A national class action lawsuit has been launched against TD Bank, alleging that the banking company refused to pay travel insurance claims following trip cancellations made in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed by law firm Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, alleges that many of the trip cancellation claims for reimbursement were turned down by TD Bank on the basis that the policyholders had been offered credits or vouchers.
“Travel insurance policies are intended to provide peace of mind to individuals and their families,” said Sivan Tumarkin, insurance lawyer and co-founding partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP. “It is only right that TD and other travel insurers honour their contractual obligations and pay legitimate claims when Canadians are experiencing unprecedented financial hardships.”
Tumarkin added that credits and vouchers are “not the same thing” as proper reimbursement for paid travel expenses. The lawyer also maintained that unless travel insurance policies have explicit exclusions where a credit or voucher is made available to customers, insurers must pay for the claims.
“Many Canadians are experiencing similar issues with their travel insurers who are misinterpreting and misapplying travel insurance policies all over the country,” the lawyer said.
“TD Bank, which reported an 8.9% year-over-year increase in Q2 2020 insurance revenues to $1.13 billion despite COVID-19, has been unjustly enriching itself by collecting premiums and refusing to pay legitimate claims.”
