Travel insurance purchased through Vrbo gets lost in the shuffle

Dear Travel Troubleshooter: I paid for a vacation rental on Paradise Island in the Bahamas on Vrbo. I purchased a trip cancellation through CSA Travel Protection on the Vrbo site and have proof of said purchase.

Unfortunately, one of my party members was unable to travel due to medical reasons.

I called the CSA to make a claim, but they have no record of my policy. A representative told me they were having trouble verifying travel insurance with Vrbo and not sending the information to CSA. CSA said I don’t have coverage as far as they can see.

I reached out to Vrbo again. An agent told me to get a CSA. I even copied and pasted my proof of insurance in the letter, but he wasn’t interested. I also asked him for his badge number, but he said he was not allowed to provide it.

I would appreciate confirmation of the travel insurance policy so that I can take the necessary steps to resolve the issue and obtain a refund. Can you please help me?

– Sam Mannier, Hudson, Ohio

Answer: If you pay for a travel insurance policy through Vrbo, you should have it. What Vrbo does — or doesn’t do — is make your money after making sure the policy isn’t your problem.

Your correspondence with Vrbo clearly indicates that you have purchased an insurance policy. That turned out to be a smart move as the policy covers unexpected illness. Since a member of your party cannot travel, you must receive a full refund for your stay.

The paper trail is confusing, but it supports your position. Verbo’s system says, “The first purchase did not go through and was canceled. Yet, you have received confirmation. But Vrbo also says it’s retroactively buying trip cancellation insurance for you. So you had to cover it up.

I list the names, numbers and email addresses of Vrbo executives on my consumer advocate site at www.elliott.org/company-contacts/vrbo-customer-service-contacts. It sounds like you’ve tried to contact them, but haven’t heard back. That is problematic.

There’s only one way to know if you don’t have insurance, and that’s to keep a close eye on your credit card purchases. If you’re expecting a transaction and it doesn’t go through, you need to make inquiries. This is especially important with insurance. And yes, even if you get confirmation.