had to cancel holiday due to childs broken ankle

almae34

hi all

just need advice really.
we were due to travel this thursday on holidays .
on thursday night of the 12th my daughter got a awful fall and broke her ankle. we brought her straight to a&e and a back slab cast was put on until the fracture clinic was on. Monday the 16th the specialist confirmed a break with no weight bearing and she was put in full cast, we asked about our holiday and he said no she couldnt go. her ankle is to be reassessed on july 7th.

I took out our travel insurance as i was checking in online on the morning of the 12th as i normally do this anyway .. i have email time stamps etc ..

holiday was booked dec 19th 2013

I have submitted all my documents medical cert etc , i called today to see if they was any update on the claim and they said a decision will be made by friday.

Could they not pay out on this ?? im worried sick

coylemj

Nobody here can answer your question, it depends on what is and is not covered. You'll have to read the policy document which you should be able to download from the website where you bought the policy. If cancellation for sudden illness is included, it usually includes close family members and people scheduled to travel with you but the answer to your question is: read the policy document.

almae34

colemj, i have read the policy... i was asking for peoples opinions.

athtrasna

almae34 wrote: »

colemj, i have read the policy... i was asking for peoples opinions.

As the other poster said, we can't give opinions. Your policy document is a legal document, it says what it says. Nobody can give an opinion on that, only your insurer can answer your question.

coylemj

almae34 wrote: »

colemj, i have read the policy... i was asking for peoples opinions.

Peoples opinions don't matter when it comes to insurance, your incident is either covered or it's not - we're dealing with facts, not opinions.

You might as well ask me if I'm insured to drive your car without me knowing what type of motor policy you have.

Does the policy mention reimbursement for cancellation if a family member falls ill or is injured before the intended travel date?

zagmund

The fact is that your holiday is off - you can't travel. Or more accurately your daughter can't travel, but others in your party can.

As mentioned above, it's going to come down to the terms of your policy - there should be a section covering inability to travel and it will either say it's not covered, or the injured person is covered, or the entire group is covered. Only you can determine this at the moment. You would be wise to check this sooner rather than later. You don't say how big the group is, but it's possible that only your daughter is covered so if the rest of you stay home (not unreasonable) you will not be reimbursed for the others.

As for when they will reimburse you - honestly, that could be any time - day, weeks, months.

z

almae34

"We will provide this cover if the cancellation of Your trip is necessar y
and unavoidable as a result of the following.
1 You dying, becoming seriously ill or being injured.
2 The death, serious illness or injur y of a Relative, Business Associate, a
person who you have booked to travel with or a Relative or friend
living abroad who you had planned to stay with. The incident giving
rise to the claim must have been unexpected and not something
you were aware of when you took out this insurance."

i guess my issue is more around the time i took the insurance out and to when the accident happened...

group is myself hubby and daughter

coylemj

Ok, please don't be upset but I can see why the insurance company might be dragging their feet on your claim......

1. You booked a holiday on Dec 19th 2013.

2. Six months later, on the morning of June 12th 2014 you purchased travel insurance.

3. By a freak co-incidence, later the same day your daughter had an accident and the diagnosis is that she broke her ankle so you cannot now travel.

Be honest, if you worked for that insurance company, what would you think?

zagmund

Now you need to clarify what "this cover" is from the first sentence.

Is it refund of everything for everyone, refund of everything for your daughter, refund of part of the cost, etc . . .

You should be pretty covered on the timeline front - they would have a very hard case arguing that either a) the break was deliberate or b) it was the same day and the insurance hadn't started. Again though, it might be worth checking the policy to see when they say cover starts. It *should* be from the time the policy is taken out, but it might be something silly like 2359 on the day the policy is taken out. Unlikely, but possible.

The area that might be troublesome is the bit about "the cancellation of your trip is *necessary*". I suggest getting on to them tomorrow and clarifying. Most people would accept that a family holiday where 1 adult & 1 child had to remain behind and 1 adult go away isn't really a family holiday any more. However, insurance companies aren't "most people".

Be prepared to argue strongly. Think of the loopholes they might try to pursue (like is cancelling everyone "necessary" or "optional") and have a defence ready.

z

almae34

oh i know colylemj thats why i asked this

the flights opened on the 12th as it was 2 wks prior to travel and i checked in online printed boarding passes and bought my insurance at same time 11.46am to be exact

i have looked thru my policy and have found this ...


"Trip
Cover under section A (You Cancelling Your trip) starts at the time you
book the trip or pay the insurance premium, whichever is later. If you
have arranged an Annual Multi-Trip Insurance, cover under section A
(You Cancelling Your trip) starts at the time that you book the trip or the
star t date shown on your Insurance Schedule, whichever is later"

almae34

zagmund wrote: »

Now you need to clarify what "this cover" is from the first sentence.

Is it refund of everything for everyone, refund of everything for your daughter, refund of part of the cost, etc . . .

You should be pretty covered on the timeline front - they would have a very hard case arguing that either a) the break was deliberate or b) it was the same day and the insurance hadn't started. Again though, it might be worth checking the policy to see when they say cover starts. It *should* be from the time the policy is taken out, but it might be something silly like 2359 on the day the policy is taken out. Unlikely, but possible.

The area that might be troublesome is the bit about "the cancellation of your trip is *necessary*". I suggest getting on to them tomorrow and clarifying. Most people would accept that a family holiday where 1 adult & 1 child had to remain behind and 1 adult go away isn't really a family holiday any more. However, insurance companies aren't "most people".

Be prepared to argue strongly. Think of the loopholes they might try to pursue (like is cancelling everyone "necessary" or "optional") and have a defence ready.

z

here is the whole cancellation section
Section A
You Cancelling Your trip
Please note: No cover is provided under this section if you have purchased
Bronze Insurance.
The Cover
We will provide this cover if the cancellation of Your trip is necessar y
and unavoidable as a result of the following.
1 You dying, becoming seriously ill or being injured.
2 The death, serious illness or injur y of a Relative, Business Associate, a
person who you have booked to travel with or a Relative or friend
living abroad who you had planned to stay with. The incident giving
rise to the claim must have been unexpected and not something
you were aware of when you took out this insurance.
3 You being made redundant, as long as you are entitled to payment
under the current redundancy payments law and that, at the time of
booking your trip, you had no reason to believe that you would be
made redundant.
4 You or a person who you have booked to travel with being
called for jur y ser vice (and your request to postpone your ser vice
has been rejected) or attending cour t as a witness (but not as an
exper t witness).
5 If the Gardai or relevant authority needs you to stay in the Republic
of Ireland after a fire, storm, flood, burglar y or vandalism to your
Home or place of business within seven days before you planned to
leave on your trip.
6 If you are a member of the armed forces or police, fire, nursing
or ambulance ser vices which results in you having to stay in the
Republic of Ireland due to an unforeseen emergency or if you are
posted overseas unexpectedly.
7 If after the time you booked your trip, the Depar tment of
Foreign Affairs advises against all but essential travel to your intended
destination.
8 If you become pregnant after the date you purchased this insurance
cover (or booked your trip, whichever is earlier, if you have purchased
Annual-Multi Trip Insurance) and you will be more than 26 weeks
pregnant at the star t of or during your trip. Or, if you become
pregnant after the date you purchased this insurance cover and your
doctor advises that you are not fit to travel due to complications in
your pregnancy.
We will pay up to the amount shown in the table of benefits for :
· travel and accommodation expenses which you have paid or have
agreed to pay under a contract and which you cannot get back;

Sully

When I was a kid, I was still brought on holiday with a broken leg. The hospital recommended this special 'bag' you put over the cast that seals around the cast so you can swim.

I was told by my insurance company, for travel, that it must be purchased before a holiday and not after.

almae34

Sully , what do you mean ? i did purchase it before the holiday !

trishasaffron

almae34 wrote: »

holiday was booked dec 19th 2013

If holiday was booked on 19th December 2013 and you bought insurance 6 months later then I doubt you are covered except perhaps for the flights if you booked them after the insurance policy.

coylemj

Sully wrote: »

I was told by my insurance company, for travel, that it must be purchased before a holiday and not after.

You can purchase travel insurance up to the moment you leave your house to go to the airport and you'll have the same level of cover that you'd have if you bought it before you paid for the holiday. The reason for this is that most travel insurance is not tied to a single trip.

The OP's policy states that she can't claim for something that she knew about at the time she was purchasing the policy, it does not say that she needed to buy the insurance at the same time as or before she purchased the holiday.

Sully

almae34 wrote: »

Sully , what do you mean ? i did purchase it before the holiday !

I seem to be reading people saying the insurance was bought after the booking

almae34

yes sullyi bought the travel insurance 12th june.... i thought u meant after i travelled;) excuse my brain

Gatica

If your travel insurance was to cover all 3 of you, then all 3 of you should be covered in this case. In your daughter's case, she is the one that had the accident, in yours and your husband's case, you cannot travel because she's broken her ankle. Policies also usually list what is meant by close relative (daughter definitely being one of them).
What you need to try and prove though is that the policy was bought before she had her accident. You say it was late in the evening. Has your doctor or A&E given you a cert stating the time you were checked into A&E and possibly the time of accident?
The policy says that cover starts after you've paid for the premium. What method of payment did you use? They could argue they hadn't yet received payment from you if it takes 2 days to process it for example.
You'll just have to wait for them to process your claim and it can take months to sort out. No point in stressing of every possible situation now. If they deny your claim, then see on what basis and if you think they're wrong then take it to their complaints department or ombudsman, or hire a solicitor.

I also don't know anyone who buys travel insurance before they have bought flights. In fact you may even need to get flights first so as to have something to insure.

mel.b

Sully wrote: »

When I was a kid, I was still brought on holiday with a broken leg. The hospital recommended this special 'bag' you put over the cast that seals around the cast so you can swim.

.

However in this case, the OP's daughters fracture would have only been very recent (less than 2weeks old if i reading correctly) and it is not advisable to fly with a recent fracture in cast which is probably why the OP's doctor said no.

almae34

i paid by visa debit and payment would have went thru straight away as i would not have received the documents by email ?

doctors certificate has time stamps etc ..

spurious

Can you clarify how long was the gap between buying the travel insurance and your child having the accident?

killbillvol2

spurious wrote: »

Can you clarify how long was the gap between buying the travel insurance and your child having the accident?

According to the OP the insurance was bought in the morning and her daughter had the accident later that night.

I can see why the insurance company might take their time with this but if the timing of the accident, A&E etc. is clearly verifiable there shouldn't be an issue with cover. This sort of unfortunate scenario is surely why people take out insurance?

almae34

killbillvol2 wrote: »

According to the OP the insurance was bought in the morning and her daughter had the accident later that night.

I can see why the insurance company might take their time with this but if the timing of the accident, A&E etc. is clearly verifiable there shouldn't be an issue with cover. This sort of unfortunate scenario is surely why people take out insurance?

Hi all sorry, but for some reason I have been having problems logging into boards.ie.i have to keep resetting my password. :-(

Still no update, no word.:O

I called today and was told its still waiting to be assessed when I pressed on this I was told the whole file is being assessed nothing new there as I persume that would have been the thing.
They said it's between 5-10 working days and by tue or wed I should receive either a email or a letter....

almae34

Still no update...

Gatica

It's been just over a week, there's no way they'd even go through your application at this point... or at least it's unlikely. My emergency abroad claim took over a month, and after it got refused and I complained and got them to check again, it took another 2-3 months.
It's a slow process.
Your best bet not to forget about it, is to put in a reminder for yourself a month from the date you submitted your claim to call them an inquire about the progress of your claim.

Eponymous

If the policy was to cover you from the time the payment was taken you have a clear entitlement to claim. My caveat here is that some providers don't cover you from when it's paid, they cover you from a date in the future. For example, last month I renewed our insurance through VHI. We'd allowed it to lapse as we didn't take a holiday last year. At the end of the process I was asked when I would like cover to commence and I was given a series of dates in the future, 22nd June, 29th June or 6th July. The transaction was done on 19th June, cover commenced on 22nd which was the earliest I could commence.

So on the basis that your cover began as you say, on the morning of 12th June, then you should be pursuing this actively rather than waiting. It's created doubt in your mind which wouldn't be there if you press them.

almae34

Eponymous wrote: »

If the policy was to cover you from the time the payment was taken you have a clear entitlement to claim. My caveat here is that some providers don't cover you from when it's paid, they cover you from a date in the future. For example, last month I renewed our insurance through VHI. We'd allowed it to lapse as we didn't take a holiday last year. At the end of the process I was asked when I would like cover to commence and I was given a series of dates in the future, 22nd June, 29th June or 6th July. The transaction was done on 19th June, cover commenced on 22nd which was the earliest I could commence.

So on the basis that your cover began as you say, on the morning of 12th June, then you should be pursuing this actively rather than waiting. It's created doubt in your mind which wouldn't be there if you press them.

The claim is active since the 18th june so its 2 weeks. The claim dept told me that is would be assessed and settled between 5/10 working days. I have been a very loyal customer to this provider as my pet insurance 6 pets is also with them.

I am keeping on it activitly as I know having read thru policy I have a claim. Their updates are just poxy.


Fyi my pet insurance claims were for double the amount my travel claim is for and it was settled within 4 days

Gatica

alright, then you have a history of them settling quickly, in which case it's understandable you'd be getting antsy. I'd keep at them in that case...
Ask for name of anyone you talk to on the phone. If they say something that seems to fob you off, then keep ringing and say that you talked to so-and-so and you are not happy with the update.

almae34

Gatica wrote: »

alright, then you have a history of them settling quickly, in which case it's understandable you'd be getting antsy. I'd keep at them in that case...
Ask for name of anyone you talk to on the phone. If they say something that seems to fob you off, then keep ringing and say that you talked to so-and-so and you are not happy with the update.

I called yesterday and I lost it as I was told that the policy schedule was holding it up. I asked what they ment they said they were waiting on it. I said look you received that within a day of my claim chekc your records they did and low and below it went then to " ah you should hear something in a couple of days" .
The claim is being handled by an outsourcing company who in my opinion are doing the actual insurance company no favors.:O
I got onto the insurance company direct and they said theyd make a call etc blah blah bloody blah.

Gatica

agh, it's crazy how then can be so lackadaisical...
I had to send a whole pile of original documents to some outsourced company as an anti-fraud measure so they could process my application, and that was irrespective of whether they'd approve the claim or not.
Call them in exactly two days and say you were told by so-and-so to call back and that they'd have an update...

almae34

I can definitely say after this claim is dealt with i will be leaving this provider. outsource company has done them no favors.

Gatica

As much as I hate companies screwing people around like that, I'm afraid I don't think the alternatives would be much better. You hear stories like these about most insurance companies.

almae34

Well had a call earlier. They now want confirmation of time of incident from gp. Even thou they have it. He has to call them to confirm...They had the forms and reports 16 days and only today they asked this. Argh

ANXIOUS

almae34 wrote: »

Well had a call earlier. They now want confirmation of time of incident from gp. Even thou they have it. He has to call them to confirm...They had the forms and reports 16 days and only today they asked this. Argh

Can, you not see how suspicious this looks?

almae34

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Can, you not see how suspicious this looks?

What do you mean

Sully

I suspect they want to speak with the GP to ensure the documents weren't forged. Perhaps they have questions.

almae34

Sully wrote: »

I suspect they want to speak with the GP to ensure the documents weren't forged. Perhaps they have questions.

Oh dear lord you both have too much time on your hands .lol seriously...

Sully

almae34 wrote: »

Oh dear lord you both have too much time on your hands .lol seriously...

The fact you purchased insurance after you booked your holiday, then shortly after made a claim may very well have raised some concerns. I was told when I booked insurance after the holiday was booked that the insurer didn't technically have to insure me that I was supposed to have it sorted before I book a holiday.

Insurance companies are thorough in their checks. They may be just extra careful here.

almae34

Just had a call my claim has been settled

spurious

almae34 wrote: »

Oh dear lord you both have too much time on your hands .lol seriously...

You might be surprised what lengths people go to diddle insurance claims. A reasonable quality printer and a few scribbles and I could have evidence all sorts of things I could claim on. I am glad the insurance companies look closely at claims.

Your child's accident happened after you took out the policy and the doctor is prepared to vouch for that. I can't see the issue. The insurance company is just looking after its own interests and that of other policy holders. They are checking that your claim is legit and from what you say here it seems to be so they are just being careful.

**edit**
Glad it has been settled.

HeidiHeidi

Sully wrote: »

The fact you purchased insurance after you booked your holiday, then shortly after made a claim may very well have raised some concerns. I was told when I booked insurance after the holiday was booked that the insurer didn't technically have to insure me that I was supposed to have it sorted before I book a holiday.

Insurance companies are thorough in their checks. They may be just extra careful here.

Can this be right?

I can only assume you're talking about yearly cover, otherwise this makes no sense. I don't travel a lot (on trips that require insurance) so take out insurance for each one. By definition I can only do this after I've booked a trip......

OP, delighted to hear that your claim has been settled.

Sully

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Can this be right?

I can only assume you're talking about yearly cover, otherwise this makes no sense. I don't travel a lot (on trips that require insurance) so take out insurance for each one. By definition I can only do this after I've booked a trip......

OP, delighted to hear that your claim has been settled.

Well in my case it was yearly, yeah

Glad the hassle of it all is resolved anyway.

almae34

Sully wrote: »

The fact you purchased insurance after you booked your holiday, then shortly after made a claim may very well have raised some concerns. I was told when I booked insurance after the holiday was booked that the insurer didn't technically have to insure me that I was supposed to have it sorted before I book a holiday.

Insurance companies are thorough in their checks. They may be just extra careful here.

Yep I totally understand that and I would be sceptical too... but tge comment about forging made me laugh.. im happy now its settled and hope my lil lady gets better soon.

killbillvol2

Sully wrote: »

I was told when I booked insurance after the holiday was booked that the insurer didn't technically have to insure me that I was supposed to have it sorted before I book a holiday.

Who told you that?

killbillvol2

almae34 wrote: »

Yep I totally understand that and I would be sceptical too... but tge comment about forging made me laugh.. im happy now its settled and hope my lil lady gets better soon.

Glad it's sorted OP

Eponymous

Glad you got sorted OP and hopefully your daughter as a speedy recovery. Now you should purchase a load of bubble wrap for when you come to rebook the trip.