Travel Insurance Web Claim

AnneHills

I wonder whether anyone has experience of claiming from 'Travel Insurance Web'?

We shopped around for our annual travel insurance policy, and chose Travel Insurance Web - a really great deal at only 40 pounds odd for both me and my husband, for the whole year.

Unfortunately my father-in-law suffered a stroke on 6th August this year, and died 2 days later. We were due to go on holiday on 11th August - so of course we had to cancel.

We are still in the process of claiming the money from Travel Insurance Web - we had to get my father-in-law's GP to fill out the medical form to indicate that it wasn't a pre-existing condition, she wrote N/A on the form for when she had been consulted on the condition - and as he had been rushed straight to hospital that was the most appropriate response.

That wasn't good enough for the insurance company though - so we had to return the form for her to change it to 'I was not consulted on this matter'.

We have just had to contact her again though - because now they need independant verification of the date of his stroke.

All in all it is making a bit of a mockery of the death of my father in law.

I wonder if anyone else has had trouble getting a claim actually paid by Travel Insurance Web - it is all well and good that the premiums are low - but if they never pay out anyway, we have actually lost the cost of the premium, as well as the cost of the holiday.

I expect they are trying to make it so difficult to jump through all their hoops, that we just give up and write it off to experience.

Rant over!

savvy

Hi Anne Hills
I've moved your post to the Travel board as there is some dicussion in the travel sticky at the top of the board, also this post in relation to the company may be of use.
HTH
savvy

Donnie

If your father in law was not travelling with you, it is nothing to do with them.
Ask them to point out the relevant clause pertaining to a relative NOT travelling in your party needing to declare a pre existing medical condition.
It's nonsense.
That would mean anyone over 50 with living parents would be uninsurable.

AnneHills

It would seem that this is the way several 'low cost' travel insurers are going - because we needed to cancel the holiday because of illness of a close family member, they need proof that the illness wasn't 'pre-existing' when we booked, paid for and went on the holiday.

I would encourage everyone who is considering buying the cheapest possible travel insurance to make sure they have read the small print.

Fortunately for us, his condition was not 'pre-existing' so I think we should get the money in the long run - but they certainly are making us jump through lots of hoops - probably in the hope that we will give up before they do.

We are determined to fight on as long as is necessary - as a sort of tribute to my father in law - he was a bit of a 'campaigner' - and he would not want us to give up the fight!

Pearl_Jam

Almost all travel insurance companies will exclude conditions of close relatives etc.

Donnies post stating "If your father in law was not travelling with you, it is nothing to do with them." is completley untrue.

Here is the information you agree to when getting an online quote from at least 1 major company:

"You are not aware of any reason why a planned trip will be cancelled or cut short e.g. illness of a relative, close business associate or someone else upon whose health your trip depends."

Donnie

My point is that many people have older relatives in varying states of disrepair. Certainly, this may be relevant if you book the trip when someone is on their death bed, but otherwise they should show some compassion.

AnneHills

I thought I should update this thread with the news that we received our settlement cheque in the post this morning - only (!) 15 weeks since the claim was originally made.

So, although we had to jump through lots of hoops - we have received a cheque for the full amount claimed (minus the £50 per person excess as expected).

It just goes to show that it is certainly worth persevering.