A tourist booked on a Broome cruise, cancelled the day before he was due to leave, has won a payout from his travel insurance company.

The man lodged a claim, saying the cruise did not go ahead because of a strike.

NIB Travel Services Pty Ltd refused to pay the claim, saying the cruise was cancelled due to insolvency, or for operational reasons, both excluded under the terms of the policy.

But the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) said the insurer had not shown any exclusions in the policy applied and the cruise was cancelled because of a strike.

AFCA ruled that NIB should pay the claim plus interest, but it was not liable for the cost of his Broome airfare as there was nothing to suggest that he had to abandon his holiday altogether.

The cruise was due to depart on July 3 last year but the traveller received an email from the cruise operator saying they had received advice from crewing managers that due to a dispute a new crew would not be provided for July 3 and the cruise was cancelled.

The man told AFCA that his relatives had claims paid by a different insurer for the same cruise.

He said the word “strike” had been used in some “internet chatter”.

NIB said the cancellation was not caused by a strike and it pointed to an email from the cruise operator to the traveller on July 7 in which it expressed sincere regret that the voyage he booked was not able to set sail.

“This was caused by a combination of practical and administrative challenges faced by (cruise operator) and which we were not able to prevent. These difficulties have caused severe and abrupt disruptions of daily operations at (cruise operator). This unexpected change of events also had the regrettable result of making it impossible for us to notify you and other travellers sooner,” the email said.

AFCA said it was satisfied the complainant established the tour was cancelled because of a strike.

It said the dictionary definition of strike was a withdrawal of labour and AFCA was satisfied that amounted to a strike within the meaning of the policy.

The cruise operator was put into administration in the months after the cancellation.
The decision is available here.