A travel policyholder who cancelled his holiday at the last minute when his mother suffered a stroke will not be covered for his loss, after the dispute authority found his insurer fairly applied an age exclusion.

The man said calling off the Japan trip cost him $10,198, but AWP Australia declined his claim because its policy excluded losses caused by “the injury, illness or death of any person who is aged 81 years or over at the time you become eligible for cover”. The claimant’s mother was 96.

The man argued the exclusion was unclear and he had assumed the age cap applied to him. He argued the exclusion should have referred explicitly to people not covered by the policy.  

The insurer said the policy referred to people who were covered as “you”, and if the exclusion were meant to apply to him and his travelling partner, it would have used “you” rather than “any person”.  

In its dispute decision, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority accepts AWP made distinctions between terms referring only to the policyholder and those that applied to all people.  

“I consider the reference to ‘any person’ in the exclusion is clear and distinct from other references to ‘you’ in the policy (including in the exclusion relied on), which is defined to apply to a covered person,” the authority’s adjudicator said.  

“While the policy covers cancellation due to a relative unexpectedly becoming seriously ill, it excludes cover for loss due to the illness or death of any person 81 years or older. I am satisfied the meaning of the exclusion is clear and applies to the circumstances of the claim.”  

Click here for the ruling.