DAN and AIG travel insurance absurd response ; Sinking boat not covered!

[HBO MD]

I wanted to share a ridiculous scenario with you. The Majestic Explorer was due to host me on a Galapagos trip and as everyone knows, it sank.
Of course, having purchased top of the line DAN travel insurance one would take for granted that one is covered. I mean, DAN specializes in dive coverage and hence of course ensures it's partner AIG would have a complete and transparent understanding of the situation.
This was not the case.
"Claim denied". Sinking is not covered!
I guess I had to go down with the ship to have obtained some compensation.
They claim that one has to purchase an additional coverage which adds about another 50% to the fee.

I have no idea how to proceed or petition these guys, but I wanted the community to know that you must scrupulously review the conditions of the policy or you'll be out of a substantial amount of money.

Any suggestions of how to address this absurd situation are most welcome.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I wanted to share a ridiculous scenario with you. The Majestic Explorer was due to host me on a Galapagos trip and as everyone knows, it sank.
Of course, having purchased top of the line DAN travel insurance one would take for granted that one is covered. I mean, DAN specializes in dive coverage and hence of course ensures it's partner AIG would have a complete and transparent understanding of the situation.
This was not the case.
"Claim denied". Sinking is not covered!
I guess I had to go down with the ship to have obtained some compensation.
They claim that one has to purchase an additional coverage which adds about another 50% to the fee.

I have no idea how to proceed or petition these guys, but I wanted the community to know that you must scrupulously review the conditions of the policy or you'll be out of a substantial amount of money.

Any suggestions of how to address this absurd situation are most welcome.

Wow, that is absurd. Did you read the fine print to see if there was something you can use to fight them back on? Does it explicitly state no sinkings or is there room for interpretation meaning it was not specifically stated? Also, what is the "additional coverage"? What do they officially call it?

What aspect of the trip financially were you trying to recuperate? (I know this sounds like an obvious question, but apart from the liveaboard cost itself, is it the other costs like the airfare/hotel you booked in preparation for the trip?) Is there any way you can try to do this through your credit card provider for trip interruption/cancellation if you booked your trip on your credit card?

Edited to add: I tried to find some specific language in Dive Assure's policy and liveaboard rider as that is who I usually purchase with. It does reference wreckings and strandings and confirms some coverage for it, but not specific to costs incurred. The references were to injury/accidents or death resulting from a wreck/stranding. In any case, I e-mailed Dive Assure to ask what their coverage is for something like this, both while already on the liveaboard and as in your case, before you even get the chance to go on it because it sunk.

I will keep you posted.

 

[KathyV]

I use DAN for dive sickness and injury insurance but I use another vendor for trip cancellation insurance, I will check the policies to see what they cover - but please clarify which expenses you were trying to recoup that were denied because "sinking is not covered!" so I can see if they would be covered or denied by our policy.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I just downloaded the schedule of benefits for a theoretical trip, and I don't see where it would be covered, either. Labor strike--covered. Airline financial default--covered. But no other modes of transport, hotels, tour providers, etc. are even mentioned. If you paid in advance, and they can't or won't provide the service you paid for, you're apparently not covered by this kind of travel insurance.

Are you and others seeking compensation directly from Explorer? Seems that would be the obvious route.

 

[KathyV]

I just checked our Travel Insured International policy for trip interruption or cancellation for our upcoming Caribbean vacation. It doesn't specifically mention "sinking" but it includes "flood" and also references an "uninhabitable" destination and unstable structure, so I would think that would include sinking?!!!

But it is interesting to see that coverage is not included if the cancellation is due to a storm that was named "on or before" the date of your trip - very interesting! So if you are at the airport and a storm threatening the area was just named - you are out of luck!

"...Your or Your Traveling Companion’s primary place of residence or destination being rendered uninhabitable and remaining uninhabitable during Your scheduled Trip by fire, flood, burglary or other Natural Disaster. Your destination is uninhabitable if: (i) the building structure itself is unstable and there is a risk of collapse in whole or in part; (ii) there is exterior or structural damage allowing elemental intrusion, such as rain, wind, hail, or flood; (iii) immediate safety hazards have yet to be cleared such as debris on roofs or downed electrical lines; or (iv) the rental property is without electricity or water. Benefits are not payable if a storm, snow storm, blizzard or hurricane is named on or before the Effective Date of Your Trip Cancellation coverage..."

 

[HBO MD]

I was trying to recoup flights and hotels.
The ship refunded the money promptly.
AIG required that either;
weather

• financial collapse of the company
• destination residence uninhabitable for whatever reason
• call to military service of traveler
• terrorism

But not sinking. And it's a damn dive boat!!
Outrageous!!

 

[KathyV]

I was trying to recoup flights and hotels.
The ship refunded the money promptly.
AIG required that either;
weather

• financial collapse of the company
• destination residence uninhabitable for whatever reason
• call to military service of traveler
• terrorism

But not sinking. And it's a damn dive boat!!
Outrageous!!

Well, they might argue that the hotels are still okay and were not effected by the sinking but I would think that "destination residence uninhabitable for whatever reason" would give you some leverage for appealing the decision, especially regarding the flights.

 

[Themerrydiver]

I was trying to recoup flights and hotels.
The ship refunded the money promptly.
AIG required that either;
weather

• financial collapse of the company
• destination residence uninhabitable for whatever reason
• call to military service of traveler
• terrorism

But not sinking. And it's a damn dive boat!!
Outrageous!!

If you were supposed to be on a boat that you were going to reside in for days, you'd think that that would be considered your "residence" and not livable! I've DAN insurance for our trips but I may need to reconsider. Though it seems that insurance companies love to sell but not too interested in paying out. They spend their time trying to avoid payouts!! I also use trip insurance sometimes that is associated with my flight, luggage etc.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I was trying to recoup flights and hotels.
The ship refunded the money promptly.

Airline tickets are usually valid for rebooking (for a fee) within a year. As for hotels, don't they usually have a policy that allows cancellation up to some number of days before arrival?

 

[flyboy08]

But it is interesting to see that coverage is not included if the cancellation is due to a storm that was named "on or before" the date of your trip - very interesting! So if you are at the airport and a storm threatening the area was just named - you are out of luck!

"..."

I find this very odd? My interpretation is there’s coverage once you purchase the insurance regardless of storms formation after the fact. At least that’s what my trip insurance always stated. The key is to purchase the coverage as early as possible to departure date. If a storm prevents travel, I’m covered.