Volcano insurance invalid

Pincher

I have been buying annual travel insurance for years, and tried to claim on a couple of occasions. My conslusion is, most claims are denied because it's supposed to be paid by SOMEBODY ELSE, not by the travel insurance. That's why you can get annual multi-trip premium of £80 or so.

The legal assistance people can't even speak French! I went to Brussels for a week, and was cycling with a friend, and a driver opened his door without looking, so my face went into the top corner of his door. The police came, took down the details, and I got the report number, which also has the driver details. The hospital A&E visit was minor, but they didn't seem to understand what an E-111 was, so asked me to pay. I had a small gash and my face was swollen for a week. The bike was totaled. The Towergate people had nobody who could deal with Belgium, so they asked me to find my own lawyer in Brussels! Eventually, the receipt for the hospital came through, and they deducted £50 excess, so I got about £40.

God knows what they mean by Medical Emergency Hotline.
It probably means that if I was bleeding to death, and call them from hospital, they will ask me to find an interpretor so they can haggle with the doctor.

All the flight delay, lost items stuff is just smoke screen. The police don't want to do the paperwork, and pretend no such form exists, and even if you did manage to get one, it's in spanish, so you have no idea whether the policeman wrote down gold watch or cukoo clock from all your sign language.

The only reason I have the annual travel insurance is in case of a really serious medical emergency.

jamesn_2

I'm stuck abroad and my insurer (underwritten by Europ Assistance) will not provide any cover under any of their policies.

Jonw

HouseHuntr wrote: »

Amazing how when stranded abroad people think of coming on here to tell a story when they should have more pressing concerns to think about.

Then again TROLLS don't have brains do they!

i cant across this thread from google and found it very helpful.

so i think your a fool

seputus

If Axa is saying it's a natural disaster but other insurance companies are classifying it as adverse weather, then isn't that something that someone with Axa insurance could use to their advantage?

How can Axa get away with deciding it's not adverse weather?

vaporate

insurance is pretty much worthless. I dont know 1 person who has benefitted from it,

dacouch

vaporate wrote: »

insurance is pretty much worthless. I dont know 1 person who has benefitted from it,

You all laughed when Peter Griffin took out his Volcano Insurance, for once he was a visionary...

ManAtHome

HSBC travel insurance are allowing claims

HSBC has today confirmed that, although volcanic eruptions are not usually covered under travel insurance policies due to being outside an insurer's control (commonly known as 'Acts of God'), they will, on this particular occasion, allow claims from customers affected by the volcanic ash that has recently grounded flights

Although airlines will refund or rebook flights, many passengers face the cost of hotel rooms and car hire that have not been taken up. Customers should in the first instance contact their airline or tour operator to see what help and assistance is available from them.

Today's announcement will ensure that travellers with HSBC policies can have the reassurance that they can now claim for their disrupted travel. Customers with HSBC Premier and Advance current accounts are also covered.

Full tale and contact numbers here http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/insurance/flight-disruption?WT.srch=1

Salisbury

I've noticed that Direct Travel Insurance are starting to relax their position, from the hard line I got on the phone. The following text is from their website. Note that they will cover hotel and travel expenses that cannot be recovered from elsewhere on an ex-gratia basis. Not sure what this means yet, but its definitely softening. Its not what we thought the insurance covered, but its a good start. Not sure if this covers the costs of getting home via train/ferry etc. Let me know how others get on.

The text extract from their website is as follows:
What should I do if my flight is cancelled and I’m stranded abroad?
Check with your airline, they should offer you an alternative flight home in which case we will amend your existing policy to cover the new dates, if appropriate. We will, on an ex-gratia basis, cover claims for any additional accommodation and travel expenses incurred that are not refundable from any other source, in most cases the airline. Please ensure that you follow the normal claims procedure and provide all relevant supporting documentation, for more information see our faq-

JamesU

Salisbury wrote: »

I've noticed that Direct Travel Insurance are starting to relax their position, from the hard line I got on the phone. The following text is from their website. Note that they will cover hotel and travel expenses that cannot be recovered from elsewhere on an ex-gratia basis. Not sure what this means yet, but its definitely softening. Its not what we thought the insurance covered, but its a good start. Not sure if this covers the costs of getting home via train/ferry etc. Let me know how others get on.

The text extract from their website is as follows:
What should I do if my flight is cancelled and I’m stranded abroad?
Check with your airline, they should offer you an alternative flight home in which case we will amend your existing policy to cover the new dates, if appropriate. We will, on an ex-gratia basis, cover claims for any additional accommodation and travel expenses incurred that are not refundable from any other source, in most cases the airline. Please ensure that you follow the normal claims procedure and provide all relevant supporting documentation, for more information see our faq-

Good news!

JamesU

dacouch

Great news Salisbury, I'm surprised you beat Luci to posting about that breaking news from Direct Travel