

 

In any case, the Cancel For Any Reason provision is provided by Viking. You should be reimbursed by Viking in the form of FCC. I hope you can come to a satisfactory resolution.

[Jersey42]

1 hour ago, textom said:

They have rejected our claim in whole.

Will they give you the 100% Future Cruise Credit as a CFAR claim, or did they reject that too? 

 

Edit: If they did reject the CFAR claim, other details that would be helpful include:

• Did you purchase flight through Viking?
• What was scheduled flight departure date/time?
• What was scheduled cruise departure date/time?
• When was flight canceled?
• When did you notify Viking that you had to cancel your cruise?

 

Unless you were a no-show for the cruise, as Babr just said, you should receive the FCC.  Some of these details could affect how you make the appeal.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Jersey42

[klfrodo]

I'm also confused.

Cancel For Any Reason, is just that. You can just call and cancel for ANY reason.

However, there are some caveats to that. 1) You have to formally cancel before a certain time frame. 48 hours before trip departure in this case. Did you meet this criterion? If so, then they owe you a future cruise credit for a % of non-refundable trip costs. The % amount is based on what policy you purchased. If Not, then you didn't meet the terms and conditions.

 

Now, if you were filing a claim for what you perceived was a "Covered" reason, (Cancelled Flight/Missed flight/Trip Delay) this has nothing to do with Cancel For Any Reason. Total different ballgame.

 

Just to add to the confusion, if you filed a claim, and YOU filed under Cancel For Any Reason (while the real reason should have been Trip Interruption or Trip Delay) then it's possible they immediately noticed that you weren't covered for CFAR and immediately denied the claim. However, you could file a new claim under the proper procedure and might find a more satisfactory outcome.

 

You have the option to appeal the denial of coverage and/or you can request help from you State Insurance Commission. Since you are from Texas, this link will take you there. Texas Department of Insurance

Edited September 28, 2022 by klfrodo

[Jersey42]

4 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I'm also confused.

Cancel For Any Reason, is just that. You can just call and cancel for ANY reason.

However, there are some caveats to that. 1) You have to formally cancel before a certain time frame. 48 hours before trip departure in this case. Did you meet this criterion? If so, then they owe you a future cruise credit for a % of non-refundable trip costs. The % amount is based on what policy you purchased. If Not, then you didn't meet the terms and conditions.

Here is my concern about Viking's CFAR coverage, and the reasons I added some questions to my last post.

 

The policy wording is "If you cancel Your Trip for any non-covered reason before the scheduled Trip departure, We will waive Our corresponding cancellation penalties and reimburse You in travel vouchers for the nonrefundable portion of the Trip Cost"

 

The trip departure date should be in the OP's insurance certificate.  Is it the flight date or the cruise date? I did not think to ask them to look, but it may depend on who they purchased the flight from.

 

If it is the flight date and the airline canceled the flight after scheduled departure time, then the OP could not cancel the cruise in time to satisfy the CFAR requirement.  As long as they canceled in a reasonable timeframe, I bet they win an appeal.  It just may take some time.

 

Depending on the details, I would also not completely give up on a appeal for a covered reason. Some of the policies are very restrictive on common carrier delays, but I remember one post from a few months ago where the person won the appeal, even though the exact cause of the common carrier delay was not specified in their state specific policy. 

[Babr]

It does appear the  Viking CFAR benefit is pre-departure only, assuming that insurance would cover anything post -departure - unless the OP did not purchase air through Viking. Departure date matters.

 

The other possibility is that the cancellation was caused by a staffing shortage, which seems to be fairly common these days. The policy covers weather, strikes, mechanical problems, and traffic control issues caused by system failure or power outage - no language addressing inadequate staffing.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Babr

[jclinard]

7 hours ago, textom said:

Last month we booked a trip with Viking Travel and insured our trip with their insurer TripMate/Generli's "Cancel for any Reason" policy ( GR425V). Don't buy this policy. We were unable to make the cruise because an air carrier cancelled the flight. Unbelievably this is not a "covered event" under this policy despite the fact that they have a "failure of common carrier" section in the policy. Their policy is so narrowly written as to exclude this ever increasing event. They have rejected our claim in whole.

People get on my case for telling people to only take insurance recommendations from people who know what color the checks are written on, rather than on how quickly they can deposit your premium.

 

I've stopped getting insurance for flights or cruises.  There is almost no way for me to collect, unless I die.  If that is the case, I don't need the money, nor would my heirs know there is a policy.

[Babr]

Any company will pay claims only for covered reasons. The challenge is to understand what those are. Start by reading the policy, then ask for clarification. The best practice is to work with a knowledgable broker/agent who deals with reputable companies.

 

You are probably right not to insure air fare. Airlines routinely issue vouchers, and the insurance company won’t pay once you have been compensated.

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, jclinard said:

 

 

 

I've stopped getting insurance for flights or cruises.  There is almost no way for me to collect, unless I die.  If that is the case, I don't need the money, nor would my heirs know there is a policy.

I don't insure those items either. I know that my miles will be rebanked or I will be issued future flight credits. I don't insure the cost of the cruise for a few of reasons. 1. The money is already spent. 2. After 20 or 30 land vacations/Cruises, the money saved on not insuring that portion means that if someday I do have to absorb a $5K loss, I'm still ahead of what I would have paid in premiums.

I do ensure that I have Medial coverage though.

[jclinard]

On 9/28/2022 at 4:02 PM, Babr said:

Any company will pay claims only for covered reasons. The challenge is to understand what those are. Start by reading the policy, then ask for clarification. The best practice is to work with a knowledgable broker/agent who deals with reputable companies.

 

You are probably right not to insure air fare. Airlines routinely issue vouchers, and the insurance company won’t pay once you have been compensated.

I've read several policies, and my conclusion is the only way they'll pay is if I die.  

 

I also only accept recommendations from people who know what color the insurance company writes their checks on.  Only a fool takes a recommendation based on how promptly the insurance company processes the payment.  

[merlincdc]

My mother-in-law (97) just broke her leg and so we are cancelling a Viking cruise.  The company is telling us that because we paid for the cruise with a voucher that they gave us from a cruise that they cancelled because of Covid - because we used a voucher - we do not get a future voucher, or a refund.  Their cancel for any reason does not apply because we booked the cruise in 2022 and were traveling in 2023.  They also say TripMate will not cover the $20,000 because we used a voucher.  So, Viking says they can keep our money even though they will never have delivered a travel experience to us.  Any suggestions?

[klfrodo]

44 minutes ago, merlincdc said:

My mother-in-law (97) just broke her leg and so we are cancelling a Viking cruise.  The company is telling us that because we paid for the cruise with a voucher that they gave us from a cruise that they cancelled because of Covid - because we used a voucher - we do not get a future voucher, or a refund.  Their cancel for any reason does not apply because we booked the cruise in 2022 and were traveling in 2023.  They also say TripMate will not cover the $20,000 because we used a voucher.  So, Viking says they can keep our money even though they will never have delivered a travel experience to us.  Any suggestions?

You don't say where you are from. Country of residence is important in this situation. If you're from the US, even the state of residency is important. I'll tag @iamtrustworthy in this. Maybe Steve can either explain or have a suggestion.

If you're in the states, I'd recommend reaching out to your state regulatory agency and file a complaint. Usually something along the line of State Insurance commissioner.

[Babr]

The problem is that some insurance policies do not recognize vouchers as a form of payment. Since COVID, a number of companies have changed their terms to cover vouchers that reflect the actual cash value of what was paid for the initial cruise, but even those policies do not cover bonus, incentive, or goodwill FCC granted by the cruise line. Whether you can recover anything depends on the policy and the kind of voucher used.

 

It is an unfortunate consequence of accepting FCC instead of cash reimbursement. People have to be knowledgable of the cruise line’s policy concerning the use of vouchers as well as the insurance coverage.

Edited February 22, 2023 by Babr

[toolworker]

Looking at the Viking travel plan, their vouchers are non-refundable and non-transferrable, and must be used within 12 months. That said, if the alternative is to get nothing, they're better than that. But another alternative is to buy a better policy from another insurer, with cash CFAR.

 

A Travel Guard agent told us that they would reimburse a voucher in cash (if otherwise covered) as long as we had originally paid cash that got turned into the voucher.

 

Agents don't always give the correct answer. FWIW I heard this from several TG agents.

 

Travel Guard IMO is one of the best insurers. I've had several claims and never had a problem. Compare the details of their policy - we get the Preferred - with other insurers'.

[merlincdc]

Good morning - thanks to a number of people who posted comments on my earlier post.  I can tell you that Viking resolved our issue to our satisfaction.  In that process, we learned that they have re-drafted their travel insurance so that it is possible to get cash back for vouchers - if you have a covered event - at least that is what they told us.  Thanks