If you fall ill, the cancellation insurance will reimburse the canceled holiday. That’s how it should be, but some policies only pay out when you’re almost with one foot in the grave. ,,My husband could no longer walk, but Aegon paid nothing.”
With the holidays just around the corner, a television program dedicates Radar tonight a broadcast to travel insurance. “Many people have a continuous travel and cancellation insurance and therefore do not check the policy every year. In the meantime, the insurance companies are adjusting their conditions without properly informing consumers about this,” says Sherien Verkaik of AvroTros, the broadcaster that broadcasts Radar.
Aegon in particular is making a mess. That company adjusted the policy conditions of one of their cancellation insurance policies two years ago in such a way that almost no condition or illness is a reason to cancel. According to Aegon, even those who end up in intensive care after a car accident have no valid reason to cancel the trip.
That also happened to Carrie and her husband Ron van Oldenmark. They booked a holiday in the winter of 2021. The country was still in a lockdown due to corona, but they still planned a flight to southern Italy for September. ,,We never book holidays, we always just go, but this time we do. We booked tickets to southern Italy. But in the summer, Carrie’s husband Ron fell ill. “Neurological problems. He could no longer walk, not even to the shop across the street.” He was treated by a neurologist and orthopedist.
Not sick enough
But according to Aegon, Ron wasn’t sick enough. In the new policy conditions of March 2021, ‘serious illness’ was no longer sufficient, but it was stated exactly for which serious illnesses the cancellation insurance is valid: eight serious cardiovascular diseases, a stroke, cancer or benign brain tumours. Carrie didn’t know what she was hearing. “If you have two broken legs, or you are in intensive care after an accident, you can travel according to this insurance.”
Carrie is tenacious, she digs through the policy change and files a complaint. ,,Aegon did not respond substantively to my questions and then I went to the Kifid.” That complaints institute for the financial sector made short work of the way in which Aegon had communicated the policy change. European rules prescribe that policy changes are clearly communicated and not only become clear after clicking on a few links and after a long search. Aegon had to reimburse the costs of the tickets, 475 euros. Carrie is no longer a customer of Aegon. “Aegon sells a product that is unusable for most people. They really need to ask themselves if that’s fair.”
The Van Oldenmark couple is not alone. Complaint forums also contain stories of people with acute appendicitis or hospitalization due to blood poisoning who did not receive a cent of the travel sum from Aegon.
Budget policy
Insurer Aegon states that the relevant policy really is a budget product with an associated rate. “This is our basic policy. Our all-risk travel and cancellation insurance does cover everything,” says Annika Heerschop of the insurer. ,,Aegon informs customers, both when taking out the insurance and periodically, of the chosen cover.” At the start of the holiday periods, attention is also drawn to the differences between the basic and all-risk policies. The eleven specific illnesses and conditions were included in the new policy conditions to remove any ambiguity about ‘serious illnesses’. Heerschop points out that in the case of the Van Oldenmark couple there is a settlement, Kifid has not made a decision.
The policy conditions of Aegon are allowed in themselves. An insurer is free to determine when you are too ill to travel. The insurer was reprimanded and ordered to settle for not communicating the change clearly enough.
“This cancellation insurance is of little use,” says Joyce Donat of the Consumers’ Association. ,,We have checked the ten largest cancellation insurances in the Netherlands, but none that does it like Aegon. To put it mildly: this is very mediocre insurance. You take out cancellation insurance in case you become ill. If only for heart disease or cancer. “With other insurers there is also discussion whether or not you are sick enough, but that can usually be resolved with a letter from the doctor or specialist.”
“Check your policy now,” she advises holidaymakers. “If you see that the coverage is insufficient, then look for another insurer to offer something better. And if you receive an email about a policy change: read it.”
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