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Hi all,
Not sure if this is best forum in which to post this, but I’m just wondering if anyone has any experience of claiming for a cancelled trip caused by a cancelled flight.
I left the UK on day 1, on day 10 I was due to fly to a resort where I was supposed to stay until day 15. Whilst at the airport, the airline cancelled the flight, it was reported this was due to bad weather at the destination airport. The airline advised me that they were not obliged to pay for any hotels or anything, as in accordance with the law of that country, they are only obliged to pay if it is the airline’s fault (I have verified this to be correct). I ended up buying a hotel and getting a taxi there. 8 hours after the scheduled departure time, the airline called me and said all flights were booked for several days and they couldn’t offer me a new seat until day 14. As this was the day before my return trip was due to start, I decided to cancel and book 4 nights and new flights.
The airline gave me a pro-rata refund on the rest of the booking. Upon returning home, I requested through my HSBC Premier Travel Insurance for the money back for the resort I booked as this was non-refundable.
They called me today and advised that this was not eligible, because they do not consider this to be a trip from the UK. I asked how it could be anything but and she advised me that that meant “for example if you were at Gatwick and the flight from Gatwick
was cancelled.”Can anyone advise a good way to proceed? Because I don’t buy this argument; are they saying any connecting flights don’t count?
I believe HSBC is incorrect about this because they are applying the wrong section of the policy. You ought to be covered under the missed departures section, but not under the alternative travel arrangements section which is limited to UK departures. Have a look at the full policy document (this is from page 28 in mine).
Missed departures – this benefit does not apply to trips taken within the UK.
If you miss your pre-booked transport due to:
(a) delay or cancellation of scheduled public transport services or a connecting flight; or
(b) accidental damage to, or breakdown of the vehicle in which you are travelling; or
(c) an unexpected delay caused by severe/ adverse weather or a road traffic incident ahead of you
we will pay for additional travel and accommodation costs you incur to reach your destination abroad or home on your return journey.
For each insured person, the most we will pay is £1,000Hi JDB,
Thanks for your reply. I had considered the missed departures, however I do not believe that to be applicable in my case, as surely that only covers for the additional costs associated with the delayed departure, in my case that was ~£50 for a hotel as well as about ~£10 each way for additional transfers to and from the airport. Unless I could instead claim under this section for the new hotel and flights I booked to allow me to continue the trip?
You incurred the 5 nights accommodation waiting for your return journey so that is what you should be claiming for under the section @JDB highlighted, not the lost resort money.
Though you should include the detail of the resort and that it was non refundable so they can see you did incur losses.
If they decline that then escalate it.
Hi JDB,
Thanks for your reply. I had considered the missed departures, however I do not believe that to be applicable in my case, as surely that only covers for the additional costs associated with the delayed departure, in my case that was ~£50 for a hotel as well as about ~£10 each way for additional transfers to and from the airport. Unless I could instead claim under this section for the new hotel and flights I booked to allow me to continue the trip?
As @SamG says more politely, you’re barking up the wrong tree! There’s also the earlier section about your accommodation being unreachable owing to to adverse weather. Insurers are quite good at wriggling out of claims is you let them, so you need to be quite precise as to what you are asking for.
I reread your original post, so if I understand it correctly you stayed at the originally booked hotel for one night less, so you are looking for HSBC to pay the cancellation fee for that night, plus the cost hotel you unavoidably stayed in that night and any additional cost of the new flight you purchased – the insurer will only pay the extra cost vs the original one you had refunded. That really ought to be covered from my reading of the policy, but you will need to lead them to the correct answer and set it out in a simple/clear form.
The weather section was another area I was thinking I could claim under, I was deliberately vague in my claim as to not say I was claiming under a certain section.
I reread your original post, so if I understand it correctly you stayed at the originally booked hotel for one night less, so you are looking for HSBC to pay the cancellation fee for that night, plus the cost hotel you unavoidably stayed in that night and any additional cost of the new flight you purchased – the insurer will only pay the extra cost vs the original one you had refunded. That really ought to be covered from my reading of the policy, but you will need to lead them to the correct answer and set it out in a simple/clear form.
I didn’t actually go to the hotel at all. The airline wouldn’t offer me a new flight until the day before I was due to leave. In the end I booked new flights and a new hotel for four nights in a different destination. I didn’t think that they would entertain a claim for flights and hotels to/from a completely different destination, hence why I was claiming for “un recoverable costs that each insured person has paid or legally has to pay for their own unused personal travel and accommodation”
@joepatr much though I and many others on HfP try to help, fluid information provision really doesn’t help. We tried our best but you weren’t even telling us the country, let alone the issues you faced!
What you now describe, that with one sentence could have been included at the outset, suggests your solution to the cancellation was entirely voluntary, so any successful claim may depend on what alternative options might have been open to you – eg could you have got to your destination by alternative means. The earlier suggestions I made re a different section of the policy may help but basically you need to read the relevant sections of the policy very carefully and apply them to the specific circumstances of your trip. I think HSBC was wrong to deny your claim on the basis of travel disruption only applying to departures from the UK, but respectfully if the claim was as muddled as these posts, it’s wonderfully easy for them to say no.
Unfortunately, the people dealing with these claims are not on trained to shake them off, but they also aren’t the brightest, so you need to present the case to them in a very clear and compelling manner referenced to the policy terms. It perhaps shouldn’t be like that, but it’s the reality.
What you now describe, that with one sentence could have been included at the outset, suggests your solution to the cancellation was entirely voluntary, so any successful claim may depend on what alternative options might have been open to you – eg could you have got to your destination by alternative means. The earlier suggestions I made re a different section of the policy may help but basically you need to read the relevant sections of the policy very carefully and apply them to the specific circumstances of your trip. I think HSBC was wrong to deny your claim on the basis of travel disruption only applying to departures from the UK, but respectfully if the claim was as muddled as these posts, it’s wonderfully easy for them to say no.
Hi JDB, My apologies I thought that my original post was clear although I see now how any ambiguity could have been avoided by adding the words “to a different destination” to the end of the second paragraph.
I even contacted various local companies to see if I could get a seat on a private plane (this isn’t as extreme as it sounds, it was only a relatively short domestic flight in Vanuatu on a route that has a couple of private companies operating regular tourist flights).
I’ve looked again properly and I think a claim for the replacement cost of the hotel will be paid under this section (not the resort that you lost). A “trip” is the whole holiday from departure to arrival in the UK.
Start a new claim and make sure they’re clear that you didn’t receive a refund from the resort – you should get a letter confirming this. If they do not pay then complain to HSBC. Bank insurers hate getting complaints from the bank!
C. Unexpected costs
What we’ll cover
Travel disruption
We’ll cover unexpected additional travel and accommodation costs to allow the insured
person to continue their trip or to get home at the end of their trip, if their pre-paid travel
plans are disrupted for the following reasons:1. the insured person is unable to reach their departure point or their pre-arranged
accommodation due to a natural disaster, severe weather, fire, or explosion
2. a natural disaster, severe weather, fire, explosion or an outbreak of food poisoning
means the insured person is unable to use their pre-booked accommodation
3. the insured person’s travel or accommodation provider becomes insolvent
4. the insured person’s pre-booked travel arrangements are cancelled or delayed for
more than 12 hours from the time shown on their ticket or diverted after departure
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