AIBU to be cross about travel insurance not covering holiday cancellation due to pregnancy?

[bellamcpoopants]

First I want to say that the cancellation is not my choice. The airline won't allow me to fly as I'll be 36 weeks on the way out and 37 weeks on the way back. I would be perfectly happy to fly.

Flights booked about a month before becoming pregnant.

I am perfectly aware that pregnancy is not an illness, and I wouldn't have expected cover if I'd just decided to cancel.

If there is a medical complication with the pregnancy I would be covered. However, if my dr says I'm not allowed to fly due to being too close to due date (which is what the airline says) then this does not count.

(For background, have fertility issues and previous pregnancy took a long time, so although we were ttc we did not expect to conceive naturally or (relatively) quickly).

I'm so cross! If I was a week less pregnant I'd be ok

We had this problem with monarch, I would have been 2 days too pregnant to fly home and the first person I spoke to was an ogre, looking at over £100 each to change things, got somebody much nicer the second time I called, who was so good helping us put the holiday off a year and add the baby to the booking (named him to-be confirmed) and didn't charge us anything.

OP how much would it be to change the name on your and your partner tickets? You could sell the holiday to someone else if it was cheaper to change the names.

Sorry, sell the flights.

£1200 just to change flights is quite a price!! Was that a typo?

How much were the flights originally? Where are you flying to?

Ouch bella! £1200 does seem a lot. I thought you were talking about £60pp.

It's probably that much because the flight price has gone up. It's not just changing the dates (or names).

However, if you've booked an expensive holiday you don't get pregnant before you go. Insurance is for unexpected illness.

Freebie travel insurance from your bank is usually a bit rubbish, with low levels of cover and plenty of exclusions. If it was a pricey holiday you maybe should have shelled out for a seperate policy.

Pink i'll speak to BA when we've found alternative dates and see what they say.

And yes it is £1,200 - flights only!! And not long-haul/expensive holiday, just flights for four to Nice on suitable dates (school holidays!). Original flights were around £700 for all four of us, hence us looking and booking early! Oh well.

When I flew very heavily pregnant I think I just covered the bump with layers and scarfs and didn't mention it. It was fine and I got on the flight! My inx didn't cover pregnancy related things though so I guess if worse came to worse I'd have had to pay out..but it was all fine

Get a price for changing the names on the flights. It should state that on your booking email. Might only be £50ish per person and you could sell the flights.

Your travel insurance is unlikely to have covered you at that stage of pregnancy so it's a bloody good job you couldn't go tbh.

I spent many many years ttcing.
However I only ever booked a holiday 6 months in advance

By law in the UK any customer who buys something or part-pays on credit (loan or credit card) is entitled to their money back. You have to remind the companies firmly of their obligation but you will be covered. It's how I got my trip refunded during the iceland volcano ash incident

By companies I mean banks.

If your only going to France you could sell the flights and drive there on your original dates? Ferry would be cheap and no pregnancy flight related restrictions.
Or go in term time when flights will be cheaper that your original ones?

By law in the UK any customer who buys something or part-pays on credit (loan or credit card) is entitled to their money back. It's not quite as simple as that. There has to be a reason.

It sucks, OP. But I think accepting the sunken costs is your only option.

I have fertility issues too and I decided to stop TTC for several months so it wouldn't affect our flights in August - I assumed they wouldn't be cancellable as non refundable fares. The area we are going to is zika prone but I'm sure they'd have refused to pay out if the due date coincided with the flight times!