CrowdStrike outage ruined your holiday – can you claim on travel insurance?
We spoke to some of Australia's leading travel insurers to see what's covered and what's not.
The global IT outage caused by CrowdStrike's glitch caused chaos at airports and ruined or delayed many people's travel plans.
One of our staff at Finder was caught up in the chaos: she was at the airport preparing to head to Bali at the time, and had to reschedule her holiday by pushing it back 2 days.
Her experience was that her travel insurance would not cover a mass outage – but, her airline did rebook her flight, and her hotel moved her reservation back two days without penalty.
So what about you? If your travel was impacted or cancelled due to the outage, does your travel insurance offer any cover?
Here's what the insurers had to say:
Fast Cover:
"The IT outage was a reminder that the unexpected can and does happen. In a world where systems and travel are now truly global, such events can easily impact a lot of travellers around the world suddenly," said Craig Morison from Fast Cover.
"Fast Cover's 24/7 Emergency Assistance team was on standby and started receiving calls on late Friday. The calls from affected travellers all around the world continued throughout the weekend whilst airlines cleared the backlog of flights.
"For those travellers affected, there may provision to claim from Fast Cover under Travel Delays if they're delayed for 6 or more hours. Other Benefits may also be available. Travellers impacted should submit a claim for their specific circumstances to be considered."
Insure & go:
If you bought your policy through Insure & Go before 3:00pm (AEDT) on 19th July 2024, you may be covered for claims arising from this event, depending on the specifics of your policy.
That said, "Generally speaking, we don't specify coverage for IT outages in our PDS, so it will be on a case-by-case basis," a spokesperson told us.
They've posted a travel alert to guide customers on next steps.
AHM and Medibank:
For policies/trips with a Relevant Time before 3pm 19 July 2024, there may be provision to claim for the following expenses through your AHM or Medibank travel insurance policies, if you or your travel plans are directly affected:
- Additional Expenses – If you're already on your trip you may be able to claim for additional accommodation (room rate only) and transportation expenses; if your travel is delayed for the required timeframes; up to the nominated limits in the PDS;
- Amendment or Cancellation Costs – If you have this cover on your policy, you may be able to claim the non-refundable portion of pre-paid, unused travel arrangements. Amendments made prior to departing on the Journey may also be eligible, if the cost to rearrange does not exceed the amount it would have cost to cancel the trip outright. There is no cover available for any portions of your Journey that have been utilised
To submit your claim, you'll need to share itemised receipts for additional purchases or costs incurred, and obtain a letter from the travel provider confirming the length and reason for delay
The easiest way to lodge a claim is online here.
For policies/trips with a Relevant Time after 3pm 19 July 2024, there is no cover for claims arising from this event under your policy, as this is no longer deemed an unforeseeable event.
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