Generali Class Action Says Travel Insurer Denied COVID-19 Claims

A customer has filed a class action against Generali Global Assistance over claims that it rejected their travel insurance policy claim during the coronavirus pandemic.

Plaintiff Howard Morris says that on Feb. 13, 2020, he and his wife purchased a Seabourn cruise to travel from Rome to Greece between April 29, 2020 and May 9, 2020. In addition, Morris claims that he purchased a $1,298.88 travel insurance policy from the defendants.

The coronavirus class action claims that the cruise trip was cancelled by Seabourn because of COVID-19 in late March or early April 2020.

The plaintiff says that he then contacted the defendants to request a refund for the insurance coverage because, without the trip occurring, the defendants never assumed the covered risks.

Morris states that he repeatedly attempted to contact the defendants throughout April 2020 and left numerous voicemails and emails, but Generali never responded.

“Despite Plaintiff’s numerous requests for refunds, Generali has failed to provide Plaintiff with any reimbursement of his insurance premium,” the Generali class action lawsuit says.

The plaintiff maintains that he purchased travel insurance from the defendants to cover risks that might have arisen only during their trip. Because of COVID-19, however, the plaintiff was precluded from departing on their trip. Thus, the plaintiff claims, the defendants never actually bore the post-departure risks that the post-departure coverage was intended to guard against.

Morris says that after his trip was cancelled, he and his fellow putative Class Members contacted the defendants for refunds of unearned insurance premiums paid for trips that did not occur. Generali reportedly responded to Morris and refused to provide a refund, retained the entire premium paid and offered vouchers that require rebooking by Dec. 31, 2020.

“Given that the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the travel industry and global economy, this token gesture is unlikely to provide any meaningful value to Plaintiff and the Class,” the Generali class action lawsuit argues.

Morris states that the defendants are obligated to return a portion of the premium paid for post-departure coverage because he paid that portion in exchange for the defendants’ agreement to cover risks that they never assumed because the trip was cancelled.

He says the blanket refusal to return unused premiums is unfair, unjust and unlawful. 

As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, by March 20, 2020, many insured trips were cancelled or postponed and trips that were insured by the defendants continued to be postponed or cancelled in the months that followed, the plaintiff maintains.

The plaintiff says that the Generali insurance policy does not address whether the defendants will refund unearned, risk-free premiums when trips are cancelled prior to departure. He claims the defendants are obligated to return that portion of the gross premium that he and potential Class Members paid for covering post-departure risks that the defendants never assumed. 

Morris states that the defendants never earned these premiums as they assumed no risk because the trips were cancelled.

On May 7, 2020, the plaintiff claims that Generali announced that it would be issuing vouchers for future trips booked by Dec. 31, 2020. That said, Morris claims the defendant failed to issue cash refunds to him for post-departure coverage on trips cancelled because of COVID-19.

Morris says that he and potential Class Members conferred a direct benefit on the defendants by paying their insurance premiums for their trip.

“Defendants voluntarily accepted and retained these benefits, with full knowledge and awareness that, as a result of the current pandemic, Plaintiff and the Class would not, and did not, receive the benefit of their bargain that had been represented by Defendants and that reasonable consumers would expect,” the Generali class action lawsuit states.

Common questions of law and fact in this case include: 1) whether the defendants are required to provide partial refunds for risks that do not attach until after the scheduled departure of a trip when the trip is cancelled; 2) whether the defendants are required to refund unearned premiums; and 3) whether the defendants were unjustly enriched by their conduct.

There are two prospective Classes in this Generali class action: 1) “Nationwide Class: All persons in the United States who purchased travel insurance through Defendants and had their trips canceled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions;” 2) “Florida Class: All persons in Florida who purchased travel insurance through Defendants and had their trips canceled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.”

Did you purchase travel insurance for a trip that was cancelled due to COVID-19? Let us know in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by David E Kovel of Kirby McInerney LLP, Bryan L. Clobes of Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP, and Joseph Sauder of Sauder Schelkopf LLC.

The Generali Trip Insurance Class Action Lawsuit is Morris v. Assicurazioni Generali Group S.p.A., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-04430, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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