Got into trouble: how British tourists demanded compensation for their canceled vacation in Hawaii

British newlyweds found themselves in an unpleasant situation during their honeymoon trip to North America. According to them, they had booked a three-week trip that was supposed to end in Hawaii.

However, when they woke up the day before in Los Angeles, they learned about the forest fires on the island of Maui in Hawaii. A state of emergency was declared, so they had to cancel this part of their vacation at the last minute and find a new hotel in Los Angeles for five days before returning home, reports DailyMail.

They had travel insurance with Southdowns, so when they returned home, they filed a compensation claim. The total amount was about £1500, minus the excess on their policy.

At the same time, the tourists were shocked to find that their claim was rejected - not once, but four times. The tourists say that insurance companies are simply doing everything they can to avoid paying out money, so they said they were ready to "fight this to the end."

According to the Association of British Insurers, if your policy includes travel disruption or natural disaster coverage, you should be prepared to have to shorten or cancel your vacation because of wildfires.

Moreover, the insurance company they tried to file a claim with said that the state of emergency was only in effect on the island of Maui, not in Honolulu, where the plane was supposed to land. Hawaii consists of a number of islands. While it is true that the island of Maui bore the brunt of the disaster, the state of emergency was extended to the entire region. In turn, the tourists provided evidence to support this in the form of a statement published online by the Governor of Hawaii, but their insurance claim was still denied.

The next time they tried to file a claim, they were told that they were not eligible for payment because the trip did not begin in the UK. Despite the fact that they flew from Heathrow to the United States and then planned to travel to Hawaii before returning to London, this was not accepted.

The tourists wanted to claim reimbursement for the flights to Hawaii that they were unable to use, which cost $936 (£740), and part of the hotel cost that they could not refund directly, which was $699.54 (£553). The maximum amount of coverage was £1,500, which almost covered these expenses minus the excess based on the exchange rate at the time.

At the same time, they had to pay an additional $2,267 for an extra five days of accommodation in Los Angeles for which they could not claim, so they were particularly keen to get the money back to cover some of this.

In the end, Axa Partners, which is working with Southdowns, emphasized that it had reviewed the case and reversed its decision, agreeing to settle the claim for about £1500 in full.

"The circumstances surrounding their claim were unusual, however, after reviewing it, we have decided that they acted within their policy. We have contacted [them] to confirm that their claim will be fully settled," Axa Partners emphasized.

To find out what time is considered the best time to travel to Hawaii, read the TravelWise article.