Ayala filed a lawsuit against American Airlines (“AA”) and Allianz Insurance for their role in the sale of what they label as “travel insurance” or “travel protection” product.
As stated in the Class Action Complaint (“Complaint”): “[A] reasonable consumer would get the net impression that Allianz’s insurance provides broad, no-fault insurance protection and coverage, and that should one choose to purchase this insurance, one would not be “responsible for all cancellation fees and expenses.” Complaint at ¶26.
The Complaint also states that “a reasonable person, faced with Allianz’s offer of insurance protection and coverage, would not think that the insurance he was purchasing was, in essence, extremely limited, applicable only to specific and unlikely named perils, such as medical emergencies, illness, or catastrophic events.” Complaint at ¶28.
The complaint alleges also that “if [a consumer were] told that the insurance covers mainly medical emergencies or catastrophic events, [consumers probably] would not purchase travel insurance in the context of already expensive flight tickets.” Complaint at ¶29.
The complaint alleges further that “It would be easy for Allianz, a Fortune 500 corporation, to fix its offer to say: “this is a medical emergency, illness, or catastrophic event insurance,” and thus truthfully reveal to consumers the essence, nature, and substance of what it is selling to them.” Complaint at ¶40. According to Ayala, Allianz does not disclose this because it knows that if it does, almost no one would purchase their rarely used “insurance.”
The complaint goes on to describe American Airlines’ role in the Allianz insurance scheme and states: “The convenience of its powerful platform, the carefully-crafted placement of the offer, the prohibitively-expensive nature of “refundable” tickets, and the complex and burdensome process of obtaining a refund or “credit” for flights consumers cannot make, contributes and prompts consumers to buy “travel insurance protection” which is, at the same time, carefully crafted to portray a broad range of non-existent protections, at a convenient price, where consumers are buying an empty policy that they did not mean to buy, while AA and Allianz enrich themselves.” Complaint at ¶53.
If you have purchased “travel Insurance” from American Airlines or Allianz, or any other carrier, contacts us at 305-570-2208 or email attorney Eduardo A. Maura at eayala@ayalalawpa.com
