Insurance question: Has anyone successfully claimed hotel nights as a result of a cancelled sit?

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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I have a sit coming up in less than 2 weeks in a European capital. With many flight cancellations all over Europe, I am beginning to fear what will happen if the HO’s flights are cancelled.

I wonder if anyone can vouch for the accommodation insurance in the premium membership for sitters? I wonder if I can be reimbursed for accommodation (5 nights in my case) if my sit is cancelled as a result of my host’s flight cancellations. What is the process like and is the insurance easy to claim?

How about transportation costs? Will I get reimbursed for them too?

Am asking all this coz I am considering an upgrade to premium membership. Thanks a lot in advance.

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I think only accommodation is covered. The terms and conditions exclude a number of things: Sit Cancellation Terms - sitter | TrustedHousesitters.com . We’re also now asking HOs if they plan to fly and might even reject new invitations if that is the HOs mode of transport. We have had several cancellations / last-minute changes recently because of the current flight situation. PS: Those sits were not through THS and we are not premium members, we prefer to rely on our own last-minute organisational skills.

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Hi @MissRien you will find more information on insurance questions here A conversation about insurance

In addition to the replies and comments you may receive from our forum community I will tag @Therese who can pick this up when she is back online to make certain that you get the correct information on which to base your upgrade decision.

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I read the T&C and many of them are subject to interpretation like this one:

“The sitter had a reasonable option not to travel, which would have prevented incurring cost (such as refundable travel bookings, plans that could be amended)”

I just booked some refundable hotel rooms in case of a cancellation, so I guess I am not eligible for this insurance then? I guess it depends on when the sit is cancelled, if it’s too late then these rooms would become non-refundable. I think the worst scenario would be that I arrive at the destination, and find out the HO’s flights are cancelled at the last minute with no hotel bookings…

I kinda regret not looking into this earlier, if I knew things are this serious I don’t think I’d go ahead with the sit. But I guess I really put a lot of time and effort in securing a sit all these weeks, so it didn’t occur to me flight cancellations are an issue…until now. It’d be a shame if the sit falls through coz the HO seems to be a very nice person.

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Maybe I don’t understand you correctly, but I think you can still book a hotel after the HO cancelled and THS insurance should cover that. But I don’t actually know or have heard of anyone who is a premium member who got compensation by THS, would be interesting to hear more from such people. In the other thread I think most people were complaining about how restrictive THS policy is regarding compensation, but I have only read a couple of posts.

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I have an insurance claim in right now so I will let you know how it goes. We had a sit cancelled in June two days before it was supposed to start. We quickly applied for 8 sits and managed to get one to cover 4 of the days and we booked a B&B for the other 2 days. We are eligible for $150 per night for each of the 2 nights, less a $50 deductible. So I am hoping (and expecting) to get $250 repayment. (Our accommodations cost more than $150 per night but we paid the difference.). (ETA: I just noticed it’s $150USD so hopefully we will get closer to $193 CAD per night.)

I remember one other forum member posting that they had applied and received insurance successfully. Can’t remember who it was though.

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Here is the info they gave me when we made our application.

As you have our premium membership you may be able to make a claim to our sit cancellation insurance.

This can help you cover the cost of alternative accommodation up to a value of $150 USD per night or currency equivalent. The total for the claim not exceeding $1500 USD or equivalent at the exchange rate applicable shown on OANDA.com on the date of payment.

Importantly, if the cancellation does not result in a financial loss on your part or any loss can be avoided by changing your plans, a claim can not be made. Where financial loss if unavoidable, we will ask you to provide evidence.

Unexpected cancellation must occur less than 14 days before the agreed sit start date or during the sit, but before the agreed end date.

Cancellations due to government imposed regulations, such as Covid-19 travel restrictions are not covered in this policy.

You will need to find accommodation local to the location of the cancelled sit and book and pay for that accommodation.

You can then submit a claim to us, by providing your accommodation receipts and details of when and why the sit was cancelled. This can be by providing screenshot messages between you and the owner, on site inbox messages or personal emails.

The Premium membership would have needed to already have been in place before the sit was cancelled, therefore we are unable to consider any claims where the upgrade of membership was made after the sit was cancelled.

Should the upgrade and cancellation fall on the same day then this will need to be clarified by timestamps of the cancellation and upgrade and any claims processed will be at the discretion of the Insurance providers underwriters.

We are unable to pre-authorise any claims and all claims can only be made after you have booked and paid for the accommodation. It is then passed to our insurance underwriter’s and is paid at their discretion and as per the terms of the policy.

All successful claims are subject to a $50 excess fee, normally deducted from the settlement from the insurance providers.

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I believe you can only be refunded for the nights of the cancelled housesit, assuming you are unable to find a replacement sit for those nights. Travel and other expenses are not covered.

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And for documentation to support our claim, I emailed screenshots of my conversations with the home owner on THS and WhatsApp when she cancelled. She actually cancelled by phone so I asked her to put it in writing in THS inbox so I have written proof.

I told them about the 8 sits we applied for. And the 4 day sit we got.

I gave them a copy of the B&B receipt to show what we paid for it. This was the only part I was worried about because we paid cash and she gave us a hand-written receipt. Her B&B normally has a 3 night minimum and we only wanted 2 nights so we did it off the website. I provided THS with screenshots of our conversation discussing that as additional proof.

I think that’s it. We submitted it all 2 weeks ago so I assume it’s at the insurance company right now. Not sure how long it takes but I’m sure we’ll get it eventually. :slight_smile:

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Thanks a lot for the information. Sorry to hear about your cancelled sit and I wish you success in claiming insurance. May I know what is the cause of the cancellation in your case? Not sure if flight cancellations are covered by THS insurance…

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They had a family emergency. I don’t see why the family cancelling the sit because their flight was cancelled wouldn’t be covered for the sitter though. So long as it’s not me cancelling the sit, it doesn’t really matter why they are cancelling it.

The only thing THS mentions is that cancellations due to govt imposed covid restrictions are not covered.

While it was a bit stressful for about 12 hours after the sit was cancelled, we quickly rallied, found another sit, found an airbnb and continued on our trip.

TBH, before the insurance was available, we’ve always travelled with the understanding that there’s always a chance a sit could get cancelled last minute and we might need to find our own accommodation. While I would hope that wouldn’t happen, I am prepared to cover the costs if it does. I think each sitter needs to have an alternate plan in the off chance that plans go awry.

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@Kelownagurl Let us know how long it takes for you to get reimbursed!

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We’re premium members and last year we had a homeowner cancel the remainder of a 10 day sit 2 days early when her travel plans changed. We reached out immediately to THS. They agreed to reimburse us for the cost of 2 nights at a hotel. This was greatly appreciated! Definitely worth upgrading to Premium for this peace of mind.

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Hi @Timmy @Kelownagurl has given all the right information. Thank you. The main points being, that the cost of cover is only for accommodation, so it would not include flights and other expenses. The cancelled sit (confirmed) must fall within 14 days of the sit starting (screenshot submitted) and accommodation must be within the area of the cancelled sit. Once you have submitted your claim, it can take up to 30 days as this is sent onto our third party insurance partner.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards
Therese

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Yes, only accommodations are covered up to a certain amount per night - not transportation costs. As a member it is your duty to read the agreement, terms/conditions and how THS insurance works for when you have a confirmed house sit cancelled.

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If this clause says what I think it says then it will be the the clause that I think will catch most people out .

If I am ending a sit in Scotland today and my sit booked in London due to start tomorrow cancels then the only way my accommodation costs will be covered is if I travel to London to book into a hotel?

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Hi @Colin, thank you and happy Saturday … This is a Membership Services question and in the interests of giving you and others the correct information, I’m going to tag @Therese who will pick this up when she is back online.

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The term “local” is not quite clear to me, it could apply to a greater region or a very specific location.

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Good question. Let us know what you find out. I guess to me it would make sense for you to stay in Scotland, if the London sit was cancelled. They’re both part of the UK. Of course, you also need to try to find a replacement sit and I would think it would be fine if you filled any remaining days where you are now, or even relatively close to the new sit.

My guess is that you do whatever makes the most sense depending on where you are when the sit is cancelled and where the sit is located. So long as it doesn’t look like you are just trying to scam the system. This is all my speculation of course. Member Services will tell you.

We were already in the Cotswolds when our sit was cancelled. We found a replacement in West Sussex, but stayed in the Cotswolds, an hour’s drive away from our cancelled sit, for the two nights we had to fill in. I doubt it would have mattered if we’d decided to stay in West Sussex for those two nights.

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HI @Colin @Timmy @Kelownagurl
Local would possibly be considered within a 5-7 km radius, however, we would mention is if the half hour drive ends up taking one to a different county or state then that wouldn’t be considered local - if one cannot get a local place to stay then one would need to let us know us when they submit a claim.
Hope this helps a bit more.

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