Henry H.

This company offers travel insurance for Orbitz. I've bought from them several times in the past but only recently had reason to file a claim which showed a glaring hole in their coverage.

Background: The wife and I planned a trip for Hawaii over Thanksgiving week. We have no kids but had a dear pet rabbit, Bucky. Rabbits live 10-12 years with proper care; she was only 5 and very healthy. One day into our trip, Bucky fell ill and despite our pet sitter's efforts and our over-the-phone advice, she passed away the next morning on the way to the urgent care facility on Thanksgiving day. We were devastated. We tried to continue the trip but after one day we knew we had to go home and attend to her body. We left Maui Friday evening, one day after her passing.

After several weeks of mourning, I started looking into the travel insurance policy to try to recoup some of the financial loss from the trip. The policy excludes pets as family members. It is no exaggeration that I loved Bucky as a daughter and her loss was the worst wound I have ever sustained so far.

Just in case, I file the claim, knowing that in all likelihood it will be denied. However, I hoped to start a dialog with the powers that be that they should revisit the policy terms for the future. I included a letter in the claim stating exactly that.

I waited a few days past their stated 10 business days to call them to see the status. They hadn't gotten to it yet said Dan, the representative. But while he had me on the phone, he reviewed the documents and then denied the claim. I wasn't surprised at the denial, but then pressed to speak to a higher up. Turns out Dan wasn't all that sharp and couldn't understand why I would want to escalate this conversation. After going around and around for a bit, he finally passed me on to his supervisor, Pat. (Note to Dan: Do not to talk over customers. That really angers us. Listen first, respond after thinking.)

Pat sort of understood and said she'd relay the message but would not allow a dialog. Just in case she got it wrong, here is my point again.

The whole point of buying insurance, any insurance, is to protect us against financial loss in the event of an unforeseen misfortune. I get that you have to draw the line somewhere on what you will cover, but losing a pet can be as emotionally devastating as losing a blood relative. To deliberately deny coverage for this situation is to disrespect our relationship. I am ok with losing the money this time around as a contract is a contract. However, if you want future business from me, you need to provide an option for this type of coverage or your policies are of no value to me.

With the rate of child-free households on the rise, pets are becoming more important family members than ever before. To continue to exclude them is an insult to these customers. Please offer the option for coverage.