Insurance Claim Advice

[babs135]

DH and I should be onboard the QM2 but unfortunately he took ill in November and the doctors declared him unfit to travel.  Our insurance company has been very understanding and four weeks after putting in a claim a full refund, less a small excess, has now been received.

But

Our DD, who has a different insurance company, and who was due to fly to meet us in New York, spend 4 nights in a hotel (same room) and then sail back to the UK on the QM2 (same cabin) has not yet received her refund.  It could simply be that they are not as efficient as our company but she is a little concerned that they will come back to her and say that she could have still gone on the holiday.

So my question is this:

If she had travelled alone would Cunard have charged her extra for staying in a (balcony) cabin when the other two occupiers had cancelled?  And if the answer is yes, does anyone know how much extra they would have asked for?  Not sure how the hotel would work either, would they have charged her more?

 

Thanks for your input

[LittleFish1976]

6 minutes ago, babs135 said:

DH and I should be onboard the QM2 but unfortunately he took ill in November and the doctors declared him unfit to travel.  Our insurance company has been very understanding and four weeks after putting in a claim a full refund, less a small excess, has now been received.

But

Our DD, who has a different insurance company, and who was due to fly to meet us in New York, spend 4 nights in a hotel (same room) and then sail back to the UK on the QM2 (same cabin) has not yet received her refund.  It could simply be that they are not as efficient as our company but she is a little concerned that they will come back to her and say that she could have still gone on the holiday.

So my question is this:

If she had travelled alone would Cunard have charged her extra for staying in a (balcony) cabin when the other two occupiers had cancelled?  And if the answer is yes, does anyone know how much extra they would have asked for?  Not sure how the hotel would work either, would they have charged her more?

 

Thanks for your input

Sorry to hear of your partner's illness and hope he's faring better now.

I can't see why Cunard would have had to charge your daughter extra for being in a cabin for which the other two berths were already paid. Your insurance company reimburses you; Cunard has already been paid. The only party out of pocket is the insurance company. That's how it makes sense to me anyway.

 

I think it's fair though that she could say that the holiday was no longer proceeding as planned due to the illness of a family member. She should check her insurance to see which relationships are covered and whether there is any age limitation on that family member. Some policies do not cover family members over a certain age.

 

I had a horrible year a few years ago during which I had to cancel two separate  voyages and found the insurance companies thorough in their requests for documentation but fair in their eventual total reimbursement of my substantial outlay (less the excess of course).

Wishing you the best of luck.

[kerryincork]

I had cancel the section of my B2B cruise this year due to weather conditions shutting down my airport. It took me 6 months to get reimbursed for my extra expenses.

 

I also had the advantage of calling my insurance company the moment I suspected I was going to miss my cruise

I know its too late now for your daughter, but I expect she would have had better results if she had called her insurance company before cancelling the holiday to make sure she was covered.

 

 

[Underwatr]

The terms of your daughter's policy should be clear about being able to cancel upon the illness of a traveling companion or family member that renders them unable to travel. This would be similar to the terms that permitted you to cancel due to your husband's illness.

 

Sorry, I don't have an answer about whether they'd have re-fared your daughter.

 

I received a trip interruption refund but I don't know whether it was as quick as four weeks. Cancellation and interruption are much more straightforward processes than medical expenses.

Edited December 18, 2018 by Underwatr

[Summergee]

When we bought our travel insurance we were advised to include our son, aged 35, on our policy so that if any one of us had to cancel we would all be covered for cancelling.

[babs135]

15 minutes ago, Summergee said:

When we bought our travel insurance we were advised to include our son, aged 35, on our policy so that if any one of us had to cancel we would all be covered for cancelling.

Interesting.  Never thought of doing this, especially as we don't always travel as a family and DD is now in a job where she may have to travel abroad.  She's just had a week in San Francisco. (Lucky girl, the nearest I got to leaving the office was when I was occasionally sent to the Post Office to buy stamps!!!)

[AnnieC]

Was the problem related to a pre-existing condition? If so, provided your husband declared it, and you have a joint policy, you are both covered. However, it's unusual to find a UK policy that would cover your daughter for his illness on a completely separate policy.

 

If it wasn't related to a pre-existing condition, they should pay out.

[LadyL1]

The payment of refund entitlement to your daughter will be decided on the policy wording. A more expensive policy might cover a cancellation because of travelling companions circumstances. Policies will have one's pre-existing medical conditions as standard, and your daughter's policy might refer to the same and of yourselves. It is a minefield.

We can all speculate, but I hope she reads her policy carefully, and is refunded what is due on a timely basis.

Babs135, I hope you can cruise in the future.

 

[babs135]

Thanks everyone.  DD has now been told how much she will be getting back; however she is disputing a couple of points and until this has been resolved I feel it wrong for me to comment further.  I will let you know what happens (if anyone is actually interested).

 

LadyL1, yes, we are hoping to be able to cruise again; when, of course, is the question, but I do have my eye on a cruise in May 2020.  Just hoping its sooner rather than later.

[Underwatr]

I wish her luck. I had some success correcting an exchange rate the insurer used from Eastern Caribbean currency to US Dollars, but on other points of contention they were firm in their position.

[kerryincork]

I was a solo traveller when I had to claim expenses. The insurance basically said they would only pay half of my expenses as even though only one name was on the reservation two people could have stayed in the room.

 

I did successfully challenge this (after 5 months) and got reimbursed for the entire amount. It was a tedious slog of me trying to get evidence that I travelled alone.

 

Good luck any way, I would be interested in finding out the outcome for your daughter. It might be useful to know if I ever have to make a similar claim.

[babs135]

On ‎12‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 11:01 PM, kerryincork said:

I was a solo traveller when I had to claim expenses. The insurance basically said they would only pay half of my expenses as even though only one name was on the reservation two people could have stayed in the room.

 

I did successfully challenge this (after 5 months) and got reimbursed for the entire amount. It was a tedious slog of me trying to get evidence that I travelled alone.

 

Good luck any way, I would be interested in finding out the outcome for your daughter. It might be useful to know if I ever have to make a similar claim.

Did you post about this at the time because maybe this is what I vaguely remembered reading about and why DD and I were a little concerned as to how her insurers would respond?  

Fortunately the insurance company have agreed with our daughter that their figures were wrong and she has now been reimbursed the full amount of her portion of the cruise, less her excess.  So huge sighs of relief all round and now we can concentrate on getting DH back to full health so that we can start cruising again.

What I would say to everyone is:

Make sure you have the right and adequate insurance. 

If you are someone travelling with parents but have different insurance companies, make sure you are covered if one or both parent has to cancel.

If you are travelling with someone who has different insurers but the booking is done as one, make sure you have written proof of what your portion of the total cost is yours.

Keep a copy of absolutely every email you receive from the travel agent/cruise line no matter how irrelevant it may appear to be. And if the lead name gets emails, ask them to send a copy to you, even if it's just repeating what you already have.

 

And above all, when you return to cruising - enjoy.

 

Happy New Year everyone and above all may it be a healthy one.

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2019 by babs135
additions.

[kerryincork]

Thanks for the update. I am glad to hear your daughters situation was sorted😁

 

Yes I did post about my experience with my insurance claim, which ended successfully too.

I would advocate your advice too, part of my problem with my insurance is I didn't have the correct documents to support my claim, it was difficult to get the documents retrospectively.

 

[Jules.]

Glad that it’s sorted and is now a weight off all of your minds. 

 

Recently I had to cancel a cruise on which we had only paid a deposit. My insurance company refunded me the money ( less £20 excess each because it was only a deposit we had paid, instead of £50 each)  within two days. They didn’t need to see any evidence either, but I need to keep the proof for 31 days just in case they ask for it. That time has nearly elapsed. Of course, my case was fairly straightforward