I've stated before that the only surefire way I can see to collect on travel insurance is to die, at which point you won't need the money.
After I got stung, I made it a point to read the policies and look at reviews. I sometimes try to warn people that insurance won't pay (under situations similar to my denial). The trouble is, people want to believe they are covered, so they ignore me. I figure I'll let them learn the hard way.