Travel Insurance Claim Declined

BeanCounter on 09/02/2023 - 12:36

Hi, I am an Australian citizen & recently travel to Tasmania from the mainland.

Fly into Tasmania on 19/10/2022.
Fly out off Tasmania on 01/11/2022.

Purchase a travel insurance policy from 1Cover on 19/10/2022 (after I have arrived in Tasmania) to insure my travel between 20/10/2022 - 03/11/2022 for the purpose of rental car excess coverage.

I have a booking with Europcar for a rental car hire between 26/10/2022 - 01/11/2022. The rental sustained minor damage to one of the mud flap & I was charged $1242 for the damage and lost to Europcar.

1Cover denied my insurance claim stating - stating

Your 1Cover Travel Insurance Product Disclosure Statement states on page 6, Whether You Are Eligible For Cover: “You purchase the Policy before leaving the station, airport, port, terminal or motor vehicle rental agency from which Your trip is scheduled to commence.”
We note that your 1Cover Comprehensive Policy was purchased at 23:30 (AEST) on 19/10/2022, while your flight Itinerary provided states your flight was scheduled to depart
Brisbane at 12:00PM (AEST). As your policy was taken out after your journey began your 1Cover Comprehensive Policy is invalid under the terms and conditions of your policy.

However, can I argue that I pick up the rental car from the rental car agency started on the 26th Oct 2022 as my scheduled to commence?

Thanks in advance!

Travel Insurance Travel Insurance

Comments

  • 87percent on 09/02/2023 - 12:38
    +12

    *insert michael jackson eating popcorn .gif

    • Nugs on 09/02/2023 - 15:01

      Ola
      .

  • BugsBunnyAUS on 09/02/2023 - 12:38
    +6

    However, can I argue that I pick up the rental car from the rental car agency started on the 26th Oct 2022 as my scheduled to commence?

    No.

    • HeWhoKnows on 10/02/2023 - 07:49

      I concur with BugsBunnyAUS and with 1Cover

  • Danstar on 09/02/2023 - 12:42
    +8

    Did you input your travel dates on their webform? Cos if so; theoretically why didn't their system pop up with a message saying that your policy is invalid. You were allowed to buy insurance that they knew you wouldn't be covered for.

    • bi7m4p on 09/02/2023 - 12:47
      +15

      In this case, could you argue 1Cover sold something that they know couldn't be used and get a refund for the travel insurance itself?
      I also agree that there should have been a warning or not allowed the sale.

      • Donaldhump on 09/02/2023 - 17:25
        +6

        I would argue this, they gave false hope of coverage, without warning travellor, who could make other arrangements.

        I really think its fricken pathetic of the insurer, it makes sfa diff

    • FloatingPoint on 09/02/2023 - 12:48
      +4

      Read again.
      Policy was purchased on 19/10 for 20/10 departure so the system think it is valid

      • JimmyF on 09/02/2023 - 13:08
        +3

        Read again.

        You first…. start with these points.

        Fly into Tasmania on 19/10/2022.
        Purchase a travel insurance policy from 1Cover on 19/10/2022 (after I have arrived in Tasmania

        We note that your 1Cover Comprehensive Policy was purchased at 23:30 (AEST) on 19/10/2022, while your flight Itinerary provided states your flight was scheduled to depart Brisbane at 12:00PM (AEST)

        • FloatingPoint on 09/02/2023 - 13:14
          +5

          The flight itinerary was asked when OP made the claim, not when the policy was purchased.

    • MS Paint on 09/02/2023 - 12:50
      +4

      OP used the 20th as policy commencement date. When processing the claim, 1cover would have asked for evidence of travel and identified that the travel started on the 19th.

    • boomramada on 09/02/2023 - 13:28
      +1

      Rookie mistake, OP took the policy on future date, while in a boat or plain while on travel.
      Once I took the policy on the way to the airport, from the day I travelling, then had a similar rental car issue, my claim went through. They always want to know the proof of travel, as Departure date and Arrival date, even when you purchasing a policy.

    • SF3 on 09/02/2023 - 13:35
      -1

      OP confused travel insurance with car insurance.

      • mhz on 10/02/2023 - 08:49

        Most travel insurance covers you for car hire

        • jollibot on 10/02/2023 - 12:04
          +2

          Not if they're invalidated by entering the wrong travel dates, they won't.

      • Scantu on 11/02/2023 - 12:13

        Many travel insurance policys cover rental cars…

        • SF3 on 11/02/2023 - 14:09

          Agree, my point was OP bought it to cover the period of car rental, rather than the trip.

          • Scantu on 11/02/2023 - 15:42

            @SF3: the car rentalussy

  • AustriaBargain on 09/02/2023 - 12:44
    +1

    Sounds like you wasted your money. Surprised they even let you take out the insurance in the first place if the date you started it was after the start date of your travel. Why didn't you get insurance with the car rental place directly?

    • Trance N Dance on 09/02/2023 - 20:43
      +2

      Some insurers allow you to purchase insurance after commencement of travel but with a wait period of a few days after purchase.

  • Motek Benzona on 09/02/2023 - 12:45
    +3

    You did not buy car excess insurance you bought travel insurance which includes that feature. It does not matter what you say, you bought it AFTER you comenced travel under their rules. Lesson learnt.

  • MS Paint on 09/02/2023 - 12:45
    +17

    The rental sustained minor damage to one of the mud flap & I was charged $1242 for the damage and lost to Europcar.

    WTF? I know a guy that could have fixed this for $20 before returning the vehicle.

    Part $4
    Paint $6
    Clips $2
    Labour $8

    • boomramada on 09/02/2023 - 13:48
      +17

      You are doing it wrong, this is how they break it down;

      There is damage to the flap, car need to take to the authorized repairer for quote, which take a day, (lost in rental, $80)
      Wait till flap to get delivered from mainland Toyota dealer, took almost two weeks, (lost in rental, $80x13)
      Part $4
      Installation (minimum one hr. of labor ($80)
      Admin Fee $38
      Total cost $1242

    • gyrex on 10/02/2023 - 11:35

      $6 for paint? What a rip off. I know a guy who sells it out the back of truck for $2.

  • FoxJump on 09/02/2023 - 12:51
    +4

    What does their product statement define a "journey" or "Your trip" as ?
    that would be the defining term.

    You should have also asked the rental company to show you the car before and after repairs. For something so minor i'd wonder whether they just got a quote, and kept the money without repairing it

    • MS Paint on 09/02/2023 - 12:56
      +2

      It was Europcar so they would have done exactly that.

    • bobbified on 09/02/2023 - 16:13
      +4

      For something so minor i'd wonder whether they just got a quote, and kept the money without repairing it

      There's no requirement for them to actually spend the compensation money to fix it, is there? They can choose to keep the money and just leave it.
      (As long as they don't try and charge the next person for the same damange - which is a known trick they use!)

  • ryefig on 09/02/2023 - 12:57
    +3

    I suppose you could make a case that 1Cover sold you a product and as a result, you received confirmation that you were covered.
    It is only now that you have made a claim and they have assessed that you were not eligible to be covered. They should have done that to start with instead of selling you a product with benefits that you were ineligible to receive.

    Their T&Cs are standard for travel insurance, but you could kick up a fuss with them given that they should not have sold you this product to start with.

    • Carbon Door on 09/02/2023 - 14:43
      +3

      but they lied on the travel commencement date

    • Ughhh on 09/02/2023 - 15:02
      +1

      1Cover doesn't seem to ask what time exactly your journey/trip starts. How would 1Cover know if Op was eligible to be covered or not before being presented the itinerary?

      If Ops trip started at 6pm but bought the insurance at 6am, he may have been covered. But since it was the other way around (trip began before purchase of insurance), he's not covered. Should it not be consumers duty to ensure the product is right for them before purchasing?

  • pharkurnell on 09/02/2023 - 12:57

    What car has a 1200 mudflap?

  • trapper on 09/02/2023 - 13:14

    The rental sustained minor damage to one of the mud flap & I was charged $1242 for the damage and lost to Europcar.

    Out of interest what kind of damage was this, were you aware it happened or got a surprise at the end?

  • GG57 on 09/02/2023 - 13:15
    +5

    OP should have purchased specific rental car cover from rentalcover.com or something similar, not generic travel insurance.

    • boomramada on 09/02/2023 - 13:51
      +3

      like this https://www.carhireexcess.com.au/
      they are good.

    • Scantu on 11/02/2023 - 12:14
      +1

      If your travel insurance covers it why would you purchase additional insurance?

      • GG57 on 13/02/2023 - 09:04

        Because OP apparently didn't want travel insurance coverage, only for the car hire.

        • Scantu on 13/02/2023 - 13:35

          But if it covers car rental excess and more for your purpose of travel why not ?

          • GG57 on 13/02/2023 - 13:40

            @Scantu: I don't know (obviously) why OP didn't want full travel insurance.

            • Scantu on 13/02/2023 - 14:05

              @GG57: Why make your original suggestion then

              • GG57 on 13/02/2023 - 14:19

                @Scantu: To point out that OP purchased the wrong type of insurance. If they only wanted car-hire excess insurance, they should have purchased that (and probably saved money)

                • Scantu on 13/02/2023 - 15:23

                  @GG57: but they did purchase that it just had other things in it as well

                  • GG57 on 13/02/2023 - 15:36

                    @Scantu:

                    Purchase a travel insurance policy…on 19/10/2022 (after I have arrived in Tasmania) to insure my travel between 20/10/2022 - 03/11/2022 for the purpose of rental car excess coverage.

                    I'm not sure why I need to spell this out, but OP states that the purpose of the insurance purchase was for rental car excess coverage. Nothing else is mentioned.
                    I imagine that the cost of that more comprehensive travel insurance policy would have been much more than if OP had purely purchased car rental excess insurance as a stand alone policy. It would also have been valid, and covered OP's claim.
                    As it is, OP paid for invalid insurance plus the car damage cost.

                    • Scantu on 13/02/2023 - 17:46

                      @GG57: Probably not, travel insurance is pretty cheap.

                      You don't have to spell anything out, particularly since you're making a redundant point.

                      • GG57 on 14/02/2023 - 09:06

                        @Scantu: Some travel insurance is reasonably cheap. But trying to buy it after the trip has already started is redundant.

  • trapper on 09/02/2023 - 13:21

    Since this is all travel inside the same country how can they really determine where the trip begins and ends?

    If you went to Melbourne for a month before starting your tour around Tasmania would it be the same situation where you are expected to have travel insurance dating back to before going to Melbourne?

    • Ughhh on 09/02/2023 - 15:06
      +1

      With overseas insurance, it's when you leave your home town / departure date, till you come back home. So if you went from Syd - Singapore - Japan, then back to Syd, you're covered in Singapore and Japan. I would expect the same for flying domestically.
      As usual, check your pds.

    • Kay Elle on 10/02/2023 - 08:12

      The insurer will have a definition of when your trip commences written in the PDS.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 09/02/2023 - 13:22

    Lmao, is this a mudflap from a Lambo or something?

    • SF3 on 09/02/2023 - 13:29
      +4

      Lmao

      Lamo

      • Bafranz on 09/02/2023 - 14:35
        +2

        Lambo

  • Daniel Plainview on 09/02/2023 - 13:23

    This is a bugger as I was first on the OPs side but now I think they're screwed. As you can see why the insurance company has this condition, so people don't take out after starting and then trying to claim stuff thats already going pear shaped. It does make sense.

    I think AT BEST you as others have said, contact them and impress that as stated you were sold insurance that their conditions automatically invalidated right away (unless you in buying the policy gave incorrect info deliberately) - and perhaps can get the premium returned to you.

    But I don't think you could get the car damage refunded or covered by them - the only way to do this would have been if THAT had been the start of your journey - which as you say it was not. Is a PITA but I think you're without a case on this one sorry.

    • trapper on 09/02/2023 - 16:03

      As you can see why the insurance company has this condition, so people don't take out after starting and then trying to claim stuff thats already going pear shaped. It does make sense.

      They know he didn't rent the car until after the insurance had started though.

      I think it more so they can maximise the number of days you're paying insurance for. Not just getting it for the one or two risky days I mean.

      • Daniel Plainview on 09/02/2023 - 17:46
        +1

        I agree completely, it's a curious term to have - but it is there. Perhaps OP could take to the Financial Services Ombudsman and query, is a long shot but better than nothing - as they might have a valid case to say they accepted his premium and it should cover all parts of his travel/s that occurred after this premium was paid.

        That would seem to be the spirit of the insurance companies term - so folks couldn't commence a trip and then take out a policy saving paying for a few days that perhaps weren't risky etc.

        Expect a considerable amount of resistance either way.

        • Kay Elle on 10/02/2023 - 08:20
          +1

          The claim has been declined on the basis of the terms and conditions set out in the policy. They won't get any joy from the Ombudsman.

          I worked in claims and case management in travel insurance for 5 years. COVID-19 stole my job.

          FWIW OP, if you depending on your method of payment for your trip (for some cards/bank accounts it's x amount of dollars on trip expenses such as flights, accommodation and car hire, others it's your outbound/invound flight etc) you may have a complimentary policy that is activated by the action of purchase.

  • SF3 on 09/02/2023 - 13:31
    +1

    purchased at 23:30 (AEST) on 19/10/2022

    OP’s username checks out, by buying insurance on the same day the trip starts. At 30mins before the day ends… 🤦‍♂️

  • John Kimble on 09/02/2023 - 14:07

    However, can I argue that I pick up the rental car from the rental car agency started on the 26th Oct 2022 as my scheduled to commence?

    You can try?

  • FoxJump on 09/02/2023 - 14:31
    +4

    1Cover PDS says

    ‘Journey’ means Your Journey from the time when You leave Your Home
    to go directly to the place You depart from on Your travels and ends
    when You return to Your Home on or before the last day of cover shown
    on Your Certificate Of Insurance. Journeys that involve travel solely
    within Australia will only be covered when Your destination is more than
    100 kilometres from Your Home.

    Home’ means Your permanent residential address in Australia.

  • bobbified on 09/02/2023 - 14:41
    +2

    The condition that you must purchase before the commencement of your trip is quite clear.

    You should request a refund for your premium.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/02/2023 - 14:49

    You're

    an Australian citizen

    dammit!

    How absolutely dare they deny your claim! It's a violation of your civil rights & so you should take it to the Australian Human Rights Commission and let us here know how you get on.

  • Bargainitis on 09/02/2023 - 15:08
    +1

    Supplementary to this, did you use a credit card for the purchase of the ticket to Tasmania? you might be able to salvage something from your credit card travel insurance.

    • FirstWizard on 09/02/2023 - 16:11

      that was what I thought, most rental car covers with credit cards start when you take possession of the car.

      However, more and more card policies are changing to cover the rental car excess only. So unless OP already took out the insurance policy from the rental company, it might not cover anything.

      • Bargainitis on 09/02/2023 - 16:27

        OP really should have only paid for the excess in this case - if OP used a more typical car rental company.

        • Love a bargain on 10/02/2023 - 12:18

          $1242 is lower than the standard excess (usually around $5k) that comes with a car rental.

      • Love a bargain on 10/02/2023 - 12:17
        +1

        The mandatory level of insurance (with like $5k excess) that comes with the car rental is sufficient for the purpose of satisfying dar rental excess insurance.

  • CurlCurl on 09/02/2023 - 15:15
    +1

    The rental sustained minor damage to one of the mud flap & I was charged $1242 for the damage

    Huh?

  • TheRealCher on 09/02/2023 - 16:01
    +1

    You guys are so judgemental today…we all know that this cannot be answered without a proper ms paint diagram, colour coded for time differences…

  • djsweet on 09/02/2023 - 16:09
    +6

    Well you bought a travel insurance policy which was never valid. They won't honour your claim. But they should refund you for the policy because it was never valid in the first place. Essentially you have paid for no service.

  • USER DC on 09/02/2023 - 16:15
    -5

    Would have been so much easier if you just didn't pay insurance in first place. most insurance is just a scum anyway.
    You may have been wrong here, but honestly yeah you took that insurance too.

    • Pikaloo on 09/02/2023 - 17:32

      I had no issues claiming travel insurance last yr. Approved in a few days no questions asked.

  • thatonethere on 09/02/2023 - 17:56
    +2

    You could either request a refund of your insurance - or try your luck with AFCA for allowing you to buy a product for which they would not honour.

  • Lunarboogie on 09/02/2023 - 18:34
    +2

    I scrolled all the way down to see if there was a reason why OP stated he was an Australian citizen. Wont be getting that 4 minutes back again.

  • bobbified on 09/02/2023 - 18:46
    +1

    I should add that this is a relatively cheap lesson about insurance and the need to read their PDS. Be thankful that it's not some $50K medivac bill or something. haha

  • Trance N Dance on 09/02/2023 - 20:44
    +4

    Double check the PDS and see if they've incorrectly applied their terms. Some insurers allow purchase of insurance after commencement date but will outline a waiting period of a few days after the purchase date in the PDS. Otherwise raise a complaint with AFCA as they've sold you a product that does nothing which is a financial no no in Australia.

    • pangwen on 10/02/2023 - 08:34

      I doubt that the OP would be successful in arguing about the product that does nothing. They could theoretically have bought the insurance at 23:30 for a flight that departed between then and 23:59. The fact that they didn’t do that isn’t the insurance company’s problem.

  • Roney on 10/02/2023 - 07:53

    Tsk, tsk, that Europcar adversity again

  • myutopia on 10/02/2023 - 08:07

    Follow the complaints procedure, and keep going until afca. For such a small amount they will most likely settle

  • Webber000 on 10/02/2023 - 14:55
    +1

    can I argue that I pick up the rental car from the rental car agency started on the 26th Oct 2022 as my scheduled to commence?
    No I don't think so because you bought TRAVEL insurance not car rental insurance.
    They define that you must have the policy before you travel (you did not). The "motor vehicle rental agency" bit will mean if you are hiring a caravan to tour around Australia and that is your "holiday". Your holiday/travel started when you left home for the airport (as it defines that your home is your permanent address in Australia).
    If you had bought car rental insurance then you would be fine, but you bought travel insurance for a holiday that had already started so its void.

  • drfuzzy on 11/02/2023 - 12:15
    +1

    You can ask for a refund of the insurance premium as it was never valid

  • gromit on 11/02/2023 - 12:26
    +1

    The best you will get is a refund on your insurance premium as it was invalid from the start as you were in breach of the terms and conditions. But no way in hell will they pay you out anything on the claim as it is invalid.

  • Herbse on 11/02/2023 - 12:46
    +4

    I never understand why people wait so long to get their travel insurance. It covers you in case you can't make it for Medicare reasons so I always get cover as soon as the trip/flights are booked so I'm covered for that.

  • Farrba on 11/02/2023 - 12:55

    i think the op tried to save insurance buy getting it from a travel insurance rather than the car rental, rookie mistake.

    • Love a bargain on 11/02/2023 - 14:44
      +1

      There are third party car rental insurance companies that don't charge you an arm and a leg like car rental companies do.

  • Seaeagles on 11/02/2023 - 13:13
    +3

    I don't understand why people take out travel insurance as they are about to travel (or in this case afterwards).
    Alarm bells would have rang taking out a policy after you have commenced the trip.

    Myself as soon as I book the airfare I book the travel insurance even if its a year away.
    Anything could happen in-between booking and travelling, you could have a serious accident the day after booking and not being able to travel. Purchase it straight away and you are covered and the insurance cost will be the same.

  • johno3456 on 11/02/2023 - 14:30

    Weird that you seek travel insurance for vehicle excess after travel commenced. You could have just paid extra when hiring car.

    Anyhow, i would contest the refusal. The 1choice policy is ambiguous and those ambiguities should be resolved in your favor.

    The policy defines journey but not trip, although this may not be relevant. It states you must purchase the policy before leaving the Departure point and Departure point is defined and specifically includes the motor vehicle agency.

    But you may still be screwed since policy has exclusions regarding tire and underbody damage. I think you avoided the general 72 hour wait exclusion - do not buy just before leaving your departure point.

  • movieman on 18/02/2023 - 23:04

    I'd ask for an internal review.

    For future trips, perhaps something like https://tripcover.com.au/ would be better for car only coverage?

  • Koipanda on 23/02/2023 - 15:12
    -2

    IDK if everyone is high on this forum but your purchase is valid and you are insured.

    Formally request an internal review and threaten that you will file a complaint to AFCA.

  • BeanCounter on 28/03/2023 - 23:11

    Thanks for everyone's comments. I want to thank the person who messaged me on Ozbargain to about AFCA. The insurance company end up agreeing paying for the repair minus excess.

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