Everything is ready for the long-planned vacation, but then an illness suddenly throws everything into chaos. When does travel cancellation insurance apply?
Munich – Better safe than sorry: Many vacationers take out travel cancellation insurance long before the trip. They want to get their money back if the worst comes to the worst. Many travel cancellation policies include a clause stating that they will pay in the event of “unexpected and serious illness”. If such an illness occurs, the insurance covers the cancellation costs incurred for the canceled vacation. So the big question is: What does unexpected and difficult mean?
The answer is not clear: Because this sometimes depends on the evaluation of the provider, only a closer look at the insurance conditions will help. This is shown by a judgment by the district court of Neubrandenburg (Az.: 1 S 56/20), about which the journal ReiseRecht aktuell (Issue 1/23) reported.
Example of travel cancellation insurance: Cancer known – but not serious
In one case, for example, a woman had taken out travel cancellation insurance for herself and her husband, who was suffering from cancer. The couple had learned of the diagnosis several weeks earlier. But then his condition deteriorated: Shortly after the policy was taken out, tumors were found in the man’s thoracic vertebrae, which had to be surgically removed. The woman canceled the trip. There was a fee of around 750 euros for this. But the insurance company refused to cover it.
The insurance company referred to a clause in the conditions, where under the point “Pre-existing conditions” it says: If diseases were known at the time the policy was taken out and were treated in the six months before, then these are not insured.
The woman went to court. Her argument: The extent of the cancer was not foreseeable when the insurance was taken out. The court saw it differently. The disease was known and therefore not “unexpected”. Accordingly, the woman’s insurance does not have to reimburse the cancellation fees.
Court clarifies: Wording in travel cancellation insurance is not opaque
What the court also made clear: the wording of “unexpected and serious illness”, which consumers often find vague, is not opaque. It went on to say that this formulation made the insurance cover clear and comprehensive for the “average policyholder” – despite the “room for assessment in the event of a long-term illness and in relation to the intensity of the illness”.
The court refers to the general usage. Accordingly, the word “unexpected” means that an illness must occur unexpectedly, i.e. suddenly and unforeseen. From which consumers would have to conclude that, as a rule, only unforeseen acute illnesses are insured. Anyone who is already suffering from a serious illness that then worsens can hardly hope to have their costs reimbursed by the travel cancellation insurance.
Speaking of travel: scams lure people into booking holidays online with fake websites or particularly cheap offers. Read here how to protect yourself from being ripped off. (cgsc with dpa)
