Travel Insurance - Do NOT use Leisure Guard!!

lebikini

BEWARE OF LEISURE GUARD!

As my husband and I were doing a road trip for our honeymoon, i sought out travel insurance specifically for DIY type holidays, and got this recommendation through MSE. BIG MISTAKE.

I am currently in a legal wrangle after my husband lost his passport on our honeymoon. It was incredibly traumatic, and cut our dream holiday of a lifetime short, and cost us just over £600 to get sorted.

Despite keeping every receipt and records of everything, Leisure Guard have refused to cover our claim. We paid extra for 'Premier' cover, and received policy documents, but once we tried to claim, they are insisting on different wording that excludes our claim, and lowers the level of cover.

After such a horrible end to our trip, the last thing we need is a 6-month battle to try to reclaim some of our losses. It has been utterly disgusting treatment, and I believe a breach of their policy. the very reason I never travel without travel insurance is to cover such an event as this, and it is appalling that the only time in my life I have ever had call to claim on my insurance, they turn out to be a bunch of liars.

My friend used LV and after needing medical attention on holiday, he called to make the claim and the money was in his account the next day - no forms, no receipts, no fuss. I will know for next time.

InsideInsurance

So looking at their current wording they will pay up to £200 for a lost passport in terms of additional travel/ accommodation but not for the replacement passport itself. To qualify you must notify the police within 24 hours of discovery and have evidence of you contacting them.

On what grounds are they disputing the claim?

WebNI

I would add a SERIOUS warning about using Leisure Guard - they AUTOMATICALLY renew your travel insurances unless you OPT OUT by ticking a box when taking out your travel insurance.

In my opinion, this is a very shady practice, and it tells me that this company cannot trust their offering to persuade customers to return and renew on the basis of good past experience, when their travel insurance expires. Buyers beware!

Orin_G

I must concur with this post. Leisure Guard policies are worthless and I would suggest you look elsewhere.
I am so disappointed that they are a recommended supplier on MSE, as judging from my experience I would say they are just certified SCAMMERS.
Pay a little more and go with a reputable insurance company. MSE should look at this company and remove them from their recommendations.

Loughborough_Lad

I am also VERY disappointed by the way Leisure Guard operate.
I agree with the concerns raised in previous posts.

I chose this company based on the recommendation from MSE Travel Insurance page. I also selected an upgraded level of cover.

I had to log a claim after a holiday in late May. The whole process has been complicated and drawn out. I have had to resubmit duplicate paperwork and constantly chase for updates. We are now well into September and I am still awaiting final payment.

The e-mail responses are from "travelclaims@global-response". They have constantly told me the delay is due to "chasing the underwriters for payment". My responses to their e-mails are either ignored or replied to after a considerable time.

When I have called the claim line I have been on hold for a long time. Sometimes I have given up & had to leave a voice message.

I recently logged my concerns and have ben advised it can take "up to EIGHT WEEKS to respond"!

Whilst I appreciate the need for verifying all claims and being thorough, I am very disappointed by the way my claim has been handled.

I would strongly recommend considering other companies for your travel insurance,

rickwookie

Just to chip in with my disappointment with Leisure Guard Insurance. As someone else has already commented, they auto-renew by default unless you "opt-out". Well I certainly didn't notice any mention of this when I took out the policy 12 months ago. What's worse, I was only aware it had occurred since I just happened to be doing my accounts and noticed a payment taken last Saturday for £109.52 by "ROCK INSURANCE WEST SUSSEX GB". I had no idea what it was, and finally discovered an email in my Junk folder sent THE SAME DAY THAT THE PAYMENT WAS TAKEN, from Leisure Guard "thanking" me for taking out the policy, due to start on 5th (8 days AFTER the payment was charged to my card), even though I hadn't.

Why would I want an annual Travel policy to auto-renew when I don't have any trips planned for at least a few months and also, when the price has been jacked up 56%?!

There had been no email in advance of the payment being taken notifying me of the renewal, and as I've stated I certainly wouldn't have chosen to auto-renew when I first took out the policy had it been made clear. As most users of this website will know, it's almost never the best deal to renew with your current provider, and the price jack from £70.36 to £109.52 is a good example of why not.

When I called yesterday to inform them that I would not like to have the policy renewed, and to let them know that I was not impressed about the lack of communication in advance, the CS rep suggested that me not getting an email well in advance of the renewal must be due to a technical hitch, since they always send them. Hmm, no hitch with the system that stealthily takes the payment from your credit card though is there. I then had to answer a load of ridiculous questions as though I was cancelling after the start date (which I wasn't) but during the 14-day cooling-off period, such as "had I or any members listed on the policy already travelled on it?" (what? with our time machine?). Finally I was notified that the refund would appear 3-5 working days later on my card, assuming they don't suffer another "technical hitch".

Leisure_Guard

Thank you for the feedback and I am sorry you feel disappointed with Leisure Guard.

However if I may refer you to the policy wording which is available on the Leisure Guard Website and would have been issued with your policy advising you to review your policy. All which clearly advises about auto renewal, reasons for it, how and when payment is taken and by whom.

To make sure you have continuous cover under your policy, if you have purchased an annual multi-trip policy, we will aim to automatically renew (auto-renew) your policy when it runs out, unless you tell us not to. Each year ROCK will write to you before the renewal date of your policy, and tell you about any changes to the premium or the policy terms and conditions. If you do not want to auto renew your policy, just call us on the telephone number provided on your certificate of insurance or click on the link provided within the email sent 21 days ahead of the renewal date. Otherwise we will collect the renewal premiums from your credit card or debit card.

You would have received a renewal letter which advises you of the new premium and clearly allows you to opt out of the renewal either by the link provided or by phone.


The renewal process stated above is very common by all travel insurance providers and is there to provide cover should the policy elapse and customers do not have cover in place. It is the customers responsibility to read the policy wording, terms and conditions around auto renewal to which we will provide the rates at renewal so you can make an informed decision on how you wish to proceed. we invite customers to shop around for their policies and renewal.

I hope that helps resolves your query above.

Hulltown

Leisure Guard Insurance
We have fallen foul of the auto-renewal policy. I didn't spot an email and certainly didn't receive a letter but noticed the money was taken out of my bank account a good week before the old policy expired.  A call to customer service was a surreal experience as he seemed unable to grasp that I wanted to cancel the renewal and that I was referring to the new not the existing policy. At the end he didn't say when my money would be refunded and the same day I received an email thanking me for renewing my policy. I will ring again and this time mention the 14 day cooling off period but am not confident I will cancel the renewal.

Ghostlisabart

Leisure Guard Insurance

Very sharp practice bording on a scam to which a reputable site like maoney Saving Expert should and must call out. Unlike home or car insurance the majority of travellers may not be able to travel each year. So this make Auto renewal a real issue. Alss, e-mails from companies like this are not usually opened as they are seen as marketing mail. I feel that i was straight up scammed and went to the financial ombudman for advice. They say that if it was in the T&C's then its legal. But there's a moral issue with this. 1. does anyone read the mountains of jargin 2. it still does not make this practicse RIGHT!.

Shame on you Leisure Guard, how much are you making out of the poor sods that can't react to this shady business.

Hawkeye68

Thanks for the warnings everyone. I was about to use them on the recommendation of MSE when I spotted this thread. I can't understand how one part of the MSE website recommends them while another part highlights serious issues with them.

Durban

Very timely thread.  I was about to take out insurance with Leisure Guard in the next few days.
I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole now.
Thanks everyone