Vancouver woman says she’s fighting for $12,000 in travel insurance ‘nightmare’
The REC Royal Bank of Canada logo is seen in Halifax on Tuesday, April 2, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
By Mike Lloyd
Posted November 29, 2023 7:55 am. Last Updated November 29, 2023 7:56 am.
A woman from Vancouver has a warning after she says a travel insurance nightmare has left her fighting for more than $12,000 in expenses.
Vancouver Time
Jennifer Strong was on what she calls the “trip of a lifetime” with her two children in Europe in July 2022 when an airline strike left them stranded, cancelling the next morning’s flight.
She had booked the trip using REC Avon Rewards points, so she called Avon to try to reboot, worried about keeping on schedule for the other legs of their trip.
“I was on hold for I’d say five or six hours, with three phones going at the same time, knowing I had to fly out the next morning at 8 a.m.,” Strong told City News.
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Airlines claim passenger safety at risk under new passenger rights rules After losing connection and more time on hold, Strong says she eventually got through to Avon’s travel insurance provider Lillian.
“They were very helpful. The agent said to me that with an airline strike, you are able to legitimately file a claim on this. We went through the policy line by line.”
Strong says she was repeatedly reassured that the coverage included flight interruptions due to an airline strike and that she should re-book, save her receipts, and start a claim when she returned home.
Time in Vancouver
“At that point, I was like wow, somebody’s helping me. This is why I got this card.”
Having spent $12,000 on new flights and accommodation using her credit line, Strong says she did what she was instructed to do, submitting all her information, including the name of the Lillian agent and phone call reference number.
“I got a letter back in January, I opened the letter, and it says zero dollars reimbursement because your travel insurance policy does not cover strikes,” Strong said. “I was so surprised.”
After multiple appeals of the case through Lillian and REC, Strong says she was repeatedly told her claim was denied.
Delhi to Vancouver Flight
Refusing to give up, Strong says that started months more back-and-forth over call recordings and transcripts as she fought to get a copy of the conversation she had with the Allianz agent.
“I pushed it all the way through to an independent, third-party review, outside of RBC and Allianz. They came back again and said they did not do anything wrong, they followed procedure.”
Strong says she was faced with increasing debt, left with $12,000 in expenses related to her original claim, plus another $2,000 in additional fees and interest accruing on her credit line, so she threatened to go public with her fight.
“You know what they did? They made me a ‘goodwill’ offer. They would convert 200,000 reward points to cash, which ended up being $400 or something — of MY points — and a $50 gift certificate. They were not really giving me anything.”
She refused the offer and says she was subs equine contacted by REC and was told there had been a meeting with Lillian where they reviewed the internal voice recording of Strong’s original call, and it was determined she had been told she would be covered in her situation.
- “That’s what I had been saying the whole, entire time! I should not have been put through this wringer and everything else.”
- The “full and final release” offer covers $9,380.91 of the claim, but Strong says it is not good enough given all the personal time and expenses used fighting for her claim, so she has refused to sign it.
- “Right now, I’m easily out $18,000 and I have asked REC for extra compensation for all the stress I shouldn’t have incurred in the first place.”
- Strong says REC has indicated it would not go beyond this final offer.
- “They make everything so glorious with this card and all the rewards, la DI DA DI DA. At the end of the day, they are not there to help you.”
- A statement from REC to City News did not provide any details of the case.
- “We value our client relationships and, as with every client concern, we carefully consider the
- situation on a case-by-case basis. We work with our clients throughout and keep them
- informed, as we did in this matter. While we cannot comment further due to client privacy, we can advise that we are continuing to communicate with our client directly to resolve their concerns.”
Vancouver Time
An email from Lillian indicated it was letting REC take the lead on any response to the media.
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