VRBO Never Never puchase the so called "Cancellation Insurance" from VRBO Internet
Never ever purchase the so called "Cancellation Insurance" from VRBO. They will not pay out. VRBO promotes it as a simple button to add when you book. When you contact the lodging owner for a refund due to cancellation, they say to contact VRBO. When you contact VRBO, they say it is a third party provider with no affiliation to VRBO.
We were biking the Oregon coast for a couple of days. I prebooked out lodging along the way. I purchased the cancellation insurance because I did not know if we would make it that far. Unfortunately, one of our riders developed a saddle sour that was so bad, he could not continue. We did not make it to the VRBO lodging.
Ultimately, the insurance is provided by a third party carrier, CSA. In the super, fine print, they say that you can cancel due to a physical problem. However, you must have a doctors report. I am certain there are many, many physical ailments that would preclude someone from advancing on a journey that they could easily self diagnose with out visiting a doctor - high fever, vomiting, diarrea, sprained ankle, abrasions, you get the point. On top of being a dibilitating problem that was easy to self diagnose, it was on a Sunday afternoon in a rural area.
Obviously the insurance is designed to not pay out claims. I lost. In my opinion it is a fraudulent scheme.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
VRBO Fraud
#3Author of original report
Wed, November 02, 2016
The insurance is promoted by VRBO. It is promoted via a single button. It is promoted as "CANCELLATION INSURANCE". Not Cancellation Due to Medical Conditions Insurance. VRBO takes no responsibility for the actions of their third party vendor while gladly accepting revenue from them.
Contrary to the belief of some, most folks do not want to cancel their trips. Most people purchase insurance to cover losses that they hope they are never going to experience. I purchased the Cancellation Insurance because there was potential for a meriad of reasons why me might have to cancel. I beleived I was covered for a cancellation.
I plead my case to CSA, the insurance company, several times and was denied each time. Within the details of the policy document it clearly states a doctors report is required. Trickery and deceit does not make it ok. Envision the circumstances - you are online, planning and booking a trip; you are on an industry recognized site; there is a point of sale button to add cancellation insurance; you click it; you get your total; you pay; yea, you are all booked and ready for the trip you have planned for over a year. Over the course of the next couple of days your get various email receipts of things you have booked, including advertisements from the various vendors you have chosen to work with. Included in that bulk of follow up email is a detailed, legally designed document, full of detail and specifics about what is covered and what is not. "You are welcome to cancel the insurance at that time". I hold my belief that it is a conscious FRAUDULENT scheme perpetrated by VRBO as they happily sit back and collect on a new revenue stream of which they have no oversite or care.
Insurance is designed to bring in premiums and deny claims, that is the way it works. I get it, I lost.
Robert
Irvine,California,
USA
Standard
#3Consumer Comment
Wed, November 02, 2016
It is standard with any Travel Insurance Policy that if you need to cancel you must have a doctor's report. Whether or not you call it the "super fine print" or not, it was in the policy and probably pretty clear.
Now, of course you are going to say that there are numerous conditions that don't require a doctor. But what in that case would keep someone from "saying" they are having stomach issues when in reality they just changed their mind and decided not to stay the night? Or let's make this a bit more specific for you. What if in your estimation of the distance you can travel in a day was too optomistic. Where it was just a case of you not having enough stamina to make it as far as you wanted, and figure that a "Saddle sore" sounded good enough to you as a reason. How is the insurance company going to know the truth?
Sadly if insurance companies "trusted" people they would be out of business. Which is why every single company will require some sort of proof by a medical professional.
By the way if any of the issues you mentioned are bad enough to cancel a trip...they are bad enough to warrant a trip to the doctor.