Read the fine print: Winnipeg couple’s travel insurance claim ’not covered,’ insurer says
A Winnipeg senior is questioning the value of buying flight cancellation insurance after his claim was denied.
James Parker, 78, and his wife, Rena, bought two tickets on WestJet flights to Calgary last December to visit relatives in January. They purchased the cheapest ticket option knowing they wouldn’t get a refund or credit should they need to cancel, so they decided to get cancellation insurance just in case.
The insurance was a cheaper option than the more expensive tickets.
Pre-Covid, we didn’t really buy cancellation insurance,
James Parker said.
Because there have been so many delays with airlines since the pandemic, Parker says he thought he would get insurance for peace of mind. After he selected his tickets and seats, he clicked on the box for cancellation insurance.
It was $117, I think, something like that,
he recalled. It gives me a little bit of peace of mind, you know, so that’s what I did.
A few weeks later, he says, they got a call that their accommodations would no longer be available because their relative’s condo had flooded and she was forced to move out for six weeks. The Parkers had rented a condo in the building, but were told they would no longer be able to stay there.
WestJet refunded Parker’s seat selection, but he was still out $623.72 on the cost of the flight. He filed a claim with Allianz Global Assistance Canada, thinking he would be covered. He was not.
Allianz Global Assistance rejected Parker’s claim because the flood that made his accommodation unavailable was not a ‘covered reason’ under his cancellation policy plan. He initially submitted the claim for $823.72 but later phoned to let Allianz know he received $200 from WestJet for seat selection and was only claiming $623.72 from the insurer.
Photo: (Submitted by James Parker)
A Winnipeg senior is questioning the value of buying flight cancellation insurance after his claim was denied.
James Parker, 78, and his wife, Rena, bought two tickets on WestJet flights to Calgary last December to visit relatives in January. They purchased the cheapest ticket option knowing they wouldn’t get a refund or credit should they need to cancel, so they decided to get cancellation insurance just in case.
The insurance was a cheaper option than the more expensive tickets.
Pre-Covid, we didn’t really buy cancellation insurance,
James Parker said.
Because there have been so many delays with airlines since the pandemic, Parker says he thought he would get insurance for peace of mind. After he selected his tickets and seats, he clicked on the box for cancellation insurance.
It was $117, I think, something like that,
he recalled. It gives me a little bit of peace of mind, you know, so that’s what I did.
A few weeks later, he says, they got a call that their accommodations would no longer be available because their relative’s condo had flooded and she was forced to move out for six weeks. The Parkers had rented a condo in the building, but were told they would no longer be able to stay there.
WestJet refunded Parker’s seat selection, but he was still out $623.72 on the cost of the flight. He filed a claim with Allianz Global Assistance Canada, thinking he would be covered. He was not.
“They put policies in and they price them according to the wording that they’ve got, so it’ll cover certain things in one policy, but maybe not another,” McAleer said.
For example one of the covered reasons
listed on Allianz Global’s website includes a disaster that renders your pre-booked destination accommodation uninhabitable after you book your trip.
In that case, the Parkers would have been covered, but that option was not included in the WestJet policy he purchased.
those can differ in terms of coverages and provisions,”,”text”:”It’s not unusual for insurers in the Canadian market to have many different policy wordings depending on the partner or the partnership that they’re working on. Andthose can differ in terms of coverages and provisions,””>It’s not unusual for insurers in the Canadian market to have many different policy wordings depending on the partner or the partnership that they’re working on. And those can differ in terms of coverages and provisions,
McAleer said.
Parker feels he had a valid reason to cancel his trip and should have been covered.
“It’s the principle more than the money that is bothering me at the moment,” he said, adding travel insurance policies need to be more nuanced.
I understand it’s a business to make money, but I think there should be leeway to deal with changes or modifications that arise, because not everything can be written down, you know? I mean, it’s life,
Parker said.
He said in the future he would rather buy travel insurance from a local company, and not just tick off a box and hope he will be covered if anything happens.
Winnipegger denied flight refund even though he bought cancellation insurance
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Allianz Global Assistance says disaster at a pre-booked accommodation is not a covered reason under the policy.
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