Most of the travel insurance claims reported are related to damaged or lost baggage. When it comes to claiming with your travel insurer, the claims handlers usually ask for Property irregularity report or PIR.
When your baggage is delayed or lost, you are expected to talk to the airlines ground staff at the carousel and report your concerns. The airline then usually tries to track your baggage, asks you to fill a form if it is delayed or lost and then issue you a report. This report is called the Property Irregularity report.
PIR or Property Irregularity report is a statement from the airline with a reference code to track the baggage and may include details of the damaged bag and its contents as reported by the traveller. It is an acknowledgment of you reporting the delayed or lost or damaged baggage.
Is it legally required by airlines to issue a Property Irregularity report ?
It is not a legal requirement to issue a PIR or property irregularity report.
However, most airlines do issue you an acknowledgement of your missing or damaged bag report.
In some cases, it might not be practical to issue you a PIR or property irregularity report. For e.g., there might be some smaller airports with unmanned baggages desks. In that case, try contacting the airlines or related ground staff to work it out.
Is PIR or property irregularity report the actual claim with airlines ?
If you are claiming with your airlines directly, some wonder if PIR is the actual claim. PIR or Property irregularity report is not the claim. It is just an acknowledgement of your reporting the case to the airlines.
How does the travel claim process work with airlines and insurers?
Once you have reported the lost / delayed or damaged bag- you’ll have the PIR or some form of acknowledgement from the airlines. The airlines will try and locate your baggage and deliver it to you free of cost at your address if they find it. If the bag is not found within 21 days, it can be officially declared lost.
In case of damaged baggage, as long as it s not due to overpacking and delibrate intentions to damage, you can check with your airlines for compensation. If the airlines decline this, you can take it further to your travel insurer and claim damage baggage.
Most insurers however have clauses that indicate they will try and repair the baggage. Only if it is not repairable, you do get compensation for it. The compensation is pro rated for its value depreciation based on the purchase receipt you can provide.
If you cannot provide receipt as a proof of baggage purchase, there are limits of maximum amount insurer’s will compensate. Please check your policy documents for detailed clauses.
For delayed baggage, the clauses are based on hours of delay. You can get compensated for your essentials you need whilst the bag is delayed. Some of us go on a shopping spree thinking everything will be compensated by the airline/ insurer or delay. However that is not the case.
The claim can be made only for the necessary and reasonable essentials as stated in your policy.
Can I claim with both insurer and the airlines?
The claims benefits can be received from the airline or the insurer and not both. You can not double claim for the same incident.
To begin with baggage claims, it was the airlines responsibility first to make sure your baggage is delivered properly and on time. Hence the baggage claim process begins with the Airlines first.
However, most airlines have stringent clauses and limited benefits on your claims. You can report and claim the case with your insurer as they are protecting you too. The claims handlers will check with you on your procedures with the airlines.
Remember, the insurers will help you with claims based on the coverage you purchased. The clauses of your insurers would be different based on the policy you bought. Hence it is important to compare your policy documents before purchase.
How to report travel insurance claims in Singapore.
Various insurers in singapore require you to report the claim within the time specified. The claim may be denied if it is not reported on time.
Travel insurance claim can be made by calling the insurer/ writing to them or by logging in your online accounts.
Here are few links for popular insurers in Singapore and their claim processes.
- Directasia’s travel claim: More details about directasia’s travel claim process can be found here. Directasia assigns a dedicated personal claim specialist for every case.
- FWD’s travel claim process: You can find our detailed article on various procedures to claim with FWD here. Alternatively, visit FWD Singapore’s site here.
- NTUC Income’s claims. Find detailed procedures for NTUC’s travel insurance claim process here.
If you travel often, do you think you should consider annual travel insurance? Read our guide here comparing annual v/s single trip travel insurance plans to make sure you save your money by purchasing the right policy.
