Daddy Travels Miles & Points

1. Delsey – Red (Caitlin’s stuff)
2. Amazon Basic – Black (my stuff)
3. Ricardo – Dark Gray (Nancy’s stuff)
4. Samsonite – Glossy Gray (Evan’s stuff – this is the soon-to-be missing luggage)

UPDATE: I have filed a claim with LAX Lost  and Found, and submitted a claim with Allianz.

Here’s what took place since I wrote this entry. The day after we lost the luggage, I filed a claim with LAX’s Lost and Found. Remember, the luggage NEVER made it to the plane, so in my mind, I should not file a claim with Southwest Airlines.

I also filed a claim with Allianz Travel Insurance. For the first time ever, we purchased an annual policy for $485 which covered 7 members of my household. I never thought I’d use this policy to file a claim.

It was a simple process of going to Allianz’s website, submit a claim detailing what took place, what was lost, etc. I uploaded proof of my filed claim with LAX, and itemized list of the missing items and approximate value. Since we had no plans on missing our personal belongings, we didn’t have any receipts, but according to Allianz, an approximate value would suffice.

Your baggage is lost, damaged, or stolen while on your trip.

Benefit $2,000.00

If your baggage is lost, damaged, or stolen while you are on your trip, we will pay you, less available refunds, the
lowest of the following, up to the maximum benefit listed for Baggage Loss in your Declarations:
i. Actual cash value of the baggage;
ii. Cost to repair the damaged baggage; or
iii. Cost to replace the lost, damaged, or stolen baggage.

The following conditions apply:
a. You have taken reasonable steps to keep your baggage safe and intact and to recover it;
b. You have filed a report giving a description of the property and its value with the appropriate localauthorities, travel carrier, hotel, or tour operator within 24 hours of discovery of the loss;
c. You must provide original receipts for the lost items. For items without an original receipt, we will cover up to 75% of the actual cash value; and
d. High value items are covered up to the maximum benefit for high value items shown in your Declarations.

The following items are not covered:
1. Animals, including remains of animals;
2. Cars, motorcycles, motors, aircraft, watercraft, and other vehicles and related accessories and equipment;
3. Bicycles, skis, and snowboards (except while they are checked with a travel carrier);
4. Hearing aids, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses;
5. Artificial teeth and prosthetics;
6. Wheelchairs and other mobility devices;
7. Consumables, medicines, medical equipment/supplies, perfumes, cosmetics, and perishables;
8. Tickets, passports, deeds, blueprints, stamps, and other documents;
9. Money, currency, credit cards, notes or evidences of debt, negotiable instruments, securities, bullion, and
keys;
10. Rugs and carpets;
11. Firearms and other weapons, including ammunition;
12. Intangible property, including software and electronic data;
13. Property for business or trade;
14. Property you do not own; and
15. Baggage while it is:
a. Shipped, unless with your travel carrier;
b. In or on a car trailer; or
c. Unattended and in an unlocked car.

IMPORTANT: Please refer to your Declarations to confirm your applicable limit.
If your baggage is lost by your travel supplier, we can work with the carrier to locate your baggage. We can
provide you status updates, inform you when the baggage is found, and coordinate delivery of your baggage.
You will be responsible for any delivery charges not paid by the travel supplier.

After filing my claim with LAX and Allianz, I received an email from Allianz asking for “The original claim determination from the common carrier.” I knew what they meant – they needed a letter from the airline (Southwest). I called Allianz and explained to them that Southwest was NOT involved. The luggage was lost inside the terminal, this all happened BEFORE we even boarded the plane. Long story short, the rep was adamant that he could not remove that requirement (the letter from the airline). Ok, fine.

Yes, even though the luggage never made it inside Southwest, I still had to file a claim with them. I uploaded a proof of the claim filed with Southwest. Over the next 3-4 weeks, Southwest sent me a claim update.

They must’ve sent me 3-4 of the same email updates. I called Allianz again to make sure they got my updates. In order for them to finalize my claim, Southwest would need to close the claim. That final email finally came on March 25.

Dear Edward Jason,

We are sorry to report that, despite our best efforts, our search for your lost item was unsuccessful, and the report is now closed. We are grateful for your business and we hope to welcome you onboard again soon.

Sincerely,

Southwest Lost Item Recovery Team

I quickly uploaded that email and sent it to Allianz. After 4-5 days, I received this email:

Update: Allianz claim check arrived within 10 business days

The check came in the mail…it took a little while. Knock on wood, if I have to file another claim, I’ll opt for a more expeditious reimbursement.

 

Takeaways

I never thought I needed travel insurance. To be honest, I was skeptical, but I just had to go with my gut, and give Allianz what they needed. What was the amount that Allianz paid me? I won’t be disclosing that, but since I did not have any receipts for any of the items I reported, Allianz stayed true to their promise, For items without an original receipt, Allianz covered up to 75% of the actual cash value. That was more than enough to pay for my first year’s policy with Allianz.

 

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Editorial Disclosure – The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.