California and Washington buyers of Travel Guard travel insurance who filed claims in the $23,997,500 assistance-fee settlement have still not been paid as of September 2026. An objector’s Ninth Circuit appeal was argued on May 18, 2026, and payments cannot go out until the court rules and the settlement takes effect.
What Is This About?
Travel Guard Group, the travel insurance agency within the AIG organization, agreed to pay $23,997,500 to settle class actions over the assistance fee built into the price of its travel insurance plans. The lead case is Miller v. Travel Guard Group, Inc., No. 3:21-cv-09751-TLT, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The class covers people with a California or Washington billing address who bought a qualifying Travel Guard plan from December 17, 2017 through January 18, 2024. Most of those plans were sold through Expedia-family websites or United Airlines.Judge Trina L. Thompson granted final approval on December 9, 2024, and the district court case closed two days later. Approval did not trigger payments. A class member who had objected to the settlement appealed, and the Ninth Circuit docketed the appeal in January 2025. Under the settlement agreement the deal cannot take effect while that appeal is pending. More than two years after the August 13, 2024 claim deadline, no claimant has been paid.
Plaintiffs alleged that the separate fee for non-insurance assistance services was unlawful and unfair under California and Washington law. Travel Guard and the other AIG defendants agreed to settle without admitting liability, and no court has found that the fee was unlawful.
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Why Approved Claims Have Not Been Paid
The settlement agreement defines when the deal becomes “effective,” and payment timing hangs on that date. If nobody had appealed, the settlement would have taken effect once the time to appeal ran out. Because an objector did appeal, the Effective Date is the day the Ninth Circuit issues its mandate after affirming the approval order or dismissing the appeal.Cash payments are due within 45 calendar days after the Effective Date, unless the parties agree or the court orders a different schedule. Attorneys’ fees and the class representatives’ incentive awards are tied to the same date and are payable 30 days after it.
The final approval order set a May 15, 2025 deadline to report on how the money was distributed. The appeal overtook that schedule.
Where the Appeal Stands
The appeal is docketed as Miller v. Travel Guard Group, Inc., No. 25-275. A three-judge panel heard argument in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. As of September 24, 2026, the Ninth Circuit’s published-opinion and memorandum-disposition databases show no ruling in the case.In the district court, three class members filed objections out of an estimated 9 million class members, and 355 opted out. The court overruled all three. One objector wanted refunds of travel expenses the lawsuit never covered, and another wanted a broader injunction. The third raised six points, among them that one set of lawyers could not represent both California and Washington purchasers, that the promised fee disclosures were illusory, and that leftover money should not go to a charity.
The same panel heard the appeal from the parallel Allianz Global Assistance settlement on the same day. The Allianz deal covers a similar fee on travel and event-ticket protection plans. Its status is covered in Allianz travel insurance settlement payments.
What Happens After the Ruling
If the panel affirms the approval or dismisses the appeal, the mandate normally issues after the time to seek rehearing has passed. The 45-day payment clock starts then. A petition for rehearing would push the mandate back.If the panel instead reverses or vacates the approval order, the case goes back to Judge Thompson. No payments would be made under the current terms unless the settlement were approved again.
Payments will be made electronically or by mailed check, depending on what each claimant chose. Checks must be cashed within 120 days of issue or they become void.
How Much Claimants Can Expect
The fund is not divided equally. Each valid claimant is paid in proportion to the assistance fees included in the plans they bought, as recorded in Travel Guard’s own data. Anyone who already received a complete refund for a plan gets nothing for that plan.The court approved $7,199,250 in attorneys’ fees, which is 30% of the fund, plus $236,475.58 in litigation costs, $824,821.90 for settlement administration and three $5,000 incentive awards. The fund had also earned $276,962.06 in interest. After those deductions the court estimated about $15,998,914.60 would remain, an average of about $64.89 across 246,539 valid claimants. Money left after distribution goes to Travelers Aid International and does not revert to Travel Guard.
Claims That Were Rejected
The administrator received 299,991 claims and accepted 246,539 of them as valid when final approval was granted. That leaves 53,452 submissions that were not counted as valid at that point. A claimant told they do not qualify is usually in that group.The agreement gives the administrator a specific process for these claims. It can reject a claim for missing information, a missing signature, or a claimant who is not eligible for some or all of the amounts claimed, and it must send notice by email, or by mail if no email is on file. The claimant can then fix the problem or send supporting documents. The deadline for that is stated in the notice and can be no later than 14 days from the later of the claim deadline or the notice date. The administrator’s decision after that review is final and binding.
Common reasons a purchase falls outside the class include a billing address outside California and Washington, a plan bought before December 17, 2017 or after January 18, 2024, and a full refund of the plan. A plan issued by a different insurer is also outside the class, even when it was sold through an airline or booking site. The insurer’s name appears on the plan documents.
Questions
When will Travel Guard settlement payments be sent?
No payment date has been set. The settlement agreement says cash payments go out within 45 days after the Effective Date, and because an objector appealed, the Effective Date cannot arrive until the Ninth Circuit affirms the approval or dismisses the appeal and issues its mandate. The appeal, No. 25-275, was argued on May 18, 2026 and had not been decided as of September 24, 2026.
Why is the Travel Guard settlement on appeal?
One of the three class members who objected appealed the December 9, 2024 final approval order. The district court had overruled every objection. Among them were arguments that one set of lawyers could not represent both California and Washington purchasers, that the promised fee disclosures were illusory, and that leftover money should not go to a charity.
How much will each Travel Guard claimant get?
Payments are proportional to the assistance fees each claimant paid, as shown in Travel Guard’s records. When it approved the deal, the court estimated about $16 million would be left for 246,539 valid claimants after fees and costs, an average of roughly $64.89 each. Individual amounts will be higher or lower depending on the fees paid.
My Travel Guard claim was rejected. Can I still fix it?
Only within the window stated in the deficiency or rejection notice. Under the settlement agreement that window runs no later than 14 days from the later of the August 13, 2024 claim deadline or the date of the notice, and the administrator’s final decision is binding. A claimant who received a notice should read it and respond through the official settlement website by the stated date.
Can I still file a Travel Guard settlement claim?
No. The claim deadline was August 13, 2024, and it has not been reopened. Class members who did not file a valid claim will not receive a cash payment but remain bound by the release.
Sources
- Order Granting as Modified Final Approval, ECF No. 209 (Dec. 9, 2024) — claim counts, fee and cost awards, the net-fund estimate and the post-distribution reporting date.
- Settlement Agreement, ECF No. 173-2 — the Effective Date definition (¶ 2.23), the 45-day payment term (¶ 6.2) and the deficiency and cure process (¶¶ 7.9–7.12).
- Long Form Notice — the class definition, the purchase period and the August 13, 2024 claim deadline.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, oral argument recording, No. 25-275 (May 18, 2026).
- Docket, Miller v. Travel Guard Group, Inc., No. 3:21-cv-09751 (N.D. Cal.).
- Official Travel Guard settlement website.
