Not upheld: unfair claim decline complaint against Zurich Insurance Company Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs R purchased travel insurance from Zurich for a 12-day trip including a 10-day cruise, flights, and accommodation, but did not purchase the additional cruise cover. When they cancelled due to medical reasons, they claimed for the non-cruise elements only. Zurich declined the claim on the basis that cruise cover was required. The ombudsman found that the entire trip was booked as one integrated package, with the flights and accommodation being essential to cruise participation. Since the appropriate cruise premium was not purchased, the general exclusion applied to the entire claim, and the ombudsman upheld Zurich's decision to decline it.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the entire 12-day trip, including flights, accommodation, and the 10-day cruise, constituted one booked package beginning and ending in the home country. The policy required additional cruise cover premium to be paid for any claim relating to cruise participation. Since the flights and accommodation were integral to the cruise participation (without them, Mr and Mrs R could not have joined the cruise), the general exclusion applied to the entire claim. The ombudsman rejected the argument that the flights and accommodation could be treated as separate trips under the cancellation section.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website