NBC6 Responds helps woman recover thousands after travel insurance claim was denied 

Vicki Lowe has spent her life exploring the world, but Egypt is one place she has been struggling to visit.

“It’s been on my bucket list and I’ve been trying to go for over a year and I’ve been canceled three times,” Vicki said.

In February of 2023, she booked a tour and purchased a round-trip airline ticket to Egypt for the end of the year. She also made sure to buy insurance, paying over $500 for coverage.

But in October, when war broke out between Israel and Hamas, Vicki said the tour company canceled on her and refunded most of her money, except for the $500 deposit she paid. Because the airline was still flying to the region, Vicki said she was unable to get her money back for the flights.

So she thought her trip insurance would help her recover those expenses.

“If you’re booking trip insurance for a specific tour, you expect to go on that specific tour,” she said. “If you’re not able to go on that specific tour, then trip insurance should kick in – that’s why you buy insurance.”

But Vicki soon learned her claim was denied.

“I was surprised,” she said. “It was confusing and disappointing and annoying.”

That’s when she decided to ask NBC6 Responds for help.

“I thought, ‘please help me because I’m at my wits end,’” she said. “It’s a lot of money to me.”

In an email, Allianz, the insurance carrier, told NBC6 Vicki purchased a “named perils” type of insurance policy, which “…provides coverage for a list of “covered reasons”.  The company explained: “In this case, the reason for the trip cancellation, “regional instability,” is not a covered reason for cancellation coverage under Ms. Lowe’s policy…”.  The company also said: “The list of covered reasons and exclusions was included in Ms. Lowe’s travel insurance policy and sent to her when she purchased the policy.”

It turns out Vicki became sick around her scheduled departure and went to the doctor to get checked out. The doctor provided her with a letter that said she was not able to travel anyway.

NBC6 shared this information with the insurance company spokesperson, who said if Vicki wanted to, she could “…update her claim and provide us with her medical information.” That’s exactly what she did.

“I had no idea that I could re-file,” she said. “I thought, once denied, denied.  Because everything happened so fast, I didn’t even think about it. So, I appreciate that you figured it out.”

Vicki was thankful when she learned this time, her claim for $2,202 was approved.

“I’m so impressed with the way you just took it over and you helped me,” she said. “You’re just like my heroes.”

If you are buying trip insurance, make sure you understand the details of your policy, what’s covered and what’s not.

You may also want to consider buying a policy that allows you to cancel for any reason.  While typically more expensive, those types of policies will likely ensure you get a majority of your money back under most circumstances.