When you have to change travel plans because of a sudden death
They say life’s what happens when you’re making plans, but unfortunately death is also one of the unexpected events that can occur any time. Travel insurance is there for when the unexpected happens, and no matter what, losing a loved one is never something we’re fully prepared for.
Obviously, travel insurance is in no way going to make the situation better when someone passes away. But if it means having to cancel or change travel plans as a result, then insurance can at least make some of the admin costs a little easier. That’s what Steph found out when she claimed on her Pluto travel insurance after her grandfather died.
“I like getting out of London for a change of scenery, seeing different cultures and environments.”
Discovering travel insurance for the first time
Steph is a 28 year old designer originally from San Francisco and now living in London. A keen traveller, Steph had never really considered travel insurance before a friend introduced her to Pluto. She had always just assumed that if her stuff got lost or stolen then it was one of those things and she would have to pay for it.
However, she started asking about it as her health insurance in the USA expired when she was 26. As she frequently travels back to the States to visit friends and family, she didn’t want to risk a medical bill with no insurance while she was there on holiday. So she bought an annual policy from Pluto.
“I didn’t know where to go for information or what kind of incident I could get help for. For me it was just for health insurance in the States. It’s a relief as hospitals are really expensive over there.”
Plans were made to be broken
Earlier this year she had arranged a trip to New York to spend a week with friends. The flights were booked and she had her trusty travel insurance already sorted. Sadly, in the weeks leading up to her holiday, her grandfather passed away unexpectedly. With the funeral in Texas around the same time as her holiday (not that she was in the mood for reverie anyway), she needed to re-arrange her trip to New York for another weekend, rebooking the flights in the process.
Having not had to claim on travel insurance before, Steph wasn’t sure if this was the kind of thing you could claim for. So she contacted Pluto, who explained that having to cancel or change your travel plans because of a death in the family is exactly the kind of unexpected event that travel insurance was for. At least it is with Pluto — not all insurers feel the same way and many make it hard to claim.
Keeping things simple
With enough already on her plate, Steph was able to submit her claim in less than 10 minutes online. She was able to provide all the information we needed to process the claim, including a death certificate and info about the planned funeral and flights. At Pluto we don’t have strict criteria on the supporting documents you would need to provide in a situation like this, but the more you’re able to give us, the better. That might be a death certificate or a medical report, but we understand it isn’t always possible at short notice.
Having submitted the form, there was nothing else Steph needed to do. After a week or so, the cost of having to change her flights had been refunded directly to her account. A few weeks later Steph was able to go on her trip to New York, and we’re happy to report that a good time was had by all with no more claims needed.
As her annual policy comes to an end soon, Steph has decided she’s definitely going to renew it, but with one small change. This time she’s going to pay a little more upfront to reduce her voluntary excess.
Originally published at https://blog.pluto.travel on August 15, 2019.
