Ryanair kept insurance money even though they cancelled my flight!?

dublin12

Hi there

Recently, my husband and I were to fly to Brussels and had booked flights with Ryanair. We took out their travel insurance too. 2 Days before the flight, we got an email to say Ryanair had cancelled the flights due to a general strike in belgium. We asked for a refund which we got less the price of the insurance. My husband rang them and was repeatedly told that the cooling off period for the insurance had expired and we werent to get a refund.....so they cancelled our flight, we had taken time off work etc and had to ring belgium to cancel the hotel (which luckily didnt take any deposit from us) and Ryanair who caused the inconvenience made money from us!!? Ok, they cant do anything about the strike but taking the insurance is pretty lame...before someone says 'you get what you pay for'...yeh, I know its a cheaper service for a reason but this just seems unfair. anyone else have this happen and manage to get their money back?

BuffyBot

Technically, the insurance isn't actually supplied by Ryanair, but by an insurance company via Ryanair - so it's most likely something to do with the insurance policy itself.

p.pete

Was it a case that you were saying you no longer wanted to use the travel insurance that you booked? TBH it should be in the terms and conditions when you bought it as to whether this is policy or not. If the insurance is supposed to insure you in some way in the event the flight is cancelled then you should be able to make a claim on it...

BrianD

Would you have expected to get it back? You took out travel insurance which covers a number of things while you travel - medical, not being able to travel, plane crashing, lost luggage etc. It is completely separate to your airline ticket (even though it is Ryanair branded). Technically you entered a contract with an insurer to cover the risks detailed on the policy for a specific period from that point in time. Your policy may have covered expenses incurred if a flight was cancelled such as the hotel deposit that may have be non refundable. Unfortunately your flight was cancelled in advance but you were still getting value for the insurance because the risk started when you booked your flight. Just like you can't get insurance retrospectively it is very difficult to cancel an insurance policy that you decide you no longer need.

penexpers

Ryanair didn't "cause the inconvenience", that was the striking workers in Charleroi Airport.

3greenrizla's

the cost of the travel insurance would not be covered under the insurance policy, the same as if you write off a car, you do not get the value of the car + the insurance premium.

also most (if not all) insurance policies would state that if you make a claim you would not be entitled to a refund.