Insurance coverage question for Mt Mayon eruption

[Deleted member 29185]

I'm seeking advice as to what my son should do.

He is in the Phillipines and has a tix and accommodation booked (through booking.com) for the Albay area near Mt Mayon, which is currently erupting (or at least did do yesterday). The news states authorities have risen the warning level to 4/5 which supposedly indicates an explosive erution is possible within days. He is booked for Thursday of this week.

PAL has already cancelled flights but just now, I'm unsure as to which airline he's booked. He obviously no longer has a great desire to travel to the region.

He has Covermore insurance, so what are his best options at the moment? Should he attempt to cancel the airline and accommodation bookings now, or wait until Thursday ... or just leave it and let the insurance deal with it? I've phoned Covermore and they told me he does have coverage for unexpected costs as a result of a natural disaster and also for prepaid accommodation. Booking.com apparantly have not billed him for the accommodation yet. Does pre-booked count as pre-paid? Any advice as to the correct course he should take would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tgh]

Interesting to hear other opinions, but imo claims happen after the fact , ie, one cannot pre empt fate..
The insured has to make the best decisions possible ( having read the policy ten times) and then make a claim.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

so attempting to cancel bookings would be OK (in fact possibly a requirement to limit the insurance co's losses) and even if he gets hit with cancellation fees, they should be claimable? or would that be seen as him simply "changing his mind" and not a genuine claim?

I guess that's my main question. Should he attempt to cancel the return flight and cancel pre-booked accommodation (with the associated fees, which may be full fare) or let it run and see how it pans out? I'm worried the insurance company may refuse a claim on the basis that he didn't attempt to limit their exposure by not attempting to cancel ... but on the other hand, they may refuse a claim by saying he pre-empted the loss, which may or may not occur even though flights are likely to be halted for a number of days if Bali is anything to go by.

 

[RB]

I would be suggesting the insured call the insurer himself. Show he is being proactive & thus Covermore will need to give advice & thus he has a record of contact.
From their site it seems ring +61 2 89075619 have policy number available & advise Covermore of his call back number.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Covermore has advised that we need to liaise directly with the airline and accommodation provider. I don't yet know the airline, but I did try to ring the hotel ... it rang out, numerous times. I just googled where Lagazpi is and Lonely Planet states " its real claim to fame is its location at the foot of active Mt Mayon (2462m)". The news states more than 27000 people have been evacuated so far, so I'm guessing the hotel is vacant at the moment. I rang Booking.com and they said the stay won't be charged, which is good, so the only claim may be the airfares.

I'm just glad he didn't fly in over the past few days. As much as money may be lost (or not), at least he's not on the ground in Lagazpi. I certainly hope everyone survives this ordeal and doesn't loose everything.

 

[Pushka]

Unless his actual flight is cancelled then currently it is deemed as being his choice to cancel - this is what happened with us in Bali recently. So Insurance will not pay until he is unable to fly there.

 

[Must...Fly!]

You need to find out which airline and your son will have to liaiIse with them directly. They typically impose fee waivers for unforeseen circumstances beyond anyone's control e.g. imminent natural disaster. Whether this extends to a refund is another matter.

Either way I'm not sure the flights would have been particularly expensive? The excess may be more than the claim.

 

[docjames]

He could also speak to the airline about flight changes (defer trip / change dates) and see if they will waive change fees.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Thanks for all the advice. The outcome is that he is with the PAL LCC and they have already cancelled Thursday flights. They say they will refund the tix price. Booking.com has already stated they won't be charged for accommodation (however I'm not entirely sure that's Booking.com's call). Realistically, any out of pocket should be claimable under the insurance, but at the moment, it's looking like that will be minimal or zero.

So now the boy is sorted, I just worry about the local residents. Hope there are no casualties. I also hope there is limited property damage.