A Winnipegger is questioning the point of purchasing flight cancellation insurance after his request for reimbursement was denied.
James Parker, 78, and his wife, Rena, bought two tickets on flights WestJet to Calgary last December to visit relatives in January. They chose the cheapest tickets and decided to insure themselves against the risk of cancellation as a precaution.
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he remembers. It gave me some peace of mind.
After choosing their tickets and seats, they check the cancellation insurance option.
A few weeks later, the couple received a call. Due to a flood, their hosts are forced to move for six weeks and the apartment the Parkers had rented in the same building can no longer accommodate them.
Mr. Parker manages to be reimbursed by the airline for his seat choices, but not for the price of the flight which amounts to $623.72. He then submits a request for compensation toAllianz Global Assistance Canada, thinking it would be covered, but it wasn't.
This was cancellation insurance. Honestly, I didn't read the fine print.
You would think there would be some flexibility (from the airline). It was impossible for us to make other arrangements.
A spokesperson forAllianz Global Assistance declared that the trip cancellation and interruption insurance offered by WestJet does not cover disasters affecting the accommodation reserved at the insured's destination.
Allianz Global Assistance rejected James Parker's request.
Photo: Submitted by James Paker
Generally, for travel expenses to be eligible for reimbursement under trip cancellation benefits, the reason for cancellation must be among the covered reasons in the customer's insurance policy.
writes Tayjua Squireresponsible for communications for Allianz Global.
She adds that all travelers should review their insurance policy to understand which scenarios are covered and which are not.
Mr Parker believed his claim was reasonable and therefore he would be reimbursed for the canceled flights, but instead discovered that if the reason was not assured, no refund would be made.
I found this unfair and re-examined my idea of the usefulness of insurance.
Of the assured reasons
others not
The Travel Insurance Association of Canada says a recent survey found that 94% of travel insurance claims are paid.
The benefits do exist for many Canadians when they purchase (insurance). Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that the expected coverage does not correspond to the wording of the policy
explains the general director of the Association, Will McAleer.
He says policies vary and advises policyholders to familiarize themselves with what is covered before flying.
They write policies and price them based on their wording, so some things will be covered in one policy, but maybe not in another.
Travel Insurance Association of Canada CEO Will McAleer says policyholders should familiarize themselves with their cancellation policy before traveling.
Photo: Zoom
For example, one of assured reasons
listed on the websiteAllianz Global includes a disaster that makes the accommodation booked as part of your trip uninhabitable
. In this case, the Parkers would have been covered, but this option was not included in the insurance policy they purchased.
It is not uncommon for insurers in the Canadian market to have many different policy wordings depending on which partner or partnership they are working on. And these policies may differ in coverage and provisions
underlines Mr. McAleer.
James Parker continues to believe that his reason for canceling his trip was valid and maintains that he should have been covered.
It's the principle more than the money that bothers me at the moment
he says, adding that travel insurance policies should be more nuanced.
I understand that this is a business that has to make money, but I think there should be some wiggle room to deal with changes or modifications that come up, because not everything can be written. That's life.
In the future, he would prefer to purchase travel insurance from a local company, and not just check a box and hope to be covered in the event of an incident.
With information from Caroline Barghout