Need help selecting Travel Insurance

[Chiweenie]

Keep reading such terrible reviews on every company I think about trying. Has anyone found a reputable company. It seems to me that none of the companies want to pay when claims are made. Going on a cruise to Europe next year.

[sirwired]

Every company out there has bad reviews. Every. Single. One. Most, although certainly not all, of the complaints are where the insurance simply doesn't cover something the complainer wishes it did.

 

Nobody ever writes a review for trip insurance when things go well. Industry-wide, net claim denial statistics run at around 15%.

[diane.in.ny]

My TA only deals with Access America which is now Allianz. She has never had a problem with a legitimate claim.

 

Just remember that if you don't take insurance within a certain amount of time of depositing (Allianz gives you 14 days), most policies won't cover you if you have to cancel because of a pre-existing condition.

[klfrodo]

Sir wired hit the nail on the head.

Travel insurance is just like homeowners insurance. You must have paid for coverage for the event you're claiming against. Home destroyed by earthquake or flood, you didn't pay for earthquake or flood insurance. Easier to blame the insurance company, than look internally at yourself.

[cruiseco]

Go to insuremytrip.com:

 

http://www.insuremytrip.com/plans/compare/package.html?stateSelector=5025

 

You'll see ratings/reviews for every insurer they feature. There's apparently over 7500 reviews there. From a quick eyeballing I'd say they average about 4.5 out of 5 stars. If you read the reviews you can select just those that have had to file a claim -- pay special attention to them as that's the true test.

[Keith1010]

Keep reading such terrible reviews on every company I think about trying. Has anyone found a reputable company. It seems to me that none of the companies want to pay when claims are made. Going on a cruise to Europe next year.

 

I have used Travelex for the past few years and I had no problem with payments for those claims I filed. They were medical related from the ship and since they act as a primary carrier I could just file with them first.

 

Keith

[6rugrats]

Keep reading such terrible reviews on every company I think about trying. Has anyone found a reputable company. It seems to me that none of the companies want to pay when claims are made.

Simply not true. Insurance companies must pay if you file a claim correctly for a covered reason. I have had several claims paid by Travelguard with no problem.

 

A lot of people complaining are unhappy because their carrier did not reimburse them for a noncovered reason. They never read the policy and/or just assumed they'd be reimbursed 100% for any reason.

[SuzanneSLO]

Simply not true. Insurance companies must pay if you file a claim correctly for a covered reason. I have had several claims paid by Travelguard with no problem.

 

A lot of people complaining are unhappy because their carrier did not reimburse them for a noncovered reason. They never read the policy and/or just assumed they'd be reimbursed 100% for any reason.

 

To be fair to those that expected to be covered for what turned out to be non-covered reasons, the policies can be very convuluted and hard to decipher. And things you might expect to be covered, such as a missing a flight due to lines at airline security or a flat tire enroute, etc, may not be covered.

 

As everyone will tell you, it is important to read your policy carefully and to understand the potential traps. If you are not covered if you miss your flight and it takes off on time without you, do all you can to make sure that you do not miss your flight or find another policy that will give you added coverage. -- Suzanne

[jalaw]

I've just been wading through all the reviews, comments, etc. to determine the best carrier for our river cruise next year. We signed up for Grand Circle's trip insurance through Trip Mate, but we still have time to back out so wanted to make sure we are getting the best plan.

 

Check out these reviews - very helpful:

http://travel-insurance-review.toptenreviews.com/

 

And as someone suggested, check http://www.insuremytrip.com for more ratings and actual cost comparisons based on your ages and cost of trip.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

My TA only deals with Access America which is now Allianz. She has never had a problem with a legitimate claim.

 

Just remember that if you don't take insurance within a certain amount of time of depositing (Allianz gives you 14 days), most policies won't cover you if you have to cancel because of a pre-existing condition.

They are the best ...

[Louise22]

I have traveled for a number of years with Access America with no complaints. For some reason AAA who I purchased the AA through has switched to Travelguard.

[#1TravelMom]

I HIGHLY recommend Travelguard. I helped friends process a claim while they were going through a very sudden severe health emergency. When I volunteered to help - I thought for sure it would be a tremendous amount of work and hassle. I just wanted to do everything I could to help them avoid the frustration. It was a claim for a very expensive 2+ week Hawaiian land/cruise package.

 

The rep I dealt with was so nice. I faxed everything they requested and prepared for a lenghthy process of additional document requests and correspondences. A few days later, I received a call, the claim was approved and check sent in no time. Travelguard was wonderful. I can definately recommend them.

[dreamer976]

I, too, had to file a claim with Travelguard for our non-refundable air on a cancelled cruise (before final payment, cruiseline refunded deposit). Had no problems and their telephone claims adjusters couldn't have been nicer or more professional!

 

Travelguard always, for me.

[HunterBarb]

Thanks to all who've posted info here - Of course when I booked (not long ago!) I was OFFERed insurance - at a large price - and declined.:confused:

 

The hints & places to go on *here* helped me to choose, and I found a perfect fit ( I hope ) for a MUCH lower price than the original "offer".

 

Knowing someone who once DID have to USE the travel medical EVAC insurance, for a Broken Neck!! :eek: I was MOST interested in having this insurance.

 

Thanks C C Board posters!

Smooth Sailing

 

First-Time Cruiser Barb :D

[willysgrandma]

We mainly use Travel Guard and haven't ever had a problem with e LEGITIMATE claim being paid.

 

You will not read many people putting positive reviews of travel insurance online because no one thinks about it. But those with claims they didn't have enough documentation for will always scream and complain where ever they can.

 

Just remember if you did not purchase insurance within 14 days of making your deposit you likely will not have coverage for pre-existing conditions.

 

Were you pricing cancel for any reason insurance? That is usually very expensive but other policies are not that expensive.

[newt32]

Allow me to start off by saying I’ve been on a few cruises and always have gotten trip insurance thru the cruise company. I’ve been lucky and never had to use it. This time I took a trip to Europe and spent several days researching what company to go with. I picked Seven Corners based on threads posted here. Thanks for the info because this time I had to use the insurance for the death of a family member while I was abroad.

In June of this year my 11 year old son and I went to England and to Normandy France for a once in a lifetime trip to see where his great grandfather landed on D-Day. While on the 5th day of our 21 day trip which turned out to be Father’s Day, I got a call that my father had died unexpectedly at home. After several emails and calls back and forth to family I attempted, but was unable to secure an earlier flight with the airline that I had originally booked my flights on. My wife arraigned flights to get us home the following day, Monday via another airline. This was a feat in itself. We left at 2 AM Monday morning and drove from Normandy France via the Euro tunnel to Heathrow airport in London and arrived 22 hours later from the time we left our hotel to Philadelphia to be with the rest of my family.

An agent at U.S. Air in London asked if I had travel insurance and I told them I had Seven Corners but I assumed it was just for health insurance. He told me to give them a call and find out because "things like this are usually covered". Once things settled down at home I contacted Seven Corners and was advised that I was indeed covered by submit a claim.

I cannot thank Kathy Haught of Seven Corners enough for everything she did to help me in filing a claim. Not only is she and outstanding advocate for the customer she is stellar representative for the company! While my claim may have had some extenuating circumstances, Seven Corners treated me as an individual not just a number with compassion and respect and compensated me for my return flight.

While dealing with the loss of a my father thousands of miles away, contacting Seven Corners was the last thing on my mind. What I did find out though is that I wish it had been one of the first calls I made after contacting my family back home. Travel arraignments would have been much easier and there would have been a lot less stress to deal with in getting home.

I was so impressed with the treatment I received I’ve recommended Seven Corners to one of my co-workers traveling to Europe this month. He had been researching travel insurance and chose Seven Corners because of my recommendation and the affordable price. I would absolutely recommend anyone even considering a travel insurance look no further. Most importantly, thank you Kathy and Seven Corners for making a very difficult time a little easier for my family and me.

[Queeniecruiser]

If a cruise line has a flash promo prior to final payment and you have to cancel booking and rebook to receive discount, do you know if your trip insurance is voided. I have heard from a tA that most insurance companies have a clause that your trip is valid with original booking only. Can anyone confirm or deny?

[Gunner22aa]

I can only speak for mine here in Canada. I pay $99 a year, automatically renewed and get great coverage for any number of trips I take a year up to 31 days inclusive. Often the cap for the actual travel, air, cruise etc ($5000 each) for mother and I does not cover all the cost. I simply fax in my invoice and am offered full protection for an additional charge. The additional cost has never been remotely the cost of independant companies. Doubling my coverage to 10K per person cost each of us $61 for our Aisa cruise a year ago. The medical coverage is as good as you will find when it comes to dollar limits. I used it once when stranded in Chicago due to weather. Submitted my claim and got back $20 more than I claimed. Apparantly I forgot to claim the $10 each for incidentals that each of us were entitled to. Got the cheque 19 days after filing the claim by snail mail. Most major credit cards offer something similar at least here in Canada anyway.

[Happy Sails 2 U]

I can only speak for mine here in Canada. I pay $99 a year, automatically renewed and get great coverage for any number of trips I take a year up to 31 days inclusive.

 

Gunner, I've heard of other people doing this...always having insurance. I like it. Can you tell me what company this is? Thanks! :)

[Gunner22aa]

MC here in Canada but I'm certain they all have it in one form or another

[6rugrats]

Gunner, I've heard of other people doing this...always having insurance. I like it. Can you tell me what company this is? Thanks! :)

Travelguard, for one, will offer an annual policy for US citizens. However, the coverage limits are too low to make it worth it for me.

 

http://www.travelguard.com/travelinsurance/annual.asp

[rockmegently]

I had a look at the Travel Guard policy for Canadians and their medical plan only includes ground ambulance and not air evacuation except back to your home province on the advice of your doctor. I think that is a big miss for a cruise. Maybe I am missing something.