Successful travel insurance claims?

[gddo]

Has anyone had to make any travel insurance claims?  If so, which companies were easy, no hassle?  Are there any companies that were difficult to deal with in terms of claims?  Thanks!

[klfrodo]

12 minutes ago, gddo said:

  If so, which companies were easy, no hassle?  

Trick question that has no answer.

IF

you have a valid claim under the Terms and Conditions

AND

You submit all the required documentation requested.

THEN

You will have a much easier time with you claim with any company. Are there outlier situations. As with anything else in life, Yes.

 

A good basic 101 travel insurance site to start with a good FAQ page would be here

Travel Insurance Frequently Asked Questions « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

 

I have had a claim denied before, but that was because I was trying to claim for something that wasn't covered.

I've had 2 other successful claims.

Edited December 13, 2023 by klfrodo

[gddo]

Ok, thank you.

[ldubs]

We made a claim against the travel insurance provided by our credit card for a cancelled domestic flight.  No real hassle.  Years ago we also made a claim against a medical travel insurance policy for med expenses outside the country.  The stumbling block in that instance was our primary insurer needed to deny the claim before the travel med policy would kick in.   Took a few phone calls.    

[ontheweb]

I was filling out a form for a claim when it asked how much other insurance had reimbursed us. So, I had to wait to see how much that would be. And when our secondary insurance (I knew our primary Medicare part B would not cover an overseas charge) paid us 100% of the expense from DW's visit to the ship's medical facility and perscription, I stopped filling out the claim as there was no more to collect.

[jsn55]

There's no answer, as long as you purchase insurance from a reputable source.  And you read everything three times very carefully.  It's all in how the claim forms are completed.  I just got a very large check from the travel insurance built into my Chase Sapphire Reserve CC for a cancelled cruise.  After a few weeks, they asked me for exactly one more useless item, so I know the forms were completed perfectly.  They just sat on it.  And that is, of course, their job.  They can drag out the process by asking for one thing at a time over months ... they can do nothing and then deny the claim ...  or they can do nothing and pay the claim.  At the six-month point, I pitched a polite fit and had my reimbursement in a matter of days.  Had I not been embroiled in a personal disaster, I probably would have got this all wrapped up in three months.

Edited December 14, 2023 by jsn55

[jclinard]

I have never been paid on any of my claims.  I've only gotten denial letters.

 

I tell people not to use Travel Guard because of my experience.  But I urge anybody to not just take my word for it.  Look up reviews with the BBB.  Never take recommendations from people who are very happy with how quickly they cashed the premium check but have never made a claim.  Ask for a policy before buying.  Try using their e-mail to make a query about it (on one policy I made ten requests; they couldn't be bothered to reply).

 

 

[gddo]

4 minutes ago, jclinard said:

I have never been paid on any of my claims.  I've only gotten denial letters.

 

I tell people not to use Travel Guard because of my experience.  But I urge anybody to not just take my word for it.  Look up reviews with the BBB.  Never take recommendations from people who are very happy with how quickly they cashed the premium check but have never made a claim.  Ask for a policy before buying.  Try using their e-mail to make a query about it (on one policy I made ten requests; they couldn't be bothered to reply).

 

 

Good to know

[crystalspin]

4 hours ago, gddo said:

Has anyone had to make any travel insurance claims?  If so, which companies were easy, no hassle?  Are there any companies that were difficult to deal with in terms of claims?  Thanks!

Your thread was moved to the Cruise/Travel Insurance board. If you look at the current threads, the (currently) third one down names IMG as being difficult. The TripInsuranceStore people are going to bat for the complaintant, and apparently have had to do so before. Note, I have never dealt with this company!

[jsn55]

14 hours ago, jclinard said:

I have never been paid on any of my claims.  I've only gotten denial letters.

 

I tell people not to use Travel Guard because of my experience.  But I urge anybody to not just take my word for it.  Look up reviews with the BBB.  Never take recommendations from people who are very happy with how quickly they cashed the premium check but have never made a claim.  Ask for a policy before buying.  Try using their e-mail to make a query about it (on one policy I made ten requests; they couldn't be bothered to reply).

 

 

Why were your claims denied?  Buying insurance of any kind without reading the policy is problematic.  

[Coral]

I used both Princess's AON and Allianz recently. I had a land portion of a trip before the cruise and booked the cruise line insurance for cancel for any reason and Allianz for medical for land portion.

 

Both claims were easy to deal with. Kudos to Allianz for flying me home quickly (with a paramedic escort) after I broke several bones. I think I had 3-4 types of claims with Allianz and they were great to deal with (hotel and food, future hotel I didn't get to, medical and making arrangements to get home quickly so I could do surgery back home)

 

Aon was easy as I broke something and couldn't go on my cruise so it was just cruise cancellation.

[jsn55]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

I used both Princess's AON and Allianz recently. I had a land portion of a trip before the cruise and booked the cruise line insurance for cancel for any reason and Allianz for medical for land portion.

 

Both claims were easy to deal with. Kudos to Allianz for flying me home quickly (with a paramedic escort) after I broke several bones. I think I had 3-4 types of claims with Allianz and they were great to deal with (hotel and food, future hotel I didn't get to, medical and making arrangements to get home quickly so I could do surgery back home)

 

Aon was easy as I broke something and couldn't go on my cruise so it was just cruise cancellation.

I hope you're back up to speed after such an awful adventure.  It's great to know that the insurance functioned as it's supposed to ... how long did the claims take to process?

[Coral]

9 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I hope you're back up to speed after such an awful adventure.  It's great to know that the insurance functioned as it's supposed to ... how long did the claims take to process?

I would say about 2 weeks each.

 

Allianz, - They were done in stages. For example, I turned in my unplanned hotel, my hotel I didn't make it to, my food and taxi rides right away.

 

My ambulance and ER bill was delayed as I had to get that from Canada. Ambulance could email me the bill but hospital could not. Neither wanted payment upfront on these thankfully. They both took a copy of my passport and asked for an email address (and if I had insurance).

 

They arranged and paid for my plane ticket home (along with paramedic escort). The paramedic picked me up at Vancouver Fairmont hotel where I was staying and handled everything. They had a SUV Limo type car pick me up at the airport in my home town and the paramedic escorted me home. He did vitals in my hotel room, at the United Club in Denver and then once I was home.

 

The weird thing was that they were going to allow automatic deposit but it didn't work for my hotel/food/taxi info. Something was glitchy with their system so I got a check. For the Ambulance ride, they directly deposited my money. For the ER visit - they paid the hospital directly. So this was weird how each was handled but they did it quickly.

 

Aon (Princess) which just covered the cruise - they did auto deposit within 2 weeks. I submitted this from the hotel in Vancouver with the paperwork from the ER.

 

It would have saved me money to have had surgery in Vancouver (insurance would have covered it vs my insurance through work) but I didn't have the best medical care in Vancouver so I was glad to go home and have my own doctors do it.

 

Accident October 1st, returned home October 3rd (technically 1 am on the 4th), saw surgeon October 5th, surgery October 6th. Just cleared from surgeon last week though still in PT. 9 screws and 1 metal plate (wrist).

Edited December 20, 2023 by Coral

[Hlitner]

We have filed two major claims using our Chase Sapphire cancellation/interuption coverage.  Their claims are handled by "eclaims" who are a challenge but ultimately professional.  Like many claims processing organizations, they are ultra cautious and "slow walking claims" seems to be part of their MO.  

 

We have previously posted that when it comes to insurance claims, folks need to keep their patience, charm (you get more with sugar), and also pay attention to the rules.  Don't let them wear you down...should be the overriding attitude.

 

It is also worth mentioning, that documenting everything is usually a winning strategy.  Insurance companies put very little stock in what you say, but rather tend to rely on what is written, proven, and fully documented.

 

Hank

[SimplyAlbert]

I've had a couple of trip delay claims through Nationwide and they paid out quickly and easily.

 

We just had a medical claim through IMG, who were very difficult to deal with, and they initially denied the claim.  We (with the help of Steve at the Trip Insurance Store) appealed the denial, and I just got an email this morning that the claim has been accepted and we should get a check shortly.

[iamtrustworthy]

5 hours ago, SimplyAlbert said:

I've had a couple of trip delay claims through Nationwide and they paid out quickly and easily.

 

We just had a medical claim through IMG, who were very difficult to deal with, and they initially denied the claim.  We (with the help of Steve at the Trip Insurance Store) appealed the denial, and I just got an email this morning that the claim has been accepted and we should get a check shortly.

Hi SimplyAlbert,

 

Thanks for contacting me about your claim. I was happy to help you.

 

Steve Dasseos

[CDNPolar]

This was not for a cruise, but a land based tour through Gate1.

 

Gate1 uses Arch Insurance.

 

It was a bit of a stretch at the beginning to understand if Arch being a US based insurance company would insure Canadians, (because many US based will not) but in the end they did.

 

We had to cancel this trip after full payment.

 

We were at 50% penalty with Gate1, and Gate1 had a refund to our credit card for the 50% in a matter of days.

 

We contacted Arch, followed their online requirements which included an attending physician report, and submitted all our receipts and reports.  Days later the agent with Arch came back and wanted an additional physician's report because there was more than one specialist involved.  We supplied that.

 

We were informed that they had everything that they needed to assess our claim.

 

We received an email that the claim was approved and we have been issued checks in the amount of the other 50%.

 

All of this took approximately 6 weeks, BUT Christmas and New Year was in there and I am sure that slowed things down.

 

I would absolutely use Arch again as they were quick, efficient, and the matter was resolved without issue.

 

I have read about many who have fought for months and longer.  I don't know their circumstances.

 

We had every receipt, and most of all our cancel reason was indisputable backed up by doctor's reports. 

[GeezerCouple]

On 12/13/2023 at 5:01 PM, gddo said:

Has anyone had to make any travel insurance claims?  If so, which companies were easy, no hassle?

 

Unfortunately, we have had to make several travel insurance claims, and ALL were paid promptly without any nonsense.  (I've described some of this in even more detail elsewhere on CC a few times.)

 

These were for totally cancelled trips, including the very first insured trip (!).

They were for major trip interruptions, such as landing in hospital in the middle of a trip, thus derailing much of the remaining plans.

One was for much less, when a flight home from Barbados was... cancelled while we were all at the airport waiting to board... a flight that was not going to arrive.  (Grrr.)

In that latter case, we got written confirmation from an airline employee about the [finally!] cancellation, and took a taxi back to our very nice resort.  According to plenty of grumblings we heard, most of the others had to wait til the wee hours for the airline to find lodging (it was almost Christmas, so ... not much available), and apparently it was, er, "less than satisfactory".

 

Each time, once we submitted all of the required documentation, we had a check within about 2 weeks, with one exception.  That was when our non-weather-related claim happened to coincide with two major hurricanes... which had led to a real flurry of claims.

We didn't understand the delay, so we called our travel insurance broker, who explained what was going on.  He then made a call to our insurer, and within about another week, we had our check.

 

We have purchased our travel insurance through www.TripInsuranceStore.com - and we've gotten policies through Travel Insured.

 

BTW, most of the complaints we've read about travel insurance seem to involve at least one of:

1) The "event" not being a covered event from the start.  Sometimes the traveler didn't understand the terms of the coverage.

2) The traveler taking offense at being required to document the claimed loss, such as with receipts.  And for claims that are based upon medical events, this usually requires a physician's signed form, or access to actual medical records.  [HIPAA does not apply, because the terms of the coverage included the right to get such records if necessary to process a claim.  If you don't want to have to share any medical records, don't get coverage that would be based upon medical events.]

3) Similar to #2 above, an insurer needs to get access to *previous* medical records, because the insured had coverage that *excluded* any "pre-existing conditions".  These are defined very specifically, and quite differently from what we usually think of in everyday life.  The insurer would need to determine that the claim was *not* related to anything pre-existing within the previously defined prior times.

 

We *always* get coverage that does NOT exclude pre-existing condtions or claims related to such.  We also get "Cancel For Any Reason" (CFAR) coverage, which is as it states, but only replaces 75% of the loss.  This allows us to simply "change our mind", such as if we notice that very bad weather may be heading towards our destination, or we are "worried" about a very elderly relative who isn't so sick (yet!) that a physician would say... "Don't leave just now...!"

Of all of our claims, we've actually never used the CFAR coverage, which does cost extra.  But it has given us considerable peace of mind on many occasions.

 

ALWAYS read the full terms and conditions of any policy you are considering.

Also, it definitely helps to work with an agent or broker.  You can tell them about any worries (e.g., sick relative or your own recent medical treatment...) *and* they can ask you questions that would help them determing the most appropriate coverage for *your* situation.

And... they can (or *should*!) help with claims if you want help.

And ALWAYS get receipts.

 

The only minimal part of one claim that was not paid was for the TIP to a taxi driver.  The taxi fares were paid, but not the *tip*... because we didn't have a receipt for that.  And that was definitely way too small an amount to fuss over (less than $10 total).

But the insurer examined the claim and all the documentation such that they were able to make that determination!

GC

[cruisingjandb]

We had a couple of cruises cancelled during covid. The first one we called the travel insurance company and they give us a voucher for our next cruise no problem.  The second one we had got Generali insurance. We called and they said to go online and fill out a form. Went online and it said to call. Called and they said to go online. After two weeks and the run around and many phone calls. We called and the guy said the same thing, my wife by this time let him have it. He give us a voucher number in lest than 5 minutes. If we were calling about a claim we felt like we would of got the same treatment.

[CDNPolar]

I have done two separate insurance claims now and both were 100% online and the simplest claims ever.  

 

I anticipated lots of push back and challenge, but I filled out forms and submitted the reports they requested and got a cheque.

 

This was with Arch in the USA and Blue Cross in Canada.

[Fox trotter]

I can't remember which insurance company we used, but a few years ago my wife was taken ill on board with some sort of bacterial or viral infection. At first, we didn't think it was too serious and we ran up a small medical bill. To be honest, I would have paid this and not bothered with an insurance claim. However after three days, the medical team were getting concerned and advised me that they would send my wife to hospital at the next port. Basically they said to me, "Go and pack your bags in readiness to leave the ship next day" At this point I thought I had better telephone the insurance company. When I called them, they 'reprimanded' me for not calling them as soon as my wife was taken ill. They advised me that if we had to disembark, they, the insurance company would decide which hospital and doctors we would use.

 

Fortunately my wife improved next day and they allowed us to stay on ship. We ran up a medical bill of around £1500 GBP. When we arrived home, we completed and sent off a claim form. The expenses were paid in full within a week.

 

The moral of my story is, if you feel that anyone needs medical attention, always call the insurance company at your first opportunity. 

 

When I think back about this, I'm surprised that the medical team didn't call the insurance company before they began treatment, as the cruise line has details of all passengers insurance.

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, Fox trotter said:

When I think back about this, I'm surprised that the medical team didn't call the insurance company before they began treatment, as the cruise line has details of all passengers insurance.

[emphasis added]

 

Hmmm... This must be something specific to the UK?  Or at least, not necessarily done for/by USA-based passengers. Or perhaps it is the specific cruise line or travel vendor that might not do business in the USA?

 

I don't think we've ever provided any cruise line about our travel insurance, or even whether we had any (we always have, since joining CruiseCritic!).  Yes, it's possible that we did provide such information but I've forgotten about it...

 

However, I think that for some of the more intensive expedition-type cruises/trips we considered or read about, the vendor does require evidence of some level of coverage.  But we have not actually signed up for any of those expedition type trips, and by now, very unfortunately, at our ages/conditions, we suspect we probably won't.

 

GC

[klfrodo]

Went to Cancun during the pandemic. The resort (RIU) which is a Spanish (Spain) company offered a free medical insurance policy. I believe it was Helix (another Spanish/Spain company).

The policy did state that before going to a hospital, one of the requirements was that we had to notify the insurance company first.

As it turned out, my wife did require a hospital visit. (Trip and fall with broken wrist and facial lacerations). $3600 upfront payment required before treatment. The hospital did a great job. Because I wasn't thinking right due to the anxiety and more concerned about my wife, I failed to notify Helix prior to going to the hospital. They denied the claim. I was able to file a claim with my BCBS work policy which did have an international rider on the policy. They reimbursed about $2400.

Moral of the story, read and understand the policy. Maintain situational awareness during an emergency.

[CDNPolar]

16 hours ago, Fox trotter said:

 

 

The moral of my story is, if you feel that anyone needs medical attention, always call the insurance company at your first opportunity. 

 

When I think back about this, I'm surprised that the medical team didn't call the insurance company before they began treatment, as the cruise line has details of all passengers insurance.

 

Every insurance policy that I have seen for travel when it comes to medical, it is very explicit that YOU must call the insurance company at the first sign of illness and/or before treatment starts unless it is an accident that prevents you from calling...  This would never be the role of the doctor, clinic, or hospital.

[CDNPolar]

14 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

[

 

However, I think that for some of the more intensive expedition-type cruises/trips we considered or read about, the vendor does require evidence of some level of coverage.  But we have not actually signed up for any of those expedition type trips, and by now, very unfortunately, at our ages/conditions, we suspect we probably won't.

 

GC

 

Be careful on expedition type cruises, and if there are any "high risk" activities.  The typical - emphasis on typical - medical plan does not cover injury from zip lining, scuba diving, rock climbing, parasailing, etc.

 

You can buy insurance for these, but the typical policy does not cover these types of activities.