Hi, due to circumstances out with the HO control, they have unfortunately had to cancel the sit on 18 Sep due to an accident in Cyprus. This post is not to do with the unfortunate situation of the HO, it’s to discuss THS insurance policy for premium membership.
I contacted THS as I have premium membership, they offer the standard payment of $150 a day = £120, I thought that’s not bad so I have been looking for accommodation.
£120 per night in Cyprus does not cover much, and looking at what’s on offer, it’s not something I would book if I was looking for a holiday. We were planning on staying in a nice villa with a pool, now it’s either a studio apartment with no pool, or a pretty basic 2/3 star apartment with a pool.
We decided, we didn’t want to slum it, and asked THS for a refund on flights instead which would be cheaper for insurance payments as it’s less than the £1000 they would need to pay out, but they do not offer this, it’s only accommodation costs.
I find this very odd, why pay out more in accommodation costs when it would be £500 to refund flights?
So back to looking for accommodation, but claim form says book and pay first, submit claim and we will let you know if the insurance approves it?
Has anyone had to use the insurance, if so did your claim get paid quickly, or did you have any issues with proving the cancellation?
We successfully claimed on a cancelled air & were reimbursed $900 minus the $150 excess within 14 days of the claim. The key things are notify THS within 24 hours, accomm had to be within 20 miles of original sit (odd but true, no idea why), prove no other sits available for cancelled dates & then send invoice from new accomm to them. There are quite a few threads on the forum if you type in insurance into the spy glass on here too (I can’t find the one I wanted to share right now but some other success stories in claims & speedy ish pay back which is good). #checkitout
But surely travel insurance wouldn’t pay out for this type of situation? Or have you found a policy that covers house sitting, if you have I would be extremely interested in hearing about it.
I only have basic membership on THS, I would never have big money to lose if a sit were cancelled, my flights would very rarely be more than €50.
@kcfc, sorry to hear of your cancellation. We have experienced two sit cancellations of international housesits by Pet Parents on first day of housesit. One of these was eligible for THS Sit Cancellation Insurance.
First, if you’ve not already done so then read the policy terms and coverage (link below).
Second, THS insurance covers cancellation within 14 days of start date. So you’re eligible. Hence THS positive response.
Third, THS insurance does not cover travel costs. Or any other cost other than alternative accommodation. As such, THS insurance will not cover reimbursement of your flights.
Fourth, THS policy terms relate to alternative accommodation that is within 20 miles of pet parent location. So if you sought to claim THS insurance for alternative accommodation in your home country then claim would probably be denied.
Fifth, Sit Cancellation Insurance terms and coverage appears quite often on THS Forum. There are many threads (few below).
Sixth, while current policy is better than nothing, we would heartily encourage THS to upgrade the coverage terms. Increase accommodation daily rate and total max claim amount (inflation); extend cancellation period; remove geographic limitation on alternative accommodation; and consider multi-tier coverage for short vs long duration; and/or international location (e.g. travel).
Seventh, life happens. While we have enhanced our due diligence process to expressly seek pet parents that are committed to their intended travel then we accept that stuff happens in everyones lives. So either book refundable travel or self-insure to cover adhoc issues.
Finally, in regards pay first and then claim then suggest ensure THS agree Sit Cancellation Insurance policy applies; ensure new costs (e.g. alternative accommodation) satisfy coverage terms, and check with THS MS as appropriate; then go for it. We submitted claim shortly after incurring alternative accommodation expenses and repayment occurred within five weeks. Some housesitters have had repayments sooner.
The sit doesn’t start till 18th September so my assumption was they had not travelled yet. We do not get paid for house sitting on this site therefore there is no monetary amount to claim. However, the refundable plane tickets will be easy. If any person with a bit of common sense was travelling abroad they would make sure they had enough money to get out of trouble, eg. A few nights in an Airbnb or low cost hotel, until they figured out their next step. I’m sorry they aren’t getting their luxurious trip to Cyprus in a villa with a swimming pool but things happen and sitters and home owners alike should have a back up plan.
And no, I haven’t found an insurance policy that covers house sitting but I have had experience of using travel insurance to get home quickly from a house sit (Costa Rica) because of a sudden death in the family. It took a long time to get the claim accepted but it worked eventually. We got our emergency flights, hotel accommodation and taxi fares paid in full. We even got the original return flight reimbursed. For UK citizens. Post Office travel insurance is the best especially for older people.
If an ongoing sit was cancelled I would hope the home owners would let us stay for a few days until we got ourselves sorted out, either different accommodation or a flight home. Personally, I do not rely on THS for anything apart for being an introduction site to pet sits. I pay the absolute minimum to them and make sure I’m equipped for most emergencies myself.
I still don’t understand how. What would be the criteria for claiming the cost of airfares back?
Any policy that I have ever had only covers for things like personal illness, a death of a close relative, or something similar. So, if there is a policy that covers for cancellation of a house sit it would be immensely helpful to know what sort of a policy you have, or know of.
Do you need a reason to refund refundable air tickets?
I never said there was a specific travel insurance for pet sitting. To me, it’s like staying at a relatives or friends home. However, having proper travel insurance does help and of course having an emergency fund so returning home or getting to a safe place is affordable. Cancellation is a risk we all take.
I recall reading a forum post where the original sit was in a very expensive resort area, and they accepted a claim and reimbursed for a little further away so there might be wriggle room there. Frankly, I can understand the general rule about the place as someone could decide to engineer a cancellation if they didn’t like the location.
True but it’s very limited options when you’re on a remote village sit in Turkiye or up a mountain in Switzerland (both of which happened!). If there’s flexibility on the 20 miles then great. So far we’ve managed to make it work okay #ingeniousplanning
But it is a reimbursement, correct? So if you stayed somewhere over the limit, they’d still reimburse the limit is that correct? I could see this not being helpful if your funds were very limited but if you could expect at least partial coverage, it’s not bad at all.
Not the monetary amount. That’s fine and fair. It’s that often there is no accommodation at all within 20 miles that is available at short notice or even exists sometimes. If you’re in a village or off grid or up a mountain then it can be tricky. We paid out ourselves twice and managed to claim once. #sofarsogoodtho
Hi, I have great travel insurance, but they said no to refunding flights as the accommodation was not a paid booking, that I can use the flights so just book own accommodations. If your insurance covers a cancellation sit I would love to know who the insurers are. Ty
Elsie, I think you have mis understood what I was saying, your reply of any common sense is rude and un called for.
I am a very seasoned traveler, my point was why would THS offer to pay over £1k in alternative accommodation, as a ancellation of flight was only £500.
My question was also who has used THS insurance and was it a seamless transaction?
I fully know it’s not a PAID sit, nor do I expect or implied that I should be given any monies from the HO.
I think you should be mindful of your tone on comments on the forum. I found your tone and comments aggressive and condescending and totally unnecessary.
I pay THS a premium for a reason and I was reaching out to other premium members who have used the insurance.
I felt great assuring my home owner that she was not to worry at all as I had THS insurance, I can assure you this was a relief to the HO.
(Post edited by the Forum Team to comply with theCommunity Rules).
