jclinard

Avoid TravelGuard like the plague.  

Don't take my word for it.  Look up people who tried to collect on Israel trips with TravelGuard compared to other insurance companies.

Do you own research.  Don't listen to anybody who wants to tell you great things about how quickly the company deposited the premiums but has no experience making a claim.  Don't take the word of random people on the internet without checking their claims (that includes everything I've said).

Only accept a recommendation from somebody who has attempted to file a claim.

I have also been called to jury duty in Nevada during a time when I had a pre-booked cruise.  The summons provided instructions on how to defer service, which I did.  

Better read the policy.  Twice.  Question every paragraph that details coverage and exclusions.  Understand if there is any wiggle room, they'll issue a denial.

Read customer reviews and complaints on the BBB before buying.   Never take recommendations from people who only know how fast they deposit the premiums.  Listen to people who have attempted to make claims.  See how many of them know what color the checks are, and how long it takes for them to arrive.

On 1/30/2024 at 11:36 AM, toolworker said:

I've had excellent experience with TravelGuard, and the increased premium for CFAR is not overwhelming IIRC.

 

Two comments in addition to the 14 - 21 day window for purchasing: CFAR expires two days before departure, so if something comes up in the last couple of days it won't apply. And you'd have to cancel the entire trip - all arrangements. We were on a cruise out of New York, and I inquired about canceling the cruise and just going to New York to visit family. CFAR wouldn't pay off unless we canceled everything including the flights.

 

(This is for TravelGuard - other companies may have similar restrictions.)

How long did it take for them to pay your claim?

I had my baggage delayed upon returning home a few years ago.  I read my policy carefully and it was clear they won't pay.  It was delivered about 30 hours afterwards.

Medical, yes.

For anything else, better read the policy first.  You'll find you can only collect under a very limited set of circumstances.

You should also look up cases with the BBB to get a feel about how claims go.  

Don't make the mistakes I made when buying travel insurance, and having my claim denied.  

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).

Travel Guard wants you to abandon the claim.

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.

9 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

I know what you mean. I’ve cancelled all my planned trips to the US because Alaska’s only 55 miles from Russia. It’s just not safe.

Russia and the US are actually only 2.5 miles at their closest point.

On 8/22/2023 at 3:30 AM, tim_london0 said:

I'm new to this cruising lark, so I don't routinely carry additionally insurance for cruise cover.

 

and when I do buy a policy for a one-off cruise, my only interest in having the cruise insurance is to cover repatriation costs in the event of accident illness.

 

Everything else that I need would pretty much be covered by a non-cruise policy

 

So I was kind of surprised to see such additions as "Cruise Itinerary Change".

 

And whatdoyouknow, I've just come back from an expedition cruise where one of the expeditions was cancelled due to the weather, and not replaced by an alternative shore landing.

 

So does this mean that I'm entitled to make a claim for £40 from my insurer, a relativity trivial sum given that (due to the nature of the location) I cannot recreate the missed landing without completing 100% of an additional cruise.  But then I only paid £24 for the insurance :-)

 

And what am I expected to do to prove my claim?  Nobody on the boat (um ship) seems to think that this missed landing was anything that they needed to document with passengers.  It was just, shrug "it happens".

 

What do regular cruisers do here?  Do you make sure to claim for every nickel and dime that you might be entitled to for even the tiniest of changes to an Itinerary, or do you (as I do) think "I don't want to get myself a bad rep with insurance companies claiming for every nickel and dime, lest they refuse to insure me in future"?

 

FWIW, I missed out on claiming for being confined to cabin with Covid on the previous cruise because I didn't know that I had such cover.  That would have been £50pd for 5 days.  Fortunately all were "at sea" days so I lot very little of the experience - though my cheapie £24 police doesn't seem to include that.

 

 

File the claim.  

23 minutes ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi jclinard,

 

> I know of some people who have both urged people to get insurance and then urged people not to file legitimate claims.

 

That is completely unethical and against the law. Here's what we tell our customers:

 

"As a policyholder you have every right to file a claim. When you ask us if your claim will be covered, we tell you to the best of our knowledge. We cannot predetermine claims. However, the only way you can be sure if your claim will be paid or not is after you file your claim. The insurance company has the final say."

 

Steve Dasseos

I don't know if the person who recommended against filing a claim was an insurance agent or just a busybody.

Only take recommendations from people who have tried to collect on a policy.  Do not take recommendations from people who are impressed as to how fast the company deposited the premium and have no other dealings with them.

Read any policy in advance.

Understand what you want to insure.

Read complaint cases from the BBB.  You'll also find out what sellers can't or won't become part of the BBB.  

Be careful of randos on the internet trying to push an agenda.  I know of some people who have both urged people to get insurance and then urged people not to file legitimate claims.

Only take recommendations from people who have tried to collect on policies, not people who only know how fast the companies deposit the premiums.

Read the policy beforehand.

Understand what you want to insure.

AON is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau.  That should be a red flag to the careful consumer.

I was offered a policy from a TA for an upcoming Disney Cruise.  Needless to say, I did not use them.  I continue to urge people to read the policy, only take recommendations from people who have attempted to collect on a policy (instead of people who are impressed with how fast the company deposited the premiums), and read how they treat their policyholders on consumer forums.

I always urge people to only take recommendations for insurance from people who have attempted to make a claim.  Lots of people seem to pooh-pooh that, insisting they have a good company because they deposited the premiums promptly.

My guess is that they know it's a valid claim, so they are going through this dance to try to wear you out and abandon it.  It's funny how valid claims go through that, where denials are issued without any delays at all.

Only take recommendations from people who made claims.  It's foolish to take them from people who only know how fast the company deposited the premiums.

What are you trying to insure?  Medical?  Cruise fare?  What events are you looking to insure against?  

Did you want cancel for any reason?

Always read the policy.  I was reviewing one from Travel Insured where they specifically exclude coverage if you're directly involved in a traffic accident en-route to your trip departure city or scheduled destination. 

I'm constantly telling people not to take insurance recommendations based on how quickly the company deposited the premiums.

No matter how quickly they do that, or how cheap it is, it's worthless if it won't cover what you need covered.  

Ask for a policy in advance.  If they won't send one (I've run into that; I required one ten times and never got one), don't buy.  It never gets better than the marketing department.

That's why I also urge people to look at consumer sites regarding insurance companies, such as the Better Business Bureau.  You'll get a feel for what they want to do with legitimate claims.  You'll find plenty of companies that spend months "processing", then "lose" the forms, and eventually issue checks that are short the full amount, knowing people will give up on pursuing the claims or the amounts they haven't paid.

What are you trying to insure?  Medical, or the costs of cruise / air tickets, hotels, and other pre-paid expenses?

No matter what, don't take recommendations from people who only know how fast the company deposits the premiums.  Look at people who know what color checks they use.

Read the policies before buying, if they'll provide you with a copy.  Understand the conditions on which you can collect.  

Read the BBB and consumer reviews of companies before buying a policy.

Understand the difference between a vacation protection plan and actual insurance.

I thought you blocked me.

You lied.

Funny how this person is big on insurance, and then seems to discount it being worth it when something does happen...

The new menus are a conceptual mistake, and Mexican night was the worst of the bunch.  I had it twice on my last cruise.  Put it this way, if it was a land based Mexican restaurant, I wouldn't go back.  

I actually regret not abandoning the MDR and going to the buffet.  I had noticed they had some fajitas that looked pretty good.