Sandeep was due to travel but his flight got delayed because staffing issues at the airport. Sandeep contacted us to complain because his insurer refused his claim to cover the cost of his first nights' non-refundable accommodation abroad.
What happened
Sandeep was due to travel abroad. Unfortunately, his outbound flight from the UK was delayed by 16 hours because the airline said it had staffing issues as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sandeep received compensation for the delay from his airline but made a claim under his travel insurance policy for the cost of his first night’s non-refundable accommodation abroad, which he’d been unable to use.
Sandeep’s insurer declined his claim and said it wasn’t covered under his policy.
Sandeep felt this was unfair. He said it wasn’t his fault that his flight had been delayed. So, he made a complaint to the insurer. Unhappy with the outcome, Sandeep brought his complaint to us.
What we said
We reviewed the terms and conditions of Sandeep’s policy – in particular, the section of Sandeep’s policy called ‘Travel Delay and Abandonment’. This said the insurer would pay a benefit if a flight was delayed for more than 12 hours for one of the following reasons:
- strike or industrial action;
- adverse weather conditions; or
- mechanical breakdown or technical fault of the aircraft.
So, while we said we understood that Sandeep had no control over what had happened, this situation wasn’t something that his policy provided cover for.