When a family member is diagnosed with a terminal illness, the last thing you need is more financial pressures.
But for Joan Nicol of Liberton, Edinburgh, that’s exactly what happened. A month after booking a trip to Mexico with her husband and daughter, her father, John Gribben, was diagnosed with cancer and given 6 weeks to live.
Joan canceled her trip and filed a GBP2659 claim to her insurer, Halifax Travel, but was turned down because they said she must have know her father was ill, despite him being diagnosed a month after booking the trip.
“The first excuse they used was I should not have booked the trip knowing dad was terminally ill – which was ridiculous as he was diagnosed a month after I paid the deposit,” she said.
After the diagnosis, Joan’s father came to live with her family so they could look after him. Mr Gribben survived longer than expected so the family was able to say their final goodbyes, but Joan was furious about her claim being denied.
“Then they said it was my fault I was out of pocket as I should not have paid the balance knowing dad was ill. They only offered to refund the deposit.”
Eventually Joan got onto Halifax and they payed out the claim in full, but the added pressure at the already hard time was not helpful.
First Assist Insurance Services, who administer the firm’s travel insurance, said: “It’s clear that, as the investigations which led to the diagnosis started after the trip had been booked, the claim should have been covered in its entirety. We have apologised to Mrs Nicol.”
