A travel policyholder who changed his flights to avoid pilot strike action has lost a bid to make his insurer cover the fare and extra accommodation costs.

The insured was due to fly from Sydney to Vancouver on September 18 last year, then to Toronto on September 20, but was advised of possible cancellations due to a planned strike.  

The airline said his flight was scheduled to operate normally, but in the event of a strike, flights might be cancelled from September 15.

The claimant told AIG Australia he had a tour booked in Toronto and, concerned about missing it, bought a ticket with another airline for two days earlier than originally planned.  

He said that before lodging his claim for the rebooked flights and extra accommodation, which cost $5576, he spoke to the insurer and was led to believe they would be covered.  

But AIG said its policy covered additional transportation expenses only if someone was stranded at a connecting destination, missed a transit connection or had to return home early.  

The insurer said the man bought the alternative flight due to concerns his other booking would be cancelled, which did not in fact happen.  

The man argued he acted to mitigate further losses.  

In a dispute ruling, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority notes the traveller’s loss did not arise from a covered event.  

“I cannot be satisfied the complainant has shown a claimable loss under the policy,” an AFCA ombudsman said.  

The authority reviewed a call transcript and found no evidence the man was misled into believing the claim would be accepted.

The insurer’s staff stated only that their team would assess the claim and a policy exclusion might apply.  

See the ruling here.