Viking sues Arch for travel insurance premiums

The Viking lawsuit, submitted to the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, argues that Arch failed to ‘fulfil its financial obligations during the Covid-19 pandemic’.

Trip Mate, Viking’s insurance partner, has joined Viking Financial Services in the lawsuit against Arch.

In a statement, Viking said that ‘when cancelling cruises due to the Covid-19 pandemic’, it ‘immediately offered compensation for impacted guests’ – including for ‘any travel protection premiums collected on cancelled cruises’. Viking added that it ‘never questioned this decision, as guest satisfaction is a priority for the company’.

However, it explained: “Viking’s expectation was that Arch would provide reimbursement for the travel protection premiums refunded to guests, as Arch no longer faced any travel risk following the cancellations. Now, more than three years later, Arch has failed to fulfil its financial obligations.”

Viking argued that the ‘impact of Arch’s refusal to meet its financial obligations is staggering’. It added that as a consequence, ‘Viking has issued compensation for travel protection premiums in excess of $3 million’.

Ryan Rakower, an Attorney at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan who is representing Viking, explained: “By refusing to refund Viking the unearned travel protection premiums, Arch has indirectly profited from Viking’s decision to prioritise guest satisfaction by immediately issuing compensation to guests in the early stages of the pandemic.”

Fellow cruise line operator Carnival recently lost a class action case in Australia’s Federal Court regarding its own conduct during the Covid-19 pandemic.