Troubleshooter: Travel insurance won’t pay after Minnesotan cancels REI trip

Q: I bought travel insurance from Tin Leg for an REI tour to Utah. When a family tragedy struck and my husband’s father passed away, I canceled our entire trip and all related reservations. I acted quickly to inform both REI and Tin Leg.

Tin Leg denied my claim. Their explanation was that I reused my airline ticket for a different trip, so my cancellation was deemed invalid.

I feel that this interpretation is unfair. I followed the policy by canceling the trip that I could not take due to unforeseen circumstances. I have maintained a complete paper trail of every email, phone call and correspondence with both REI and Tin Leg.

I need to know if my cancellation should have triggered a full reimbursement. Did my actions not meet the intended spirit of the policy? I also wonder if there was anything more I could have done to secure my refund.

— Amy Sparks, Minneapolis

A: I’m sorry to hear about your father-in-law. At a time like this, you would expect your travel insurance company to be compassionate and to quickly honor your claim. After all, it’s why you bought travel insurance.

I was curious as to why Tin Leg denied your refund. In an email to you, the company explained its reasons.

In other words, because you accepted a credit for your flight instead of canceling it, Tin Leg denied your entire claim.

I thought a carefully worded appeal to Tin Leg might have allowed the company to see that this interpretation of the policy, while technically correct, was wrong. But it also rejected your appeal.

Travel insurance is complicated. The decision about whether to honor your claim actually needed to be made by Tin Leg’s underwriter, Starr Indemnity Insurance Co. I contacted Starr to see if something had been overlooked with your claim. Separately, you reached out to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which regulates travel insurance in your state, and you filed a complaint.

Tin Leg’s underwriter then reversed its position and honored your claim. If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: Make sure you follow all the instructions carefully when you have to cancel a trip and file a claim. Be sure that you cancel all prepaid, nonrefundable portions of your trip that are covered by travel insurance. Otherwise, your travel insurance company could deny your entire claim.