Covermore refuse to pay $40,000

[Elorac123]

Watch how much you 🍷 drink on your holidays !

If you should trip and hurt yourself you might have to foot your own bill

 

https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-when-should-you-buy-travel-insurance-europe-nsw-news/f975cf93-a0d1-48d1-95c3-415f2c15bc18?ocid=Social-9News

 

Cheers Carole

Edited July 3, 2019 by Elorac123
Mis spelt

[sailco]

That's dreadful! A lot of Australia's insurance companies are underwritten by Covermore.

[Elorac123]

47 minutes ago, sailco said:

That's dreadful! A lot of Australia's insurance companies are underwritten by Covermore.

Yes it’s not good, left me wondering who ordered the toxicology though would it be the cruise line afraid of litigation ?

Cheers Carole

[sailco]

30 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

Yes it’s not good, left me wondering who ordered the toxicology though would it be the cruise line afraid of litigation ?

Cheers Carole

You'd hope Covermore weren't so devious they were looking for a way out.

[PerfectlyPerth]

I've used Covermore for years. Its always been very clear in the PDS re accidents while drinking. It's why most Bali claims get knocked back. 

 

All the more reason to learn to read all the 'fine print' no matter what it's size. 

[The_Big_M]

Yeah, if you get drunk and have an accident due to that, you won't be covered. The same as if you cause any other trouble when drunk e.g. on planes, or in fights. That's standard and reasonable imo. Insurance is always to cover you for things out of your control - which getting drunk isn't.

 

The son's trying to drum up sympathy, and make out like it's a single drink but that wouldn't cause a rejection.

Edited July 3, 2019 by The_Big_M

[pacificlover]

I think the toxicology report would have been done when at the hospital.  Probably standard for admissions

 

 

[GUT2407]

3 minutes ago, pacificlover said:

I think the toxicology report would have been done when at the hospital.  Probably standard for admissions

 

 

Especially if there was possible litigation and/or they smelt booze, or even he told them he had been drinking.

[GUT2407]

And then remember that alcohol can cause blood thinning and cause difficulties with clotting (often a good thing if you suffer DVT, not so good if you have severe bleeding.)

[lyndarra]

It begs the question of what is "under the influence". Does the insurance company have a minimum blood alcohol reference as in driving a motor vehicle 0.05, for example?  I was on a Murray River cruise not so long ago and, each night,  a retired couple at our dinner table would consume a 750ml bottle of wine between them. That could translate to 3 or 4 standard drinks each in an hour. One would need to be very careful.

After my recent motorcycle accident in NZ I was tested, in hospital, for blood alcohol. I returned a zero reading. I had a pint with with dinner the night before but what if I had consumed more (unlikely as I am a light drinker) and had a residual result? What if I had had a beer with lunch instead of diet ginger beer shortly before the accident? I may have had to pay my own business class return flight to Oz and not Allianz.  (I NEVER drink alcohol when riding.)

[Tigerlily75]

38 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

It begs the question of what is "under the influence". Does the insurance company have a minimum blood alcohol reference as in driving a motor vehicle 0.05, for example?  I was on a Murray River cruise not so long ago and, each night,  a retired couple at our dinner table would consume a 750ml bottle of wine between them. That could translate to 3 or 4 standard drinks each in an hour. One would need to be very careful.

After my recent motorcycle accident in NZ I was tested, in hospital, for blood alcohol. I returned a zero reading. I had a pint with with dinner the night before but what if I had consumed more (unlikely as I am a light drinker) and had a residual result? What if I had had a beer with lunch instead of diet ginger beer shortly before the accident? I may have had to pay my own business class return flight to Oz and not Allianz.  (I NEVER drink alcohol when riding.)

 

I don’t know if there’s an actual limit, but I think it depends on the circumstances and whether the alcohol consumption is a contributing factor to the fall/injury/accident. I suspect this guy had more than “a drink with dinner” and would not have had the accident if he were sober, and thus the claim was denied.

 

A bit like your laptop being covered for theft, but not if it’s stolen when you’ve left it on the backseat of your rental car. They expect you take reasonable care to prevent incidents before they’ll cover you, such as not leaving your belongings in view and unattended, and not drinking so much you can’t walk.

 

I’m not sure that a beer the night before, or even at lunch would be an issue. Surely for driving at least, they’d use the .05 driving limit.

[sailco]

I wonder if he fell on the stairs in the main atrium. They're always so shiny and the lights can play tricks with your eyes. I never go up or down for fear I'll slip, whether I've had a drink or not.

[Bubbeh]

15 hours ago, Elorac123 said:

Watch how much you 🍷 drink on your holidays !

If you should trip and hurt yourself you might have to foot your own bill

 

https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-when-should-you-buy-travel-insurance-europe-nsw-news/f975cf93-a0d1-48d1-95c3-415f2c15bc18?ocid=Social-9News

 

Cheers Carole

Who determines the qualification between drunk, under the influence or just 'had a couple'.  Barely a day goes by on a cruise when I won't have a least a couple of glasses of wine.  I've never felt even tipsy let alone incapacitated.  'Tis certainly a bit of a worry!

[GUT2407]

16 minutes ago, Bubbeh said:

Who determines the qualification between drunk, under the influence or just 'had a couple'.  Barely a day goes by on a cruise when I won't have a least a couple of glasses of wine.  I've never felt even tipsy let alone incapacitated.  'Tis certainly a bit of a worry!

I’d imagine the terms of the insurance contract determine, if there is doubt, a court would have to decide.

[NSWP]

15 hours ago, sailco said:

That's dreadful! A lot of Australia's insurance companies are underwritten by Covermore.

Including NRMA who I now use. Although in 2010, Covermore did pay me out on a cancelled trip to USA/Canada, to wit $18,000 worth.

I note the blood alcohol level in this case has not been revealed.  I am thinking a fairly high BAC.

 

You mob who take the drink packages on the big ships, gutsing down 15 drinks per diem, take it easy. As for drinking on the river boats, like this matter refers to, often beer, wine, spirits are included at meal times and on some boats, all day. Some go over the top.   A couple of years ago, a mob of Aussies on a European River boat bunged on a blue, because the bar was shut down @ 10pm.

 

In this matter, there could well be witnesses to the man's drinking, in addition to the blood alcohol results from the hospital.  There could have been a couple of old retired 'wallopers' on board, who by reason of experience could qualify themselves as expert witnesses re state of intoxication.😮

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by NSWP

[Cruisegroover]

1 hour ago, sailco said:

I wonder if he fell on the stairs in the main atrium. They're always so shiny and the lights can play tricks with your eyes. I never go up or down for fear I'll slip, whether I've had a drink or not.

I always hold onto the rail now going up/down stairs for fear of slipping. And yes its goes against all advice about not touching stair rails to avoid picking up germs. In the end I'd rather be sick for a few days than end up with an hideously expensive medical bill. I make sure I washy washy regularly.

 

I broke my ankle whilst ashore in Skagway. I was taken back to the ship and I was asked if I had been drinking (no it was too early for me) and again my insurance paperwork asked if I had been drinking. The doctor did not give me a blood test.

[getting older slowly]

All this does make you think twice.......

 

As one does all the driving on Holidays..... on a cruise particularly sea days...

 

of course I let my hair down ( if I had any ) and have a glass of wine or two over lunch is we like....

 

As far as one has gone toward drunk on a cruise is feeling happy......

 

unlike some, whom seam to drink all day in the one spot and by the time evening comes they are very blurry eyed

and sitting there with a list to one side...

 

Cheers Don

[Docker123]

The PDS seems to be suitably opaque:

 

The exclusion will apply to claims where the proximate cause of the claim is due to the consumption of drugs and / or alcohol, i.e. where the actual effect of drugs and / or alcohol has caused and / or contributed toward the claim. When deciding if using this exclusion is appropriate for the situation, we will consider the nature of the event that caused the claim: if it can be shown that the claim was the direct result of your intoxication, then the above exclusion may apply.

 

Conversely, if your claim would have occurred regardless of whether you had consumed drugs and / or alcohol, this exclusion will not be applied as your intoxication can not be seen as a contributing factor. Any decision made by the claims department will be based on the information and documentation that is available on each individual claim.

[MicCanberra]

As per usual, insurance companies will only pay out when they have no choice but to. Drink in moderation and take care of yourselves when travelling or at home.

[The_Big_M]

Sounds very fair. No exclusion if being drunk didn't contribute. So only excluded if it did.

[denny girl]

The blood alcohol apparently was .19

[The_Big_M]

Yep, as said, way above the norm/everyday - and rightly seen as a likely contributor to the accident.

 

But the son doesn't believe in personal responsibility apparently.

[MicCanberra]

18 hours ago, denny girl said:

The blood alcohol apparently was .19

Well that is pretty heavy going, 3.8 times the drink driving limit.

[NSWP]

.19% would be approximately a dozen full strength stubbies for a man.  A fair drink in anyone's language.🍺

 

NSW Blood Alcohol Legislation...High Range PCA is .19%.

Edited July 26, 2019 by NSWP

[GUT2407]

I wonder what happened to RSA