Assicurazioni Generali No Refunds for Travel Insurance Class Action

The complaint for this class action brings suit against travel insurance companies, the Italian Assicurazioni Generali Group, SpA, Generali US Branch, and Generali Global Assistance, Inc. The complaint alleges that the companies should refund purchasers of the insurance for a portion of the cost because the trips insured were not taken due to Covid-19.

The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons in the US who bought travel insurance through the defendants in this case and who had their trips canceled due to Covid-19 travel restictions. In the alternative, a Florida Class has been proposed for those in this situation in Florida.

The complaint alleges that travel insurance covers two kinds of risks: pre-departure and post-departure. Pre-departure risks include such things as the risk that the traveler may have to cancel the trip and lose pre-paid, non-refundable deposits. Post-departure risks include such things as the risk of medical or dental emergencies or the loss, theft, or damage of baggage.

The complaint claims, “By its nature, this second category of coverages, post-departure, cover risks that only arise after travel is underway and to which [the insurance companies] are not exposed until and unless the insured parties actually travel[.]”

The amount of premium allocated to post-departure risks can be calculated, the complaint claims, by examining the Description of Coverage for the insurance. The Description of Coverage “delineates the different policy benefits actually purchased by the insured through his or her Generali Plan, the coverage limits of each corresponding benefit, and finally, the gross premium paid for the entire package of separate coverage options purchased.” The complaint claims that these figures can be used to calculate “the pro rata share of the gross premium attributable to each policy benefit…”

Many trips have had to be cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the complaint, “because [the insureds] were precluded from departing on their trips, [the insurance companies] never actually bore the post-departure risks that Post-Departure Coverage was intended to guard against.”

The complaint says, “As the American Academy of Actuaries Travel Insurance Task Force recognized in its 2018 Report, insurers do not have exposures to post-departure risks until the departure date.”

However, the insurance companies have refused to provide refunds on insurance for trips that were not taken, the complaint claims. Instead, the companies have required customers to accept “vouchers that require rebooking by December 31, 2020.” The complaint contends that these vouchers are insufficient because Covid-19 is still active and making it difficult for people to plan trips.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Insurance
Tags: Failure To Pay For Refund, Insurance, Travel Insurance