TD Insurance agrees to settle lawsuit over pandemic travel claims

TD Home and Auto Insurance Company is one of the first insurers in the country to settle a class action lawsuit related to the fallout of COVID-19, agreeing to pay more than $5 million to a group of Canadian travelers who say they wrongfully denied trip cancellation benefits.

According to a notice sent to customers on October 25.

TD Insurance also agreed, as part of the settlement, to pay an additional $300,000 in administration costs.

In order to be eligible for compensation, TD customers must have submitted a trip cancellation request and been either fully or partially denied due to receipt of travel vouchers, coupons or airline credits , hotels or any other travel group in lieu of refunds.

The settlement, which has yet to be approved at a hearing scheduled for February 17, 2023, comes almost exactly a year after Ontario Superior Court Judge Edward Morgan certified a $10 million lawsuit. alleging that TD Insurance breached the conditions of his trip. cancellation insurance policies after refusing reimbursement requests on the grounds that the policyholders had been offered credit notes or vouchers.

A spokesperson for TD Insurance declined to comment on the terms of the settlement.

Toronto law firms Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of Kevin Lyons in September 2020. Mr. Lyons had to cancel a 12-day vacation to Italy for himself, his wife and his two children, including a week-long cruise in the Mediterranean. He was due to leave on March 6, 2020, but canceled the day before departure and submitted a claim with TD Insurance for $6,673.36.

TD Insurance rejected Mr Lyons’ claim because he had been offered future credit for the flights and with the cruise line. The legal team argued that TD’s trip cancellation policy did not exclude reimbursement of expenses if non-monetary compensation was offered to the insured person, such as a credit.

Now, TD is offering reimbursement to three different groups of travelers.

The first group includes any traveler who has made a claim related to an amount paid to Air Canada, Air France, Air Transat, British Airways, Emirates, Porter, Ryanair, Sunwing, Swoop, United Airlines and WestJet. These airlines had changed their policies after the class action was filed and made cash refunds available during certain periods. (Periods reimbursed vary by each airline.) Although reimbursed by airlines, TD Insurance will pay $100 per claim.

The second group concerns travelers who have not been reimbursed by an airline, or who have received a credit or voucher for travel expenses. TD Insurance will pay approximately 40% of the value of the claim that was denied. Travelers will not have to return or refund any credits they have received or used.

The settlement will also pay a third group which includes a combination of the first two TD Insurance customers. These are travelers who had been reimbursed by an airline, but received a credit or voucher for another expense they attempted to claim under their TD policy – ​​such as a cruise or Airbnb. They will receive both the $100 refund and approximately 40% of the value of the claim that was denied.