Not upheld: Travel / life insurance claim disputes complaint against Europ Assistance SA

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M claimed on his travel insurance policy after his return flight from the Middle East was cancelled due to civil aviation authority suspension of flights in the region. He incurred additional expenses for accommodation, food, travel and car hire. EA declined the claim citing the general war exclusion due to ongoing conflict in the region. Mr M argued the cancellation was due to safety reasons, not war. The ombudsman found the claim was not covered under the policy as flight suspension was not a listed insured event in Section 1.2, and the war exclusion reasonably applied given the documented hostilities.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the principle that insurance policies only cover specific listed insured events and insurers are entitled to limit risks they accept. The policy Section 1.2 did not list flight suspension by civil aviation authority as a covered reason for cancellation. Even if it had, the war exclusion would reasonably apply given the documented hostilities in the region and suspension of all flights. The policy terms were clear and unambiguous.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website