After the sudden death of her husband, Patty Layman found a surprise charge on their credit card.
The charge for $13,310 was for a cruise with American Cruise Lines that included airfare and even “Cancel for Any Reason” trip insurance.
But this seemingly bullet-proof insurance coverage had some fine print that gave Patty the runaround.
In February of this year, Colorado couple Patty and Dick Layman went out to eat to celebrate three different occasions at once.
According to Patty, she told her husband, “Happy birthday. Happy Valentine’s Day. Happy anniversary.” Shortly after, her husband started to choke.
Not being able to breathe, Dick passed out. After a day in the hospital Patty was told that her husband showed no signs of brain activity. After being taken off of life support, Dick passed away on February 23.
Still grieving the loss of her husband, Patty was making funeral arrangements when she came across a charge she did not recognize on the couple’s credit card.
Apparently, Dick had been planning a surprise. The $13,000 charge was for a 10-day Columbia & Snake Rivers cruise from Washington to Portland, Oregon.
The details of the trip were found in Dick’s desk, and Patty assumed Dick was going to tell her about it during their celebratory meal.
Cancellation Headaches
But she couldn’t imagine taking the trip without her husband. She decided to cancel the trip, and saw on the paper work that Dick had paid for “Cancel for Any Reason” trip insurance coverage.
Dick had planned ahead, and he purchased the extra cruise insurance for $1,140.
This is the most comprehensive kind of trip insurance and does not require a specific set of circumstances to be used.
However, there was a problem. After Patty called the cruise line, she was told of some of the fine print. If a trip is cancelled within 90 days of the sailing, only 80% of the money would be refunded.
On top of this, each cruise passenger is charged $250 as an administrative fee.
While Patty thought this kind of situation would be an exception to the 90-day rule, she was informed that an exception could not be made in her case.
After writing the CEO of the company she said, “I never even got a reply back. Not even a, you know, ‘I’m so sorry for your loss, but this is the way it is.’”
She reached out to 9NEWS, and the news company tried to speak on her behalf, but they were told that they don’t make comments about guests.
Despite months of attempting to get a full refund for the cruise, Patty ended up getting all but $3,000 of the money back.
While trip insurance is a must for any kind of travel with this kind of price tag, it’s important to remember that even comprehensive coverage has its limitations.
Coverage limits, cancellation fees, waiting periods, and exclusions should all be reviewed so you know what you’re actually paying for.
Read more about Cruise Travel Insurance and why most people should pay for it.