Travel Insurance Article Discussion

Gamegal

maximillian_21 wrote: »

Has anyone suggestions for cheap reliable annual multi trip insuance for over 65's for periods of up to 90 days, worldwide not including USA

Just posted before you..

http://www.lv.com/travel-insurance

Arifax

My family has just returned from a holiday in Sharm elSheikh. Both my daughter and Icontracted a stomach virus. The clinicat the hotel was superb and has us both back on our feet within 24 hours. Two holidays saved!

My insurance is with Barclays Lifestyle as part of my“Additions” account package. All I needis their phone number. One call,confirmation of my condition, full name and post code and they gave the clinican authorisation code for the cost of the treatment subject to my paying andexcess of £50. Perfect service!

My daughter, on the other hand, was withprotectyourbubble.com.

I bought the insurance for her last year when she leftschool and took a gap year. She wasintending to travel – although she never did. Moneysavingexpert.com recommended the insurance. It was cheap (under £30 for a year’s cover)and the excess was modest (£25, I think).

At the beginning of this summer, the renewal came throughwith a link to “terms and conditions” but no warning that the terms hadchanged. Like an idiot, I simply renewedit. The acknowledgment e-mail impliedthat a print of the e-mail was all I would need as it incorporated the insurancecertificate.

We rang the claims number three times. Each time we gave the relevant details andwere asked to wait a moment. Each timewe were then disconnected. The doctorsaid it was not unusual.

By this time, we had realised that the excess was notdetailed on the certificate. Luckily, Iuse GMail so I was able to load up the email and follow the “terms” link. Had the excess gone up? Just a little. It was now £200.

The doctor suggested I leave the paperwork with him. We went back the next day. He had made some progress and had variousforms that my daughter needed to sign.

The next day he asked us to call in again. He had been referred to the wrong claimshandling firm. My daughter had to signeverything all over again.

The next day he asked us to call in again. He had been asked for details of ouritinerary – not just dates, but flight numbers, times and a host of otherdetails.

On the day we left he was still having problems. He was very apologetic. I was intensely embarrassed.

So a few lessons here:

Don’t assume that if an insurance offers good cover at agood rate with a reasonable excess, the same will be true on renewal;

Don’t assume that when an insurer emails saying “this emailis all you will need” that it is true;

Don’t just research the insurance – check for other peoples’claims experience too;

Don’t use protectyourbubble.com. Ever.

Incidentally, the Doctor also warned me that on severaloccasions Axa had told an insured to settle the bill on a credit card and thendeal with the claim when they got back home. Another one to avoid, then!

RaceyRichard

Hi folks,

Could someone point me in the right direction please?

I'm taking the family to Walt Disney World Florida and in all it has come to nearly £7000.

When looking at cancellation cover on the comparison websites does the cover amount mean per person?

If so am i correct in thinking that i need only go for a policy that equates to the amount divided by all parties going?

Therefore aiming for a policy of a maximum amount of £1400?

Cheers

RaceyRich

sternsteven

MSE suggests Nationwide might give reasonable cover but just read this incidentally on a cookery blog /marmitelover.blogspot.co.uk. not allowed to post the exact link in case I'm a spambot!

sternsteven

if you google the blog you can use the search facility to find the relevant hair raising story.

Forumnewbie

We used LV annual cover (£172 for worldwide, couple aged 59 and 60) and they paid out in full for my medical care following investigations I had to have done while on holiday in South Africa. It amounted to about £2000 which they have just paid me very promptly on my return. I have been particularly impressed with how caring they are. The policy stipulated that no previous conditions were covered so one doesn't need to worry about what you haven't told them - you are covered for everything else that may occur for the first time on holiday. To get cover, I looked on Martin's website, rang up LV and paid over the phone on the way to Heathrow in Jan when we were going on a previous holiday. They emailed me all the documents and our receipt. Our excess on medical is £50 and the cover is £10m.

bwake2nc

I purchased travel insurance from Journeyman Services(JS) for a 3 week trip to Central America. Had to cut it short due to a hip injury. Submitted claim to JS in Nov 2012 which they first denied, I appealed, and they finally accepted my claim. Then more problems ensued stating monies from Llyod's of London weren't available causing me to call and email them and their claims dept, Speciality Claims Services, on numerous occasions. They stopped replying to my emails..I finally called the manager of JS many times who was finally able to send the funds. It took almost a year of frustrating emails and phonecalls. Do not use Journeyman Services Ltd out of Glouestershire for your travel insurance. I was very disappointed.

walterswift

Do not buy travel insurance from Holiday Safe they are anything but.

Their medical team basically abandoned my partner after a serious brain injury in Spain. I had to pay £13500.00 for an air ambulance to fly us back. Their “aviation expert” Doctor here in the UK who apparently assessed the case seems to be unregistered with the GMC.

To literally add insult toinjury when we got back on the 06.10.13they had sent in my partners name a claim form dated the 23.09.13 while my partner was still in a coma in Spain with parts of his skull stored in a freezer incompetent really isn’t the word………..

This company is dangerous if you have bought a policy from them recently ask for arefund you have 14 days to get your money back

sroebuck

I just spent an afternoon trying to find annual travel insurance for more than 31 days (33 days) & an assortment of relatively minor existing conditions (SVT, polyps,Asthma, high BP & cholesterol!). Several refused to quote but got a reasonable one from Avanti. 45 days per trip and didn't load me too much. Worth a try! When I phoned them (freephone) to say I'd accidentally managed to put high blood pressure in twice (before I bought it on line) they recalculated it & saved me £30.
By the way, I hadn't noticed before that several companies put Thailand in with the USA for cover. Must get a new globe!
Also, does anyone know if the 31 day trip limit usually imposed would include both first & last day even if time of departure is well before return time?

hansi

Yes, I did mine with Avanti too. I have a number of medical conditions and needed annual worldwide cover. Bit expensive, but at least I am covered.