Not upheld: claim declined - not covered by policy complaint against AWP P&C S.A.

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs M claimed on their travel insurance policy for unused accommodation costs after their flight to South East Asia was cancelled due to conflict in the Middle East. AWP declined the claim as it was not covered by the policy. The ombudsman upheld AWP's decision, finding that the policy only covers cancellation due to specific listed unavoidable events, airline cancellation is not one of them, and the claimants' destination was not subject to relevant FCDO travel warnings. The policy also explicitly excludes claims arising from war and civil commotion. No compensation was awarded.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman examined the policy terms and found that cancellation cover only applies when prevented from beginning a trip due to specific listed unavoidable events. Airline cancellation is not a covered event under the policy. While FCDO advice against travel to the UAE was issued, the claimants' destination was South East Asia, not the UAE, so this did not trigger cover either. The policy explicitly excludes claims arising from war, terrorist action, and civil commotion. Therefore, the circumstances fell outside the policy coverage and AWP fairly declined the claim. The ombudsman also found no fault in AWP's claims handling as it assessed the claim appropriately on both occasions.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website