Can someone please sense check this re holidays in France and travel insurance claims?

[FirstTimeClaim]

NC. First time claiming for travel insurance, as the name suggests...

We were due to travel to France later this month. We’ve got a credit voucher for the travel as we’ll use it (and insurers wouldn’t pay out anyway because credit is available. That’s fine as we can use it next year, in theory).

However, accommodation. We had two stopovers booked on non-refundable rates in hotels, and then the deposit paid on the main accommodation. Obviously the deadline for full payment passed a while back but we knew we weren’t going by then and they were shut at the time anyway.

I understand from the insurers that I have to get written confirmation we can’t get a refund. Theoretically this should have been fine as the main accommodation is now open / will open in the next few days, but of course they can’t take British holidaymakers. I think I just need to email and get confirmation they (presumably) won’t refund the deposit? Sounds like quite a thick and obvious question written down...

Or has anyone claimed for accommodation-only so far and can offer anything we should know from that POV?

Should have said that the main thing we’re cautious of is ideally we don’t want a credit voucher for the accommodation (travel credit is fine as we’re planning to stay elsewhere in France next year for unrelated reasons) unless they’d defer it to 2022, so I don’t want to let myself into that trap.

I’ve emailed a couple of places to ask for this confirmation from our cancelled Easter holiday to Indonesia. I literally said ‘our booking can’t take place because of Coronavirus. Please can you confirm that we are not due a refund for insurance purposes).

One place said they had already refunded the money (that morning) and one said they’d look into it for me. My expected insurance claim of £3500 is going to be about £200 (after I check the excess).

Jesus, ouch Thanks - think I’ll just go with brief and straightforward like that but start the ball rolling now. Ho hum.

I've just cancelled our campsite in France. I'm not sure you'll get a cash refund - this is the wording in our email:
Under these exceptional circumstances, a ministerial order dated 25 March 2020 regulates the conditions for the cancellation of stays due to COVID-19.

It specifies that a voucher (Bon a Valoir) for the full value of any payments made to date will be issued. In this context, please see below the details of your voucher. The voucher is valid for the next eighteen (18) months.

trilby oh, marvellous 😞 at least we know what to expect. Will have to write it off, then.

Yes, be warned about excess, OP. My travel insurance with Virgin has turned out to be useless due to a £400 excess so I just have to wait and see whether the voucher credit is worth having, given I can't see next year's prices or book anything with it yet.

Yes, we went for a lower excess but now we’re in this situation and drilling right down, it looks like we’d only be able to claim for the stopover hotels, which would leave us the grand sum of £30 up so on that basis can’t be arsed with the probable hassle.