# VHI travel insurance claim refused



## Protocol (14 Jul 2007)

I made a claim on my VHI travel insurance policy, which was refused. I would like to get the opinion of people on AAM.

The details are as follows:

The Ryanair flight we were taking from Shannon to Brussels Charleroi was cancelled on the day of the flight, due to a strike by workers at Charleroi airport.

As there were no other suitable flights out of Shannon, we drove to Dublin airport, and looked around for flights. We ended up taking an Aer Lingus flight to Amsterdam, and then a train to Belgium. The flight cost €287.50.

We returned to Shannon, as planned, and the following day I took the train (€25.50) and bus (€6) to Dublin airport to collect my car.

I claimed for the extra costs of €319 under section 10 of the Policy Document, “Missed Departure”. In particular, I base my claim on the following sentence from the policy document:

“We will pay for reasonable additional travel expenses necessarily incurred to reach the booked destination by the most direct alternative route”

By my reading of this sentence, my case seems to be covered.

However, Europ Assistance, the underwriter, are saying that as Ryanair refunded me the €40 cost of the original flight, then “there is no eligible amount to claim in this instance”

What is the opinion of AAM readers in this case?


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## ClubMan (14 Jul 2007)

Maybe the fact that _Ryanair _refunded your ticket price means that no contract remained to be covered by the policy?


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## Protocol (14 Jul 2007)

Surely if any reasonable person reads that sentence in the policy document:

"reasonable additional travel expenses" - I had extra costs to get to my destination, and the costs were reasonable

"to reach the booked destination" - this is what I did


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## Protocol (14 Jul 2007)

Even though Ryanair refunded the original €40 flight, I still incurred additional costs to reach my booked destination.


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## ClubMan (14 Jul 2007)

I'm not making any value judgements - I'm just trying to come up with possible reasons why the claim was refused. If necessary complain to the broker/underwriter and if you get no joy one you have exhausted the underwriter's complaints process then take it to [broken link removed].


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## Protocol (14 Jul 2007)

Clubman, I am writing the appeal to the insurer at the moment.


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## Brendan Burgess (14 Jul 2007)

Is there a limit anywhere in the policy, limiting it to the cost of the ticket? Otherwise, you should be covered. 

The Ombudsman is great for these cases. And it won't take long either as I would say come across this isssue before. 

Brendan


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## orka (14 Jul 2007)

Have another read of section 10 – it covers missed departure not cancelled departure – ie it covers you if you don’t make it to the airport in time:
Section 10 – Missed Departure
*What is covered*
If during a Trip You arrive at the airport, port, train or coach too late to commence the journey, as a result of:
• Breakdown or accident involving the car in which You are travelling; or
• Cancellation or curtailment of scheduled public transport due to adverse weather conditions,  Strike or Industrial Action or mechanical breakdown, derangement or accident;

VHI Travel Insurance would go out of business very quickly if they provided cover for Ryanair cancelling flights.


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## Guest127 (14 Jul 2007)

know of someone who booked RY to Paris last year. took out RY's insurance. broke down on the way to the airport. arrived too late for flight , Ry desk staff willing to let him board but only if he had no case to check in as check in was closed when he arrived. as he had insurance he decided not to fly and instead claimed for breakdown on way to airport. Result: Ryanair insurance refused the claim as it was HIS responsibility to get to the check in desk on time. Good luck with your claim Protocol.


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## woods (14 Jul 2007)

Do not give up.
I had a dispute with Malev recently and I just kept annoying them until they paid up (which they did last week)


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## ClubMan (14 Jul 2007)

woods said:


> Do not give up.
> I had a dispute with Malev recently and I just kept annoying them until they paid up (which they did last week)


His dispute seems to be with the insurance company and not the airline so is your incident relevant here?


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## woods (15 Jul 2007)

ClubMan said:


> His dispute seems to be with the insurance company and not the airline so is your incident relevant here?


No it was not meant to be anything other than the fact that if you persist you have a better chance of winning. 
They will hope that you go away and leave them alone and may even have a policy regarding this.


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## orka (15 Jul 2007)

woods said:


> Do not give up.
> I had a dispute with Malev recently and I just kept annoying them until they paid up (which they did last week)


 
So the OP should persist in claiming money from his insurance policy for something which is not covered?  This is no different than the compo culture that sees people claim from e.g. Dublin City Council for injuries caused elsewhere.  The fact that there has been a loss and you WANT there to be coverage doesnt mean that there IS coverage.  This is an insurance contract which covers specific events - it is not a discretionary thing like when an airline gives you some money to go away.  Policyholders sign up and should understand what they are and are not getting - I have a VHI travel policy and dont want the premium increasing because they start paying out for uncovered losses just because someone hassles them.


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## woods (15 Jul 2007)

orka said:


> So the OP should persist in claiming money from his insurance policy for something which is not covered? This is no different than the compo culture that sees people claim from e.g. Dublin City Council for injuries caused elsewhere. The fact that there has been a loss and you WANT there to be coverage doesnt mean that there IS coverage. This is an insurance contract which covers specific events - it is not a discretionary thing like when an airline gives you some money to go away. Policyholders sign up and should understand what they are and are not getting - I have a VHI travel policy and dont want the premium increasing because they start paying out for uncovered losses just because someone hassles them.


I had just watched Michael Moore's film on the state of the health service when I posted this and what I took from it is that just because you have a right to something and it is a just right, does not mean that you are going to get it. You still have to fight for it.
I am assuming that the OP has the right because if he does not then why would he have come here with a gripe.
He has hardly come here to ask our help to get something that he is not entitled to.


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## orka (15 Jul 2007)

woods said:


> He has hardly come here to ask our help to get something that he is not entitled to.


 
He didn't - well, not knowingly anyway. The OP posted here because he thought he had a right to claim under section 10 of the policy. I pointed out (post #8 above) that section 10 does not cover what he thought it covered. Your posts then urged him to not give up and to keep annoying them until they paid up.


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