Travel Insurance Claim - Documents You Need To Keep Just In Case

[CarolinaGirl]

I was scheduled to sail the Mariner on 10/3 but had to cancel at the last minute because my father became critically ill. I am insured through Travel Guard and am now wading through the insurance claims, and I can't believe all the information they require! Had I known they would need some of these items, I would have kept them!

 

So just in case it will help someone else, here's a list of the requirements:

 

A copy of any amounts refunded for trip (RCI has refunded our port charges and prepaid tips). Have to wait for credit card statement showing refunds.

 

Cancellation penalties - printed cancellation terms from the travel agent.

 

Invoice with trip costs - invoice showing breakdown of air, cruises, taxes, etc.

 

Original airline tickets - If e-tickets, e-ticket passenger receipt. If you booked on the internet, they need ticket confirmation sheet with ticket numbers.

 

Original hotel or cruise vouchers, if non-refundable.

 

Proof of reason for claim - doctor's statement including specific diagnosis and date of diagnosis.

 

Signature of ill party authorizing the relase of medical information.

 

Proof of trip payment - copy of canceled check, cash receipt, or credit card statements for each payment made. Receipt from travel agent is not sufficient. I booked this trip a year ago and threw away my original credit card statements, so now I have to pay $5 per month to the credit card company to get them to mail me duplicate copies.

 

Name and address of all physicians that the person having the sickness or injury had seen from 60 days prior to the purchase of the policy up to the departure date - and why that doctor saw the person.

 

A copy of the insurance policy they mailed me - DUH!!!! Don't they have it on file?

 

Wish me luck!

[Kami's pal]

That's a very daunting list. I guess the insurance company really doesn't want to turn over the money. If it didn't involve thousands of dollars, most people would give up.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

[Aldeya]

Thanks for the list. I'm sure many will find it very useful. I'm printing it out, just in case.

 

Good luck with your claim!

[judycruiser]

I just went through this process twice with TravelGuard since I had to cancel two cruises due to my husband's illness. I did not think their request unreasonable since every claim is different. My travel agent had most of the documents except for the medical documentation and assisted me with both claims.

 

I did not have to submit copy of insurance policy TravelGuard sent to me.

 

I received insurance settlements on both claims within 3 weeks to a month of the claim being submitted.

 

Travel insurance is a necessity now.

 

Judy

[CarolinaGirl]

Judy, I'm glad to hear you got reimbursed so quickly! Hopefully I will, too. Sending a copy of their policy is definitely on my list. Also, I forgot to mention all the forms the doctors have to fill out, even though I already have a statement from them concerning his condition.

 

This would be easier if it were me or my husband, but they are asking for a lot of information I don't know, and since my parents are elderly I'm not sure how much they can help with previous doctor's visits, etc. And since this policy covers preexisting conditions (and this was NOT preexisting), I don't really see why they need to know all that.

 

I didn't post this to complain. My purpose is to let everyone know to keep all those things I threw away. This claim would be much easier - and less expensive - if I had all those statements. I will definitely keep them in the future!

[sbgrace]

Wow...I wouldn't have saved some of that stuff either, especially the credit card statement for the original deposit. Good luck with your claim! And best wishes for your father's recovery.

Chris

[mcboo]

Carolinagirl,

What insurance company did you use. I am curious. Great info of things I wouldn't have thought of.

mcboo

[aleone]

I never would have believed all of that was necessary. I'm going to make a copy of your post and then I'm going online right now to obtain a copy of my credit card deposit before it's too late.

[Julma]

I just filed a claim through CSA. My flight home from London was posponed 24 hours. Virgin Airlines was great and paid for everything. They set-up a dinner and the food was not great, so I went to a restaurant and ate. I submitted just my $40 dinner bill (London is not cheap). I had to also send quite a few forms, including my policy. I thought that part was strange. There was so much to fill out and make copies of it almost was not worth $40. They must have so many cases of fraud they have to overdo the documentation.

[TWELVEOHONE]

Judy,

 

The smartest thing was to have your Travel Agent assist with your claim.

They usually have all the paper work including invoices etc.

[judycruiser]

I am very fortunate to have my TA. She sent me all the paperwork without my asking on both occasions. I did have my credit card statements.

 

I also obtained the medical records required. Was lucky in that respect since this was a new illness for my husband and he had never been treated for the condition before. This limited the records I had to have.

 

I was overwhelmed as the OP was and I had most of the paperwork. I can see where her situation of doing it for her parent and not having the basic invoices etc would be devastating.

 

Best wishes to her and to her father for a speedy recovery.

 

Judy

[michelle319]

We also had to file a claim for a cancelled cruise. My DH broke his nose and required surgery right before we were to leave on our cruise in August. Our traveling companions also cancelled. Our policy was with TravelGuard and the process went very smoothly. They cross-referenced the two claims so we didn't have to send in duplicate info. They actually accepted a note from DH's ENT (on a prescription pad) that stated the date of injury, dates of treatment and the information that he had a broken nose and required surgery on this date. We didn't have to have all the papers filled out, just attached the note from the doctor to the claim form. We received our checks within 2 weeks.

 

Thanks for posting the info, CarolinaGirl. I'm sure many people will benefit from this thread. We never thought we'd have to file a claim. It helps to know what is needed in case you have to!

[CarolinaGirl]

Sorry I haven't responded back in awhile. I've been really busy helping take care of my father. He's home now, still recovering but showing some real improvement in mobility. Thanks for the well wishes!

 

It's been a month since I cancelled the cruise, and I now have all the paperwork together. I'll mail it off tomorrow and anxiously await the outcome.

 

I have Travel Guard insurance. Will let you know how it goes. My TA highly recommends them, so I feel confident in a quick resolution.

[lanabanana]

Not the same situation, but I received a check from TravelGuard today with reimbursement for our "Hurricaine Jeanne" cruise on 9/26. I found them very easy to deal with and extremely prompt with payment. I'm sure you'll have the same experience. Speedy recovery to your dad!

[CarolinaGirl]

Wanted to let you all know that I received my check today. No problems. It took three weeks from the time I mailed my information. Thanks to Travel Guard!

[Cruiser Forever]

I was scheduled to sail the Mariner on 10/3 but had to cancel at the last minute because my father became critically ill. I am insured through Travel Guard and am now wading through the insurance claims, and I can't believe all the information they require! Had I known they would need some of these items, I would have kept them!

 

 

I had to cancel last year due to illness. So I sent the doctors & hospital proof. Proof of how much I paid for trip, excursions etc. Didn't get it all back but about 75%. My question is are you having lots of trouble with Travel Guard? And would you use them again? Will you get your 100% cost back? I didn't use Travel Guard and was wondering how they are as a company for travel insurance. :confused:

 

 

[CarolinaGirl]

Cruiser, I received 100% of my claim to the exact penny. Once I got the monumental paperwork together, I had no problems with Travel Guard. I will definitely use them again and, in fact, have insured with them for my next two trips.

 

My TA has always highly recommended them. My problems with filing my claim were in large part my fault because I didn't keep all the paperwork I needed. Now I know what to keep, and if I ever have another claim it will be much easier. I highly recommend Travel Guard!

[hdawson]

I almost always use Travel Guard but last spring I used CSA. Sent in the claim forms and received my check 8 days later. Outstanding. I was refunded the port charges and taxes by HAL and CSA refunded the rest including the hotel charges for a Priceline transaction. The 75% refund sounds a bit like the cruiseline insurance policy.

[stillfrantic]

I used TravelSafe, purchased through www.insuremytrip.com for a HAL cruise in September. Well, I'm sure everyone here knows what happened to Caribbean cruises in September! TravelSafe was great...they didn't require any unreasonable things. I pretty much just wrote out an explanation of what everything was and sent them my expenses. We received checks really quickly. No complaints on the process, and even my husband had no complaints when I purchased insurance again for this next cruise.

[sherry7]

Thanks for sharing this information with us. I wouldn't have thought to keep many of these things.

 

I hope your father is well on his way to recovery.

[Croozin Soozin]

I had to cancel a cruise when my mom was dying of cancer several years ago. We had the insurance through RCI - our air and hotel was also through RCI. The only documentation I needed to send was a statement from the doctor about my mother's condition. There was no question about whether it was a pre-existing condition, there was no requirement for sending invoices or credit card statements. We received all our money back in just a couple of weeks.

 

People are always bashing the cruise line insurance - I just wanted to let you all know that it's not that bad. In fact, my mom was diagnosed with cancer the year before she died - we decided to take the insurance at final payment just a few months before her death. There was nothing in there that said that you weren't covered for a family members pre-existing condition.

 

We always take the cruise lines insurance - I priced other insurance one time but there was no savings and the coverage was comparable.

 

Soozin

[rsinj]

Didn't get it all back but about 75%.

How much you get back is dependent on the insurance policy you purchase. You may have gone over some limits of the policy you purchased.

[CaribbeanBound]

Good list.

 

Here are some great tips for buying trip insurance (long before the claim process)...

*****