To cover one of the most important developments in the hospitality and insurance industries, we are here with an update: the termination of Master Cancel by RentalGuardian.
Since the beginning of 2020, the world has been struggling to beat the COVID-19 pandemic, and the governments and health organisations have launched many countermeasures, including social distancing, travel restrictions and lockdowns to tackle the virus and flatten the curve. However, the ongoing impact of coronavirus is still evident and the unprecedented social and economic disruptions caused by the responses are still impacting different industries.
The hospitality industry is one of the sectors that has been heavily affected by the pandemic. In response, many organisations in this industry are thinking of transforming their strategies towards more flexibility to meet the new challenges and opportunities.
The booking management system, SuperControl, in partnership with RentalGuardian, a travel and damage protection platform, are among the organisations contributing to the survival of the vacation rental industry by offering their cancellation insurance “Master Cancel.” Launched in October 2019, Master Cancel protects all bookings for all rentals regardless of the channel and provides unconditional cancellation protections for the self-catering industry and covers the cost of coronavirus-related cancellations, protecting property managers and owners against losses. Master Cancel protects accommodation providers dealing with financial hardships caused by COVID-19 travel restrictions and the exclusions of their insurance.
Master Cancel Programme “enables property managers to offer flexible terms & conditions to their guests [and] reimburses the property manager for cancellations that occur two (2) days or more prior to check-in, but no greater than sixty (60) days prior to check-in.”
Offering free cancellation is a must for accommodation providers to ensure a stress-free booking for their guests. Many vacation rental managers and owners are not able to provide their guests with this feature though as they will incur huge losses. SuperControl used to help reduce the financial risks associated with bookings in order to provide reliance to guests and was the only property management system in the UK and Europe offering a booking cancellation protection under applicable COVID-19 related lockdown rules. However, with the termination of Master Cancel by RentalGuardian insurance, this will be no longer available.
Here is the announcement about the termination of Master Cancel by RentalGuardian:
Please be advised that RentalGuardian hereby exercises its right, pursuant to the Master Cancel Product Declarations , to terminate your enrollment in the Master Cancel program effective 60 days from the date of this notice (the “Termination Date”).
How Will Termination Affect Coverage of Your Eligible Bookings?
Termination of your Master Cancel benefits will have no effect on RentalGuardian’s obligation to pay covered claims under the Master Cancel program for eligible bookings made before the Termination Date, provided that the bookings are allowable under applicable COVID-19 related lockdown rules.
Pursuant to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions)(England)(No. 4) Regulations 2020 and any other applicable regulations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland that impose legal prohibitions on the carrying on of a business consisting of the provision of holiday accommodation (together, the “Regulations”), any bookings you accept between November 5th and December 2nd relating to premises located in England, any bookings you accept relating to premises located in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland in a period in which applicable Regulations are in force (in each case, the “Lock Down Period”) for stays occurring during the relevant Lock Down Period will not be covered under the Master Cancel programme unless made pursuant to a permissible exception under the relevant Regulations.
This exclusion from Master Cancel coverage will apply to any extension of the relevant Lock Down Period by the United Kingdom Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd Cymru or the Northern Ireland Assembly, as applicable
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