When booking air tickets, hotels or homestays through the online platform, the platform often sells “hotel cancellation insurance” together, and platform merchants will often claim that buying this insurance, if consumers need it later When you cancel your reservation, you can make up for the loss.
However, many consumers complained that they bought “hotel cancellation insurance” in advance, but actually did not work, and even encountered epidemics and typhoons Due to force majeure factors, the hotel canceled the order free of charge, and the previously purchased “hotel cancellation insurance” did not take effect, but non-refundable. In addition, there are also cases where consumers encounter “cancellation insurance” bundled by platform merchants. What pitfalls should consumers avoid when purchasing similar types of insurance?
Bought “cancellation insurance”, < strong>There is a problem in claim settlement
Not long ago, Ms. Qian (pseudonym) booked a two-night stay in a hotel in Huangshan, Anhui Province on an app. And bought a hotel cancellation insurance without reason, but because the flight to Huangshan was temporarily cancelled, Ms. Qian could only cancel the hotel order.
I spent 15 yuan to buy the no-reason cancellation insurance, but I cannot enjoy a full refund. After complaining, it was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and Ms. Qian got a full refund from the hotel.
On the consumer service platform “Black Cat Complaints”, Ms. Zhou from Nanning, Guangxi also reflected her own concerns. similar experience.
On June 27th, she made a reservation on an App on July 2- Two hotel orders on the 3rd and from July 3rd to 4th, but on the morning of June 30th, they received news that all ships were suspended due to the typhoon. The hotel told them to cancel the order directly, regardless of whether she bought hotel cancellation insurance or not. amount refunded. After she canceled the order and received a refund, found that the platform still charged her two cancellation insurance premiums, totaling 78 yuan.
△ Ms. Zhou Consumer complaints on “Black Cat Complaint”
Ms. Zhou believes that the cancellation of the order is not caused by her personal reasons, and the cancellation of the subscription is due to the typhoon, which is a force majeure , and the platform customer service replied that as long as the order is cancelled, the “Cancellation Worry-free” insurance will automatically take effect.
The reporter immediately called the customer service number of a certain platform. The customer service said that Even if the hotel cancellation insurance is purchased, the cancellation of the order is generally not a full refund
strong>. “The compensation is 70%-90%. Once the insurance takes effect, the insurance premium will not be refunded. Force majeure causes you to have no way to travel, you can negotiate with us, we will help you negotiate with the hotel for free cancellation, If it really doesn’t work, you can take insurance.”
However, reporters noticed that when they inquired about relevant product descriptions, It is stipulated in the usage rules that refunds due to non-user reasons (such as natural disasters, hotel fault parties, etc.) will be refunded if the rights are not used.
Industry:Cancellation Insurance is not optional
Reporters inquired on multiple online consumer complaint platforms and found that there are many similar consumer complaints. For example, hotels agree to cancel orders free of charge, but insurance companies will not refund “cancellation insurance”; cancel hotel reservations and encounter claims “Kick the ball” etc.
Senior insurance industry insider Zhang Peng reminds consumers that buying cancellation insurance does not mean that the order can be cancelled at will. This cancellation insurance is not sold separately, but is bundled on the hotel booking page. Consumers tend to ignore the terms of the contract, interpreting “cancellation insurance” as “cancellation at will” and a full refund if they don’t want to travel.
Zhang Peng also said that in the event of force majeure, the insurance company should unconditionally refund the money. “But the definition of force majeure, can we provide an official proof? This is a problem.” In addition, he pointed out, Due to the high cost of complaints or lawsuits, consumers may At a loss, most of them will only complain on the Internet.
Some people in the insurance industry also pointed out that the product design of accidental risk insurance such as hotel cancellation insurance needs to be improved. Mature, not only the insurance company is immature in this regard, but also immature in terms of customers.
Lawyer:Consumers should read the terms of insurance
Lawyer Zhang Changdan of Beijing Dentons Law Firm reminds consumers to pay attention to the details of relevant product contracts, communicate with customer service in a timely manner, and preserve evidence when purchasing and using such insurance products.
Lawyer Zhang Changdan suggested that consumers should pay special attention to at least two aspects before purchasing hotel cancellation insurance. “First, find out if the hotel you booked supports cancelling the reservation without reason or canceling the reservation and getting a full refund. If the hotel itself supports it, there may not be much need for insurance.Consumers should carefully check the content of the order before paying for the hotel reservation to avoid being ‘default ‘insured.The second is to read the policy carefully , insurance instructions and other insurance contract content, especially insurance, claims and refund conditions.Some hotel cancellation insurance is advertised as ‘No reason to cancel ‘, but a series of claims limitations and exclusions may be stipulated in the insurance contract. Some consumers may be unable to travel due to objective circumstances such as typhoons, earthquakes, and epidemics, and they receive a full refund from the hotel at the same time. If you also want to get your insurance premium back, you need to see the refund conditions and procedures in the insurance contract before you apply for insurance, and contact the insurer in a timely manner when the agreed refund situation occurs.”
Source: Voice of China, CCTV
Editor: Hong Meijuan