A holidaymaker who had to stay in London to treat a cat bite and possible rabies infection has won a battle with his insurer over accommodation costs.  

The man was bitten while in Albania and travelled to London to receive the required vaccinations.

He said this was an unplanned visit, made only to receive medical care that was unavailable in Balkan countries.  

Insurer HDI Global agreed to cover the man’s travel costs but not his accommodation, noting its policy excluded expenses he would have expected to pay if the mishap had not occurred.  

It said the claimant had no pre-booked accommodation for the 16-day period he was in London, so he would have incurred these costs anyway.  

But the claimant argued accommodation costs in London were higher than in Albania, where he had expected to remain. He paid about $118 a night in Britain, compared with $58 in Albania.  

In a dispute ruling, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority agrees the man spent “roughly double” in London.  

“The complainant paid $1898 for accommodation during the 16 days he was in London to access the required treatment,” it said.

“This is $965.20 above the accommodation cost he would have been expected to pay had the reason for the claim not occurred.

“The insurer is not entitled to decline this additional accommodation cost.”  

See the ruling here.