The Travel Guard settlement is a $23,997,500 class action resolution over hidden “Assistance Fees” that Travel Guard Group, AIG Travel, and National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh allegedly buried in the price of travel insurance sold to consumers in California and Washington. A federal judge granted final approval on December 9, 2024, but an objector’s appeal has frozen the case, and as of 2026 no payments have been distributed.1Travel Fee Settlement. Travel Fee Settlement Home
Why Payments Have Not Gone Out
Judge Trina L. Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California signed the final approval order on December 9, 2024, after moving the fairness hearing from October 1 to December 10, 2024.2Travel Fee Settlement. Important Documents Distribution would normally begin after that. It hasn’t.
An objector filed a notice of appeal, which halted the entire process. The settlement is not yet effective, no cash has been paid out, and the official settlement website says it will be updated once the appeal is resolved.1Travel Fee Settlement. Travel Fee Settlement Home There is no published timeline for when payments might begin; that depends on how the appellate court rules.
Who Qualified and Whether You Can Still File
The deadline to file a claim, opt out, or object was August 13, 2024. That window is closed, and new claims are no longer being accepted.3Travel Fee Settlement. FAQs
The class covered anyone who bought at least one qualifying Travel Guard plan between December 17, 2017, and January 18, 2024, and who either provided a California or Washington billing address or was recorded in Travel Guard’s records with an address in one of those states. A plan qualified if the buyer was charged a single lump-sum price that included an Assistance Fee. Most class members bought their plans through Expedia’s family of sites (Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com) or through United Airlines, though neither company was a defendant.4Travel Fee Settlement. Long Form Settlement Notice
Excluded from the class were the presiding judges and their staff and families; officers, directors, agents, and current or former employees of the defendants (and their immediate families) employed during the class period; and anyone who had already received a full refund for every qualifying plan they bought.3Travel Fee Settlement. FAQs
What Claimants Will Receive
Travel Guard agreed to pay $23,997,500 into a settlement fund. Deductions come off the top: administrative costs, taxes, attorneys’ fees of up to 30 percent as requested by class counsel Gutride Safier LLP, and $5,000 incentive awards for each of the named plaintiffs. What remains, called the Net Settlement Fund, is distributed as cash to class members who filed valid claims.3Travel Fee Settlement. FAQs
Individual payments are calculated in proportion to the Assistance Fees each person actually paid, using Travel Guard’s own records.4Travel Fee Settlement. Long Form Settlement Notice Claimants chose their payment method on the claim form: a prepaid virtual Mastercard, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or a paper check.5Angeion Group. Travel Guard Claim Form Any money left after all valid claims are paid goes to Travelers Aid International as the cy pres recipient.6CaseMine. Miller v Travel Guard Grp, 21-cv-09751-TLT
What the Lawsuit Alleged
Plaintiffs Tamika Miller and Julianne Chuanroong filed the original complaint on December 17, 2021, in the Northern District of California. A companion case brought by Stephanie Allen in the Western District of Washington was folded in for settlement purposes.3Travel Fee Settlement. FAQs
The core accusation was that Travel Guard bundled its state-approved insurance policies with non-insurance “assistance services” such as flight-delay help, baggage assistance, and medical-emergency coordination, then charged a single price higher than what California and Washington regulators had approved for the insurance alone. Plaintiffs argued the assistance services were already covered under the insurance contracts, making the additional charge both hidden and illegal. Claims were brought under California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law, Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, and common-law fraud and misrepresentation.6CaseMine. Miller v Travel Guard Grp, 21-cv-09751-TLT
Travel Guard denied all of it. The company maintains that it complied with the law, disclosed pricing and coverage properly, and that charging separately for non-insurance assistance services is legal.3Travel Fee Settlement. FAQs
What Class Members Gave Up
Anyone who stayed in the class, which happened automatically without an opt-out, released all claims tied to the pricing of their Travel Guard plans. That means no separate lawsuit against Travel Guard, AIG Travel, or National Union over the same Assistance Fee issues. The release covers pricing only and does not affect insurance coverage or any pending benefit claim.5Angeion Group. Travel Guard Claim Form Anyone who wanted to preserve the right to sue individually had to submit a written opt-out by August 13, 2024.3Travel Fee Settlement. FAQs