Travel Insurance-Case1

Background

The claimants travel benefit was rejected on the grounds that the circumstance of the claim was beyond the scope of the policy coverage. The claimants had missed their scheduled flight due to the cancellation of train services due to a snow storm. As a result, the claimant was unable to get to the airport before the check-in time ended. The Scheduled flight took off on schedule and the next available flight was two days later.

The claim was for the purchase of new flight tickets, food and accommodation expenses.

Investigation and Findings

The case manager noted the following:-

1. There was no delay to the scheduled flight for which the Insured was booked to travel on.

2. The Insured’s failure to get to the airport in time was due to the cancellation of train services.

3. Based on the review of the Travel benefits for the credit card holder, there was no benefit that matched the circumstances of the claim. For example, travel delay benefit was specific to the delay to the scheduled flight.

4. In this case, the scheduled flight was not delayed and took off in time.

The Case Manager’s reference to the terms and conditions confirmed that the coverage offered to credit card customer under this scheme was limited.

As a consumer, the claimant should read and understand the coverage of the travel benefits under this scheme.

Recommendation

The Case Manager upheld the FSP’s decision to repudiate this claim. The claimants decided not to refer their dispute to the Ombudsman for adjudication although they were given 30 days to do so.