Be aware ... do not take the extra insurance because my file has not been accepted

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

Dear sitters,

Do not take the extra insurance because my file has not been accepted even though I am not at fault.

After weeks of emailing THS, my insurance file was rejected.

I had a confirmed sit, booked my flights and then the HO canceled (without notifying or giving a reason).

I then have let THS know this.

I have met all conditions:

  1. Tried to find another housesit (if necessary with overbooked flights) but that didn’t work out.
  2. Looking for a place to stay <150$ per day.
  3. within 20 miles.
  4. all proofs correctly submitted to THS
    They suggested in an email that they would help find a solution… never heard anything.

After weeks of emailing (keeping me on the line), I now receive an email: the sit was not canceled within 2 weeks before the start of the sit, so no compensation.

Why then ask me for week information, proof, … and then give me that answer ?

Why do I pay extra insurance?
For such an incident, not ?

If insurance companies can “get out of it” they will do so (I used to work at an insurance company so I know - stopped immediately after experiencing that).

And THS allows this, not really nice for sitters.

I get the impression

  • that it is no longer about “animal welfare” but about a pure business plan
  • the philosophy behind THS has disappeared - HO have all rights and no obligations: can cancel at any time, charge costs, …
  • I have lost confidence in THS and am considering switching to Nomador or MindMyHouse
  • I will post everything on my Facebook page (I have thousands of followers)
    Sitters… be aware…don’t take the extra insurance!
    Very disappointed,
    Sarah
3 Likes
2

Hi @Flor3jaar

I’m really sorry to hear that you’re disappointed with the outcome of your claim.

I can see that we explained about the 14 day timescale at the start of March, apologies if you missed this, and I’m happy to feed back to the team to see if there is any way that we could make this clearer in future.

Jenny

3

So disappointed because not my fault !

5

I’m really sorry this has happened to you. Cancellations are a real stress factor. We had our fair share too…

However, as with every insurance company, it is important to read the rules first. The conditions clearly state that the cancelation needs to be within 14 days before the start of the sit…
I’m not defending THS, they definitely have their flaws, but they are not the insurance company. The external company who dealt with your claim is like every other insurance company, if they can wriggle out of paying, they will!

Fingers crossed you can move forward from this and will have many more happy housesitting adventures!

6 Likes
6

@Flor3jaar I am really disappointed on your behalf, I truly am sorry that you’ve had this experience. It’s all very well stating that they only compensate if cancelled within 2 weeks however, if there is train tickets or flight tickets involved, it will be appropriate to buy them before those 2 weeks. Leaving buying your tickets to that short time leaves you in danger of not getting them or they being extortionately overpriced. Meaning that the sitter is out of pocket. This is not the first time there has been questions around insurance/compensation and the basic plan has been advised.

7

Is this the sit you said was cancelled in your post on 24 January?
If it is I’m a little confused as you said in that post that THS said the insurance wasn’t applicable because it was more than 14 days notice of cancellation

TH says the insurance does not cover the claim (only 14 days before start sit)

So why did you then expect to be able to make a claim when you already knew it wasn’t covered?

2 Likes
8

@Flor3jaar you seem to have had a lot of homeowners cancel , which must be very frustrating. Have you had any feedback on why they are cancelling?

1 Like