In September, I was due to go on holiday with a friend. A week before we were supposed to travel, her brother died suddenly of a heart attack. She obviously cancelled. I also cancelled and was extremely surprised when my insurance company, Holidaysafe, refused my claim. They took so long to reply, I had to ring them. This has left me £999 out of pocket.
Is it usual for a travel claim to be refused in these circumstances? OS, Bristol
Most insurers will refund the cost of a holiday if a relative dies or suffers a serious illness prior to travel.
You are not the first person to find yourself in this situation and we asked the insurer to explain why OS’s claim was refused.
Stephen Howard, managing director of Infinity Insurance Solutions, owner of the Holidaysafe brand, told us: “Under the terms of her policy, our customer is covered for the death, illness, or injury of her travelling companion. However, the policy does not extend to relatives of travelling companions.”
If it was your companion who had died – and not her relative – you would have been covered, as you would have been had you been common-law partners or similar.
He also said you would have been covered if you had both been insured by the same company.
Given that you were two older women travelling together, it has now had a rethink. “It is always our intention to treat our customers fairly, and I have therefore asked the insurers if they would reconsider this claim on the basis that it is unfair to expect an elderly lady to travel alone.
“I have been advised by the insurers that they were already in the process of reviewing the claim following correspondence received from the customer, and that she will receive settlement of her claim shortly.”
The moral of the tale for friends travelling together is to buy cancellation cover from the same insurer.
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