Tell me about your travel insurance claims

[srferson]

I know there are a ton of threads on travel insurance and I've done some looking, but I'm having a hard time finding what I am looking for.

I'm trying to choose an insurance company.

I'd love to hear from people who have had travel insurance and then actually needed to use it.

What company? What coverage? What happened? How was filing a claim? Did they pay up? That kind of stuff.

Thanks to anyone willing to share! There are so many companies and a good experience buying with a company is not as crucial as a good experience filing a claim with a company.

 

[srferson]

I'm certainly glad that there aren't many stories about claims since having to file a claim means something went awry on your trips.

But I am still trying to figure out which companies are trustworthy and which are not. So I'm giving this a bump to see if anyone has anything to share.

Thanks!

 

[toniosmom]

My cousin is an avid cruiser and uses Travelex every time. She had to file a claim twice (once when her mother was near death) and had no trouble at all. I know she has used the "max" policy, but I have bought the "select" policy. I haven't had to file a claim yet, so I can't speak from that.

One thing to be sure about is the waiver for pre-existing conditions. If there is a problem that is related to a pre-existing condition then you want to make sure that you are covered if you need to cancel. Many policies have a requirement that you buy the coverage within 14-30 days of the first initial deposit. Each policy varies, so you really have to read it. I always go to insuremytrip.com where I can compare many different policies.

Good luck -- enjoy your trip and I hope you don't ever have to file a claim.

 

[kcashner]

We had Travel Insured International's Worldwide Trip Protector policy and made a medical claim (visit to ship's doctor + meds). VERY easy, quick service. The slowest part was getting the rejection from my health insurance since the travel policy at that time was secondary coverage (the same policy is now primary).

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I was going to post a thread with this exact question, so thought I'd give it a bump.

I'd love to hear about the process from people who have actually had to file a claim. With all the travelers on this board, I would have thought there would have been many people who've had to file claims--or maybe the lack of responses suggests I shouldn't buy it?

 

[outahere]

A few years ago we filed a claim through Travelex because our DS was quarantined for 48 hours due to Norovirus. It was a very easy process - just filled out their form and sent it in with the form from the ship which noted the 48 hour restriction. We had a check within a week of sending in the paperwork, for two days of his cruise fare and two days of one adult fare (he was 13 at the time so one of us had to be in the cabin with at all times). It worked out to be a sizable amount because we were in a suite - well worth the cost of the insurance.

Since that time we have insured through them for every cruise and, fortunately, have not had to file another claim.

 

[JoiseyMom]

We have used travelex and have filed claims on more then one occassion. DH's glasses, blew off his face and into the ocean. The insurance company handled it like lost luggage. We got a letter from DCL, and we got 300, towards the purchase of new glasses which cost about 400 ish that we got him on St. Thomas.

On another trip we needed to use it for our land portion. We all got sick, and they reimbursed our insurance co-pays for the doc visit and the meds. We also were afraid DH couldn't fly, and the agent from the company was awesome. They would have handled all the cancellations and new flight arrangements for us, if we needed to stay. Thankfully we didn't but they were awesome.

My in-laws used them for a cruise with out kids and fil was sick and quarantined. I told mil to file and she did, and they got back the days he was in the room.

It was easy. I plan on using them for our summer trip.

 

[Momto3cuties]

We used TravelGuard and had no issues with a claim we had to file. Our 4 year old tripped on the hotel doormat as we were leaving the hotel the morning of our cruise. He hit his forehead on the molding of the door and it required 5 stitches. We had it done on the ship, as soon as we got to the port. We paid the doctor, submitted the claim as soon as we got home and were reimbursed within the week.

 

[NC_Tink]

We made a claim to Travel Insured Worldwide back in 2010. When trying to get to our cruise in the Mediterranean - all flights through the UK were cancelled (due to volcanic eruption in Iceland) and we were originally going to spend several days in London prior to heading to Barcelona. Not only did they reimburse all of our tickets (we had non-refundable tickets for the London Pass, London Eye and a few other things that we had planned while there), they assisted in helping us find alternate flights to Barcelona so that we could actually get to the cruise. It was great! Not only did we get our $$ refunded for those things that were non-refundable, but to they also helped us find new flights, in a very short amount of time!

 

[kventventx]

I have booked my Europe trip in 2013 with Allianz through AAA. I have a cousin that had her purse stolen in Italy. The travel insurance company walked her through going to the consulate to get a replacement passport. Sent her money and a credit card to get her home. The policy covered all her expenses. She was with a tour group at the time and the tour guide had no idea what steps she should take but the travel insurance company took care of everything for her. No one in our family travels without insurance after that.

 

[mellers]

I know there are a ton of threads on travel insurance and I've done some looking, but I'm having a hard time finding what I am looking for.

I'm trying to choose an insurance company.

I'd love to hear from people who have had travel insurance and then actually needed to use it.

What company? What coverage? What happened? How was filing a claim? Did they pay up? That kind of stuff.

Thanks to anyone willing to share! There are so many companies and a good experience buying with a company is not as crucial as a good experience filing a claim with a company.

My parents purchased Travel Max from Travelex for their last trip. While I suppose this does not yet qualified as a filed claim, they are putting in the paperwork for a small ding in their rental car upon its return, and they have said there will be no problem in paying the claim--it's just a matter of getting the final paperwork.

Another poster mentioned she had good luck filing a TravelInsured medical claim.

 

[Scotty69]

My wife always gets us the insurance that Disney offers. Back in early April on the fantasy maiden voyage I ended up with a sever sinus infection. I went to the clinic on board paid $165.00 for there service and meds. We got home downloadsd the claim form and filled it out. We faxed it in the next day. We had a check in the mail for the full amount about 3 weeks later.

 

[mellers]

My wife always gets us the insurance that Disney offers. Back in early April on the fantasy maiden voyage I ended up with a sever sinus infection. I went to the clinic on board paid $165.00 for there service and meds. We got home downloadsd the claim form and filled it out. We faxed it in the next day. We had a check in the mail for the full amount about 3 weeks later.

While this is fine if neither you nor any close relatives have had medical concerns in the lookback period dating back from the date of your final payment, if this is not the case this is VERY BAD coverage to have--it does not cover pre-existing conditions. Everybody in my family has serious health issues, and DCL insurance could be devastating to us.

 

[geffric]

Last year before the Alaska Cruise, we flew into Vancouver..but our bags did not. We were in Vancouver for 4 days without luggage and thought we would be boarding the Wonder without luggage..( funny but we met a family that was on our PC cruise and the man was without luggage the whole time) anyway they found our luggage and it arrived before we boarded.. But Travelex reimbursed us buying clothes for the 4 days and toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.. no problems..

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Wow, everyone, thanks for the great replies! I really appreciate the feedback, this is really really helpful. It's great to hear that everyone has had such good experiences with different companies. I'd never bought vacation insurance until my Med cruise last summer, and I've been buying it ever since. For my next vacation the premium was pretty high (even using insuremytrip) so I thought I'd check-in to see how "worth it" it's been for people who needed to use it. Makes me feel much better about buying