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Hi all,
As I write this I am stuck in the walled city of Cartagena that has been subject to flash flooding.There is around 2ft of water on the streets.
We are due to fly out in a couple of hours but doubt we will make it to the airport.
Has anyone had experience of anything similar? Is this something that Amex insurance will cover in terms of travel/flight disruption as I think the flights are still running it’s just getting to the airport that is the issue.
If anyone has any insight that would be appreciated thanks
Thanks
Generally travel disruption clauses only cover missing your outbound flight, but you’ll need to view the clause on your Amex policy.
Which Cartagena is this, Spain or Colombia? I can’t see severe weather warnings for either.
@Joe G. So sorry to hear about your situation in Cartagena. I don’t have American Express insurance, but the heading caught my eye as I’m currently looking at hotels in Cartagena, Colombia, for later this year.
Don’t want to sound patronising but a few thoughts which I’m sure you’ve already considered:
Firstly find somewhere you can stay, which is safe.
How were you getting to the airport? If by taxi/transfer talk to them.
How long is it before your flight? We were in a similar situation earlier this year with a really heavy downpour in South America (probably not as bad as yours) and once the rain stopped the water soon subsided.
Are you in a hotel? If so, I would talk to Reception.
If not you could try to contact the airline if you think you will miss the flight (you might not get through but you will have proof you tried).
Are you travelling independently or part of a tour? My daughter has worked for many UK tour operators and they all have had Duty Offices which are manned 24/7 for this sort of situation. If so, contact them.
Once you have ensured you’re safe and have considered all possibilities then I would look at your travel policy.
Even if you think you’re going to miss the flight, I would still make my way to the airport when it is safe to do so, unless you are told otherwise. If you miss your flight, then you need to contact Amex insurance to discuss way forward. Not sure any insurance company would be able to do anything, until something that is insurable has happened.
Not sure if this is of any help. But stay safe and take care.
Were in Colombia,we have definitely missed the flight though so will just try and make alternative arrangements. I suppose at this stage it doesn’t really matter if we are covered or not. Can cross that bridge when we come to it.
Were in Colombia,we have definitely missed the flight though so will just try and make alternative arrangements. I suppose at this stage it doesn’t really matter if we are covered or not. Can cross that bridge when we come to it.
You’re safe. Which is the main thing. You did make me smile when you said “can cross that bridge when we come to it! You might need one!
We’re in Surrey and it’s snowing at the moment!
Take care and stay safe.
Sorry to hear you missed the flight, I’m headed there in four weeks time, Which hotel were you in?
Also if you’re heading from there to BOG there’s 36 flights per day across four airlines so you shouldnt have any problem getting a cheap flight out.
Thanks for the advice all,
We ended up finding (expensive) last minute accommodation for the night and rebooking our flights to San Andres for first thing in the morning. So our itinerary seems relatively back on schedule.
We are out to the tune of £550 or so so will see if there is any way any that can be claimed back through the insurance, the floods made the news here so there is evidence it happened. Can report back if anyone is interested
Thanks for the advice all,
We ended up finding (expensive) last minute accommodation for the night and rebooking our flights to San Andres for first thing in the morning. So our itinerary seems relatively back on schedule.
We are out to the tune of £550 or so so will see if there is any way any that can be claimed back through the insurance, the floods made the news here so there is evidence it happened. Can report back if anyone is interested
I haven’t looked at the new T&Cs but it was £300 per person so you should be fine. Keep receipts, some photographs and any other evidence of the flooding. You can upload via the portal. Claim ASAP not when you get back.
This winter the whole coastal region has been hit by surprise flooding – this is from a region that normally has it’s best ( = driest) weather in Dec/Jan.
San Andres was one of my first visits to Colombia (even if Panama still tries to claim it), with fond memories. It’s also where high school kids head out for spring break or after their exams, so prices jump wildly around those times.
On a side note, regarding getting to the airport in time in Colombia (well, outside of Bogota). You can normally get away with turning up 30mins before departure, dropping bags and being rushed through security etc to make your flight in an emergency. This seems to have happened to us quite a few times when the roads have been blocked etc.
Hi all update on this, AMEX plat insurance refused to pay out saying it wasn’t a valid claim under the T&C’s. Bit disappointing as I’d hope this would be exactly the sort of thing that you might be able to claim for as travel disruption, but apparently not.
Have they given a reason? Have they said it was an Act of God/natural disaster – some policies don’t cover these?
The exact wording they gave was “unfortunately the reason that forced you to interrupt your trip is not included in the list of covered causes” bit disappointing as I note the causes covered in travel inconvenience are £300 for “missed departure due to accident, or breakdown, travel delay, overbooking or missed connection”.
As we couldn’t actually get to the airport in time due to the surprise flash flooding I’d hope that would count as “travel delay” but apparently this is not the case.
The exact wording they gave was “unfortunately the reason that forced you to interrupt your trip is not included in the list of covered causes” bit disappointing as I note the causes covered in travel inconvenience are £300 for “missed departure due to accident, or breakdown, travel delay, overbooking or missed connection”.
As we couldn’t actually get to the airport in time due to the surprise flash flooding I’d hope that would count as “travel delay” but apparently this is not the case.
Unfortunately, the travel inconvenience section of the Amex Plat is seriously weak both in its scope and the very low level of cover vs other packaged policies or standalone ones.
I think the ‘travel delay’ wording refers to something like your train to the airport being delayed.
Do you have any other travel insurance, eg packaged with a bank account or other credit card? Might be worth checking what is covered with them if so. If you don’t, it might be worth looking to get some rather than relying on the Amex Platinum next time.
Very poor show from Amex. That’s the exact reason I’d get insurance for sitatuions like this.
@joeg I think you have a valid reason for a claim and would escalate this issue and ask for it to be reconsidered. I had a couple of claims last year handled by AXA and the claims handlers did not have a clue how to process them correctly. I eventually got paid for my claims and also got some small amount of compensation for their lack of service.
I think the ‘travel delay’ wording refers to something like your train to the airport being delayed.
Madness to think they would accept a train failure than a freak natural event.
@elguiri, an unrelated tidbit. San Andres is being claimed by Nicaragua not Panama. It being 450km away from there and 1,205 from Colombia. Falklands Islands distance it is not 😀Thanks for the insight and advice everyone, I think we may try to appeal given I don’t think it’s something tremendously unreasonable to expect might be covered under travel disruption and I don’t see why it shouldn’t be counted as “travel delay” given none of the traffic was moving so we weren’t going anywhere. Will report back if we get anywhere with that.
Thanks for the insight and advice everyone, I think we may try to appeal given I don’t think it’s something tremendously unreasonable to expect might be covered under travel disruption and I don’t see why it shouldn’t be counted as “travel delay” given none of the traffic was moving so we weren’t going anywhere. Will report back if we get anywhere with that.
It probably is a good idea to ask for the issue to be escalated, but if you do, rephrase the whole issue and put it back to them in a way that makes it easy for them to say yes. I don’t know what supporting evidence you have been able to offer for the exceptional conditions that prevented you reaching the airport.
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