Great outcome from our Credit Card Travel Insurance

We arrived back from our fabulous 29 night cruise around South America on April 5Th. Unfortunately I managed to get sick on board the ship and needed to have specialist care from the ships' hospital which left us with a hefty Doctors bill on our ship account.

The travel insurance we have always used is our NAB credit card Travel Insurance. This was the first time we have had to use it and we were left wondering just how we would go with our claim as you always hear the bad stories about insurance companies.

Well this is a good story as we lodged our claim 2 days after returning and we had the refund deposited into our account 8 days later;). We had a $200 excess but we were happy with that.

Let me also say that if you do have to be sick on a ship that the Star Princess was just the best place to do it. I had the best care and could not have asked for anything better. I have nothing but praise for all the staff and my thanks to Princess Cruises for everything and ensuring that we were able to complete our travels.

Sorry to hear you got ill Lizzy, but a what a great outcome with the Insurance. Also nice to hear good reports about the medical service on Star Princess.

Trust all is well now after your fabulous trip.

It is reasuring to hear that credit card insurance is o k as we use it, but have never had to claim. Sorry to hear that you were sick, hope all is o k now.:)

Wonderful result regarding the insurance claim.....great to hear that the med staff looked after you so well hope all is good now.......cheers Shiona

Thanks all for the good wishes. Yes I am much better but it was the first cruise I have been on and actually lost weight!!!!:)

Hi Liz and Lloyd,:):)

Sorry to read that you had been ill onboard the Star, glad to see you are on the mend now Liz.

Hope you both had a wonderful Sth American holiday.

Best wishes,

Richard and Trish :):)

Great to hear the fast turn around there.

Sorry to hear you got sick. Glad you also got your claim paid so quick. My parents had nothing but bad things to say about the free insurance on the CC so that restores some hope.

I put a claim in for the ship Dr and the repair of our camera, around the 1st March. To date, i have recieved 1 letter saying i have a claim referance number but thats it...so glad to see someone got their money. :)

Hope your feeling better!

We arrived back from our fabulous 29 night cruise around South America on April 5Th. Unfortunately I managed to get sick on board the ship and needed to have specialist care from the ships' hospital which left us with a hefty Doctors bill on our ship account.

The travel insurance we have always used is our NAB credit card Travel Insurance. This was the first time we have had to use it and we were left wondering just how we would go with our claim as you always hear the bad stories about insurance companies.

Well this is a good story as we lodged our claim 2 days after returning and we had the refund deposited into our account 8 days later;). We had a $200 excess but we were happy with that.

Let me also say that if you do have to be sick on a ship that the Star Princess was just the best place to do it. I had the best care and could not have asked for anything better. I have nothing but praise for all the staff and my thanks to Princess Cruises for everything and ensuring that we were able to complete our travels.

Hi Lizzy, I was unaware of your illness on Star, good to see you recovered and your Credit Card Insurance paid up, unlike Mondial (to whom I paid $500 premium, via Budget Direct) whom I am still battling with over our cancelled Star Princess/Westerdam cruises. Total of $16000, cruises, air, hotels, train. Lodged claim on 6 Feb and now nearly 3 months later, still waiting for a determination.

I have always been nervous of credit card insurance, we have it on our ANZ Platinum Card, but always taken out 'real insurance.' But after your report and my trouble with Mondial I am thinking differently. Mondial is the underwriter for many Aussie Insurance agencies. Forget who you paid your premium to but the actual policy, Mondial runs the show.

Did any of the Aussies do a review of the Star cruise I missed?

Hi Les. Sorry to hear of your woes with your travel insurance. Have you thought of trying to put the claim through your CC insurance? Ours was with the NAB, underwriten by Chartris. I sent them our receipts and had no problems at all. Amazing!!!

There were a couple of reviews from the Star, one from Carolyn Boyle which was very detailed.

Hope that your health is getting better.

Hi Lizzy, I've just found this thread. I was wondering when you got back.

So sorry to hear you so unwell that you needed hospital care on board. Happy to read you are much better now.

Credit Card insurance is by far the best insurance to have. We've had it for years.

We know of two of our friends who have unfortunately had major illnesses whilst on vacation. One suffered a stroke in Katmandu the other what turned out to be Brain Tumour following a collapse on board Rhapsody of the Seas. Both received top care throughout, medivac care, overseas hospital care, and reimbursment within a month on their return. Both to the tune of more than $150,000.

Glad you liked the Star Princess. I see it's doing a similar cruise next year.... thinking about it. We've always wanted to do South America.

Jilly:)

Hi Liz and Lloyd,

Happy to hear the CC insurance and Princess medical staff treated you well. Hope you are in the best of health now.

We suffered dreadfully from jetlag flying back home (about 10 days) so are not likely to travel overseas in the near future to join a cruise, unless we can find a magic pill ;) to take beforehand.

Les,

I hope your case is resolved very soon. You really do learn which insurance companies are worth supporting when it comes to claim time. All the best.

Hi Jillybean. You should do the South American cruise as it did have some very interesting ports. Our favorite was the Faukland Islands where we did the 4 wheel drive tour to see the King Penguins. Rio was also great and I still pinch myself that we saw all the places you only see on the movies. We just loved the Star and she has spoilt us so much that we will definitely be very fussy now as to which ship we will cruise on in the future. Loved the International cafe where we could pick up quick light breakfasts and lunches.

Kinkacruiser, we had no problems with the jet lag this time as we managed to get 6-8 hrs sleep as the A380 was so quiet and we had lots of spare seats. We are in no hurry to return to the US either as we had so many hassles with American Airlines and they cancelled flights on us. It took us 3 days to get from Miami to New Orleans which should have been A 1 1/2 hr flight!!!

Hi NSWP

Mondial !!!! Uhgg. Put in a claim last September for a cancelled cruise due to my wife having to go to hospital urgently 3 weeks out from the cruise. It took them 3 months to decide that she was suffering from a "pre-existing condition" which we strongly refuted. Despite a letter from her neuro surgeon stating that her admission and operation was not from a pre-existing condition but due to sudden and unexpected condition Mondial still would not approve the claim. I advised them that if the claim was not approved then I required their reasons in writing so as I could take the matter before the Financial Services Ombudsman. One morning last week I received a phone call from a claims manager advising me that they had decided to put the matter (again) before their internal disputes resolution Committee but I told them not to waste their time and my time as I was going direct to the Ombudsman. Two hours later I received a phone call from "someone higher up" wanting to know what it would take for me to accept a resolution to my claim. Without thinking I told him that payment in full of my claim was the only result I would accept but that i still intended lodging a complaint with the Ombudsman about the way i had been treated by Mondial since last September. The "Higher up" immediately agreed to pay my claim in full provided I did not take the matter to the Ombudsman andfor me to sign a document to that effect. I relectantly agreed and am now awaiting his letter and the cheque.

What most people do not know is that if a complaint by a consumer is lodged with the Ombudsman the organisation complained about is required to pay a sum of money to the Ombudsman to cover the cost of the enquiry. This amount I heard a couple of years back was $1500.00 and it is probably more like $2000.00 or more at today's prices. Seeing my claim was only for $2,400.00 it looked like Mondial stood to lose double that amount if my claim was upheld by the Ombudsman which seemed highly likely on the strength of the letter from the Neuro surgeon.

My advice to people taking out travel insurance where difficulty is experienced settling a claim is to be persistent and dont hesitate to use the Ombudsman. Insurance companies do not like going before the Ombudsman.

John

Hi NSWP

 

Mondial !!!! Uhgg. Put in a claim last September for a cancelled cruise due to my wife having to go to hospital urgently 3 weeks out from the cruise. It took them 3 months to decide that she was suffering from a "pre-existing condition" which we strongly refuted. Despite a letter from her neuro surgeon stating that her admission and operation was not from a pre-existing condition but due to sudden and unexpected condition Mondial still would not approve the claim. I advised them that if the claim was not approved then I required their reasons in writing so as I could take the matter before the Financial Services Ombudsman. One morning last week I received a phone call from a claims manager advising me that they had decided to put the matter (again) before their internal disputes resolution Committee but I told them not to waste their time and my time as I was going direct to the Ombudsman. Two hours later I received a phone call from "someone higher up" wanting to know what it would take for me to accept a resolution to my claim. Without thinking I told him that payment in full of my claim was the only result I would accept but that i still intended lodging a complaint with the Ombudsman about the way i had been treated by Mondial since last September. The "Higher up" immediately agreed to pay my claim in full provided I did not take the matter to the Ombudsman andfor me to sign a document to that effect. I relectantly agreed and am now awaiting his letter and the cheque.

What most people do not know is that if a complaint by a consumer is lodged with the Ombudsman the organisation complained about is required to pay a sum of money to the Ombudsman to cover the cost of the enquiry. This amount I heard a couple of years back was $1500.00 and it is probably more like $2000.00 or more at today's prices. Seeing my claim was only for $2,400.00 it looked like Mondial stood to lose double that amount if my claim was upheld by the Ombudsman which seemed highly likely on the strength of the letter from the Neuro surgeon.

My advice to people taking out travel insurance where difficulty is experienced settling a claim is to be persistent and dont hesitate to use the Ombudsman. Insurance companies do not like going before the Ombudsman.

 

John

Thanks for the heads up on travel insurance followup, it is going in my little black book in case I need it. I will certainly let you know how I go, my claim is currently with Mondial medical section, being reviewed.

Also to the others, Liz, Anna, I thank you for your kind words.

Until we meet again !

It's great how I learn something every day at CC. I'll be applying for a card with the "free' travel insurance after Easter. We cruise each year so it makes sense to take advfantage of it.

Also, I wasn't aware there was an ombudsman for travel insurance, so that's worth keeping in mind.

Hope you get a resolution soon Les.

Kinkacriser

The Ombudsman is just not for Travel Insurance but for all financial Services including banks, financial advisers etc.

With travel insurance claims you are required to run the full gamut of the Insurance Company's claim process including the claim going before their Internal Disputes Resolution committee before you can lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman. You also have to indicate to the Insurance Company after they reject your claim that you wish it to go to their Dispute Committee. After they have used all their processes to refuse your claim they are obliged to supply you with contact details of the Financial Services Ombudsman but for everyones' information the Ombudsman's address is.....Financial Ombudsman Service Limited, GPO Box 3, Melbourne, VIC. 3001, Phone 1300780808.

In my case Mondial tried to wear me down with one request after the other for Medical reports, records etc, delays, procrastination, unkept deadlines etc but I never gave in and let it be known to them that whatever the out come I was going to the Ombudsman anyway to complain about they way they had handled the whole business of my claim. In the end I think I wore them down so it pays to stick to your guns.

We all take out Travel Insurance to protect ourselves from those unforeseen circumstances but it seems that one of those unforeseen circumstances are the Travel Insurance companies themselves. I learnt a hellava lot about travel insurance from this experience and if my experience helps someone else I am pleased to be of assistance

John

Hi John. I also had an experience with the Ombudsman regarding our superannuation. Our super fund took 6 weeks to send funds to another company which resulted in us losing a lot of money in interest. As soon as I notified them that I would take the matter up with the Ombudsman they paid up very quickly.

Anna our travel Insurance was through the NAB credit Card.

I don't trust those credit card insurance policies,that's why i always take out a separate policy thru a travel insurance company.

I've just paid for 4 weeks worldwide cover,unlimited medical $185 for two people,if you need to make a claim, you can call the 24 hr hotline & let them deal direct with them.

Aussiecruzer

You have to be careful which Travel Insurance Company you deal with. Most are subsidiaries of Mondial. After all of our hassles with Mondial I was determined not to deal with them again. I chose "World Care Travel Insurance" for our 12 night cruise on

13 May and it wasnt until I received my documents after paying the premium that I discovered that any queries or assistance had to go through Mondial Assistance. I was disgusted but have run with it rather than go through the hassle of cancelling, trying to get a refund and finding another Company to deal with. Just hope everything goes ok and we dont have to make a claim for anything.

John

I don't trust those credit card insurance policies,that's why i always take out a separate policy thru a travel insurance company.

 

I've just paid for 4 weeks worldwide cover,unlimited medical $185 for two people,if you need to make a claim, you can call the 24 hr hotline & let them deal direct with them.

That's a bargain basement price...can you share the company's name?

That's a bargain basement price...can you share the company's name?

No problem

http://www.scti.com.au/travel-insurance/travelcare-holiday.

My main concern on holiday is medical ,this policy is unlimited

Types of cover

Maximum cover in AUD

Section 1 Medical & Evacuation Expenses

($100 Excess applies per event)

Individual

Family

UNLIMITED

UNLIMITED

Section 2 Cancellation & Changes to Planned Journey

($100 Excess applies per event)

Individual

Family

$50,000

$100,000

Section 3 Baggage & Personal Items

($100 Excess applies per event)

Individual

Family

$25,000

$50,000

Section 4 Money & Travel Documents

($100 Excess applies per event)

Individual

Family

$1,000

$2,000

Section 5 Personal Accident

Individual

Family

$100,000

$200,000

($100,00 per person)Section 6 Personal Liability

No problem

 

http://www.scti.com.au/travel-insurance/travelcare-holiday.

 

 

My main concern on holiday is medical ,this policy is unlimited

 

 

Types of cover

 

Maximum cover in AUD

 

Section 1 Medical & Evacuation Expenses

 

($100 Excess applies per event)

Individual

Family

 

UNLIMITED

UNLIMITED

 

Section 2 Cancellation & Changes to Planned Journey

 

($100 Excess applies per event)

Individual

Family

 

$50,000

$100,000

 

Section 3 Baggage & Personal Items

 

($100 Excess applies per event)

Individual

Family

 

$25,000

$50,000

 

Section 4 Money & Travel Documents

 

($100 Excess applies per event)

Individual

Family

 

$1,000

$2,000

 

Section 5 Personal Accident

 

 

Individual

Family

 

$100,000

$200,000

 

($100,00 per person)Section 6 Personal Liability

Something worth checking with a policy like this is does the policy cover the partner travelling with the person taken ill or whatever? Because it is important that the policy does include transportation for the partner, accommodation for the partner, medivac inclusion for the partner etc.

Jilly:)

OOPS link not working,

Southern Cross Travel Insurance

Yes this policy is for two named people