Spirit Insurance and Refund Rip Off
 

We booked the flight, bought the insurance, even joined the Spirit Club, and paid to reserve seats. But. We were unable to take the flight. I was told the reason wasn't good enough and that I could cancel for $10 and get NO refund or else just not show and get NO refund. Not even for the reserved seat fees. And that just changing the time would result in a fee GREATER than what I had paid for the tickets in the first place.

Can't believe they nickel and dime your for everything, seats, bags, coffee, and then don't provide any customer service. On top of that I get emails almost every day with their offers.
I will not trust them again.

Trust and Spirit go together like Oil and Water

Did you inquire about a refund through Spirit or through the insurance company? You realize that the policy is with a third party insurance carrier and not Spirit, right?

If you did contact the insurance company then what was the reason you gave for the cancellation and what was the reason the insurance company gave for denying the claim?

Once again a case of "good customer service" = getting what you want and "bad customer service" = not getting one's way. I'm not defending Spirit here (actually the OP's gripe is with the insurance carrier and not Spirit) but you were aware that the ticket was non-refundable. What other outcome were you expecting?

Spirit Insurance and Refund Rip Off
 

Interesting response. But not nearly as interesting as being told I could pay $10 just to cancel a reservation and still not get a refund. I'm still trying to figure out what the fee would go towards.

Good customer service equals listening to the person and giving a response to the particular problem instead of reciting by rote whatever is written down about our policy is to offer two options. When both options mean no refund and one includes paying for the privilege. Even saying sorry we can't do more to help, sounds like you're in a tough spot.

I do understand about non-refundable tickets, I also understand about purchasing insurance to guard against exactly the situation we found ourselves in.

And I spoke with both the insurance company and the airlines. The insurance company was much more helpful.

And Spirit still is an airline that falsely bills itself as low cost when it then charges for each and every little thing so that its tickets do not end up being any lower than regular priced airlines.

Was it to be able to cancel the ticket and use the funds towards a future Spirit ticket? I'm not sure I understand that either and perhaps yo should call back for clarification. Also, were you told that by the insurance company or by Spirit?

Agreed and understood, but you are dealing with an insurance company here. You gave them a reason for the cancellation (which you still have not posted here) and they obviously came to the conclusion that the reason you gave was not covered by the policy you purchased. If by "reciting by rote" means explaining "this is your reason and this is why it isn't covered" then it is what it is. Insurance companies seldom deal in gray areas. They will either approve or deny your claim. There is no middle ground.

If you believe they denied your claim in error by not following the rules of their own policy or by misinterpreting your reason for filing the claim, there are steps you can take to try to remedy that situation. Every state has a commission, board or department that regulates insurance companies doing business in that state. You can file an appeal with that entity and see if you can get a satisfactory outcome there.

"Low cost" refers to the business model and not necessarily the end price of the ticket plus the "unbundled" services you purchase with it. If you don't care about advance seat assignments and won't be checking luggage and don't purchase snacks on board then a "low cost" airline like Spirit might be to your liking if you also realize that basic transportation is all you are paying for. Otherwise if the cost of the ticket with all of the "extras" approaches what you would have paid on a "full service" airline then you are probably better off with one of the "legacies."

Insurance Rip Off
 

Just a quick response. It was the airline, not the insurance company that told me I could pay $10 to cancel and not receive a refund. I did try to get the agent to clarify but all he kept saying was that he could offer two options. One was to cancel for $10 the other was not to show up. The fee to change the reservation would have been more than I paid for the tickets. The airline rep kept saying -- all you paid was such and such -- not counting that I had purchased two tickets and had paid for seat assignments, which puts the amount over $200. Not an amount I can afford to write off. Which is why I purchased insurance.

The insurance agent was more helpful. But told me that if I needed a refund for illness, it would not only require a note from a doctor saying that I was too ill to travel but a note that listed a specific diagnosis, like an ear infection, along with treatment prescribed. We had taken the first leg of the trip. Were not at home to see our regular physician. We were unable to obtain such a specific note. The insurance agent told me that the only remedy would be if the cruise line we were supposed to be traveling on would help, we would be able to qualify for a refund. The cruise line will only help if you book an airline reservation through them.

Catch 22 at best.

I'm not sure if all your responses come from being a representative of the airline or simply someone who is playing devil's advocate. Let me asssure you that our complaints are legitimate and it is very frustrating to have to defend why we resent being ripped off on top of all the frustration involved in being treated unfairly.

Okay so we're getting a little more information. So you fell ill while on the cruise and had to delay your return flight as a result? Did you see the doctor or nurse on the ship? If so could you contact the cruise line as the visit would be documented.

Of course the insurance company will require medical documentation of illness to process a claim. They're not just going to take your word for it! If you're not at home to see your regular doctor there are immediate care centers all over the place who will see you without an appointment and could provide you with the documentation you'll need to provide the insurance company.

I'm not playing "devil's advocate" here just simply commenting on your experience and why you are not being compensated as you desire however you seem to already be aware of the reasons and are simply venting because you feel "ripped off." That's perfectly okay and hopefully your experiences will help someone who finds themselves in a similar situation. If you buy an insurance policy and hope to ever successfully have a claim paid then see a doctor. It's that simple.

No idea what your deal is. I signed up for this site to alert other people not to bother with the insurance from Spirit and to voice my outrage at being offered the "option" to spend $10 to cancel my reservation and receive no refund. Maybe I can save other people from going through the same aggravation, frustration and cost I have had to incur. period. no other discussion.In the long run, it's probably cheaper to book with other carriers.

There may be a misunderstand here... cruise ships will take some responsibility for helping you to re-book if you booked a flight and cruise package. (The flights are consequently significantly more expensive). The cruise line may have been saying they can't help with getting the flight rescheduled. However, if you saw the ships doctor, you are entitled to get documentation of that, and the cruise ship cannot deny it. You are legally entitled to copies of your medical records.

If the Insurance Company argues that the documentation is insufficient, you may wish then to take it up with the insurance regulator. Insurance companies are better regulated than airlines, who are a law unto themselves and you may find this is a more fruitful avenue to try.

Spirit are not interested in customer care. They are interested in "piling them high, and selling them cheap". ~ They will not help you and don't care if you never use them again. Their model is based entirely on a demographic who will always buy the lowest priced service, regardless of their experience. If you are not in that demographic they are not interested in you.

The pay "$10 for nothing deal" anomaly is because theorectically they were applying the fare you paid to the new fare, but then charging you a the higher fare and a change fee. On top is the $10 charge to process this, which was added on top. The truth is, the customer service agent is not too bright and is proof that common sense is not that common. You did not have two options.. you had one, but his computer said different, so like the automaton he was trained to be, he read it out. This is common in both legacy and low cost "customer service" departments.

The are only two things you can do:

Pursue the insurance route and the next is never fly Spirit again, and mean it.

(For more information on the Spirit approach to customers, google Michael O'Leary of Ryanair. He is the CEO and the pioneer of the hostile but cheap approach to marketing and is open about it. It makes a fascinating read and you will find Spirit are adopting a similar approach).

This one's a simple one:

"Injury or Sickness of an Insured, Traveling
Companion or Family Member traveling with the
Insured must be so disabling as to reasonably cause
a Trip to be cancelled or interrupted, or which results
in medically imposed restrictions as certified by a
Physician at the time of Loss preventing your
continued participation in the Trip."

I remember grade school where I had to get a note from my mom when I was sick to get excused for missing school. Maybe it's the same thing?

As for the cancellation thing, it seems you didn't read the Spirit policies right:

"You can cancel reservations at least 24 hours or more prior to the scheduled departure time online, at the airport, or over the phone for a fee. When you cancel your reservation, we will provide a Future Travel Credit. Use of this credit requires that travel must be booked within 60 days of issuance for travel on any flight available in the system.

Even if the value of the reservation is less than the cancellation fee, we will still provide a $10 per one way (maximum $20) voucher to be applied towards future travel for online cancellations."

You were going to be charged $10 for cancelling over the phone where you could have cancelled online for no charge. You would have also received a 100% credit for the full value of the ticket. This can be done up to 24 hours before the flight.

Most airlines sell tickets that are "non-refundable" that you won't get a refund either way. Spirit is no different, actually they are the same in this respect.

So if you would have gotten a doctor's certification and provided it to the insurance company, they would have refunded you the money, up to $300. If you could have also cancelled the reservation online at least 24 hours before the flight, you would have gotten a full credit to use on a future flight.

What's the real problem here?

Oh, so you're only objective here is to flame Spirit without anyone commenting that you may just be complaining without cause?

That sounds fishy.