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

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
123

Starting to think the insurance is a scam. I was told that the ‘insurance partner’ had 30 days to review the claim and it’s been 38 days now. The response I received 3 days ago to my last request for an update was “We have chased our insurance provider on the status of your sit cancellation claim, and I hope that we will get a response soon.” So, no update, the claims just get sent to the insurance and it seems they can hang on to them indefinitely. Maybe THS should think about working with a different insurance partner.

It seems like it’s THS support’s responsibility to follow up on the insurance claims and ensure they are reviewed within a timely manner. It’s not like I can contact the insurance company directly, so I’m forced to rely on THS. Unfortunately, they just send it off and forget about it.

124

Sorry to hear about the delays @systaran .

Is it 38 days since you submitted the claim or 38 days since THS passed the claim to the insurance company?

Was there a period of time from you submitting the claim to THS and them passing it to the insurance company ?

From others experience, persistence will pay off .

125

I submitted all the documentation for my claim on July 3. On July 17 they said it had been sent to the insurance partner and that they had 30 days to review it. August 16 was 30 days. It’s now Aug 25 and I’m just being told that hopefully, they’ll hear back soon.

126

@systaran has the insurance claim been paid to you yet ?

127

International transfers are very easy and simple to make. If they have all your bank details and IBAN code, Swift Code etc. It should be immediate and take no more than a couple of hours to show up in your bank account. They really are messing you about. It rather comes across as if they are hoping you will just give up and stop chasing them. I really do hope you will get it eventually.

128

Yes, I did finally get reimbursed! It took about 2.5 months total which I guess isn’t too bad. I do think they could streamline the process to make it more efficient and less frustrating. But the insurance did pay, I was reimbursed $1500. :grinning:

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129

I did eventually get the money.

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130

Welcome to Dealing with Insurance Companies 101 :frowning:
Having worked in the insurance industry myself, the term I’ve shared most often with friends is that: insurance companies are not in the business of paying claims, they are in the business of collecting premiums (which they then invest).
I’m sorry :pensive:

131

Hi all,

We’ll, after 6+ yrs as a sitter, 1.5 full time, we’ve had a cancellation that “qualifies” (I think) for accommodation reimbursement under the cancellation insurance.

I’ve read all the terms and have screenshots/documentation that backs up my claim. I’ve been aware of the cancellation for about a week now and have applied for a few other sits in the same area (where we currently are & the sit was to be). We weren’t selected for any thus far but will continue applying for any that make sense for us.

Here’s my issue:

How far are we obliged to go to get another sit?

We have standards that we apply when deciding whether to apply for sits (must have a king bed or 2 smaller beds, no more than 1 cat who is ideally more than 10 yrs old due to allergies, no more than 2 dogs - ideally not more than 1 large dog, must be clean & uncluttered, must have off-street parking for our vehicle, etc etc).

Are we expected to compromise our list of must-haves in order to find a replacement sit?

The terms say:
"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.

I’d really like to see, at minimum, the word “reasonably” inserted before"avoided". Otherwise, that clause is a straight up gotcha for the insurance company to deny pretty much any & every claim. I mean, through extraordinary lengths just about any plans can be changed but they shouldn’t have to be, that’s the whole point of the coverage, no?

I’ve written to TH help desk and requested clarification. These ridiculously vague terms make me very uncomfortable :persevere:

132

@Jliz was the sit cancelled within 14 days of the start date ? That is one of the requirements for a valid claim.

Have you contacted member services - they will help you through the claim process.

Part of requirements for a claim is that you should notify THS as soon as you are aware of the cancellation- send them screenshots of the conversations with the homeowners where they cancelled .

133

Hi, thanks for your reply.
Yes, I notified TH right away and it was 12 days in advance I believe.
I’ve asked them for details and specifics a few times and they just keep sending me blurbs from the policies T&C’s when I’m looking for clarity beyond that.
It’s frustrating…

134

@Jliz I successfully made a claim last summer. THS needs to be contacted right away and the cancellation must be within 14 days of the start date. I asked them about how far away I needed to look for sits. The first person I asked was vague and wouldn’t give me an answer, then I contacted member services again later and they said 20 miles. It’s not in the documentation. So, I expanded the search to about 150 miles just to be safe. I took screen shots of both searches. Mine was pretty easy because it was in Europe in the summer, there were no sits at all showing in either of those searches. If there are sits that aren’t suitable for you I would take screen shots of the listing and point out the issues that are deal breakers for you so you have all the info should they ask for it. I would hope that they wouldn’t expect you to take a sit that you normally wouldn’t take (but who knows, they might).

If you get a hotel make sure it is within 20 miles of the sit. I had trouble finding one since it was high season in Europe. They were very clear that if I couldn’t find accommodations within 20 miles, that’s too bad, it would not qualify. I ended up splitting the dates between two hotels since there wasn’t one available for the full dates.

Expect it to take long and to not get any communication from THS unless you keep following up with them.

Good luck!

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135

I just wanted to share our experience with insurance.
We had a 10 day sit in December cancel 7 days before the sit was to start. I knew from reading the terms of the insurance and this thread that we needed to stay within 20 miles and the max was $150 USD per night.
I wasn’t sure if it had to be a hotel or if it could be an AirBnb, I asked and THS responded quickly that it could also be an AirBnb.
I sent all the documentation to them on December 13, they emailed on Jan 8 saying it was approved and the money would be wired to our account, which it was on Jan 30.
As my husband and I are full time pet and house sitters without a house to go to between sits, we are very happy for the insurance and will continue with the premium subscription.

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136

I don’t have the upgraded membership. But I’m not convinced it would be helpful. I had a HO cancel. There was nothing below 300 USD for alternate lodgings. The limit on insurance reimbursement is 150 USD. Which in the US doesn’t cover anything.

137

@glenycehughes this is very helpful information. It is reassuring to know that the sit guarantee process worked for you and that you received the money back in 7 weeks.
Thank you for taking the time to share this useful information on the forum.

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138

That is per night, and the limit per sit is $1500. Or maybe $1400 because they seem to keep $100.

I am better off as Basic Sitter, I think.

139

You won’t get transportation costs, just accomodations and there are limits and a deductible and it has to be within a certain distance from the sit location. If you aren’t a full-time sitter, and have a place to be, it might make more sense to buy a changeable flight ticket. But it would still help if the sit got curtailed or cancelled at the last minute.

140

We put in a claim for a cancelled sit on Dec.20. We received payment today Feb. 8. So it took 51 days to settle. We are happy we got the premium account it was well worth the extra dollars spent.

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141

We just received our reimbursement for a sit that was canceled the day it was to begin due to frozen pipes at the house. We took screen shots of the text conversation where the homeowner canceled and immediately sent them to support. There was a time delay in communication because we are in the US and on the west coast for this sit. Even so, we had a response from a human within hours. We followed all the guidelines for insurance claims and submitted all required documentation.
There is nothing quick about the process, however, if the situation meets the criteria and you file the correct information, you will get an insurance payout. If the insurance had not paid this claim I certainly would have reverted back to a basic membership.

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142

Hello! Just wanted to add my experience of getting a sit reimbursed. I know I scour reviews when something unexpected happens to see other people’s experience and I would’ve loved the context then.

Situation: 3.5 week long sit in late 2022. The homeowners were on a trip and got into an accident (they were overall okay, with minimal physical and mental damage but shaken up). Understandably they wanted to get home and rest. This was 2 weeks into the sit, so over 10 days left. Homeowners are great people and we told them we would contact THS for our sitter reimbursement.

Actions we took: Took screenshots of text exchanges with homeowners and opened a case with THS quickly. I believe it has to be within 24-48 hours, but please double check this as THS are constantly changing things (:upside_down_face:). While the case was opened we gathered more info. The homeowners were set to be back in the next couple days.

Next steps: This is where it gets a little faith based. The THS agent recommends booking lodging $150 or less (if it’s over $150, let’s say $187 a night, that additional $37 is out of your pocket). We were in a major USA city so we booked a hotel for the remaining days, as at the time THS would reimburse for up to 10 days at the time. Again, this may have changed, please double check the terms and conditions.

Reimbursement: THS does NOT reimburse you right away. You keep the Hello! Just wanted to add my experience of getting a sit reimbursed. I know I scour reviews when something unexpected happens to see other people’s experience and I would’ve loved the context then.

Situation: 3.5 week long sit. The homeowners had were on a trip and got into an accident (they were overall okay, with minimal physical and mental damage but definitely shaken up). Understandably they wanted to get home and rest. This was 2 weeks into the sit, so over 10 days left. Homeowners are great people and we told them we would contact THS for our sitter reimbursement.

Actions we took: Took screenshots of text exchanges with homeowners and opened a case with THS quickly. I believe it has to be within 24-48 hours, but please double check this as they are constantly changing things (:upside_down_face:). While the case was opened we gathered more info. The homeowners were set to be back in the next couple days.

Next steps: This is where it gets a little faith based. The THS agent recommends booking lodging $150 or less (if it’s more, like $187 a night, that additional $37 is out of your pocket but better than nothing). We were in a major USA city so we booked a hotel for the remaining.

Reimbursement: THS does NOT reimburse you right away. You keep the receipt or invoice and submit it to them after your stay is complete. As soon as our last day of the hotel stay was complete, we had the invoice from the hotel via email and we sent it to THS. They moved it to ‘reimbursement review’. This took about a week or so. They eventually approved the reimbursement of all the nights we submitted for. The last step was from a UK company to transfer money to a USA bank account, we had to look up a country code and a few other things but we eventually figured it out. All in all, we received FULL reimbursement from the nights we submitted.

TLDR: If you have the premium membership, contact THS as soon as you know the sit will, or even may, end early. Even if you don’t have all the details just yet. Within 1 day. It doesn’t take long to open a case. A Book lodging at a hotel or somewhere in the SAME area (they will not reimburse outside a certain area of the housesit, so you can’t fly elsewhere or go far. For what it’s worth, that rule is a detriment imo). Submit receipt or invoice once your stay ends at hotel/accommodation and send it to THS for reimbursement. If you don’t hear back from them within 5-7 days, follow up, follow up, follow up!

Hope this helps someone!

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