Travel insurance claim - how long should it take?

marks87

In April I had to cancel a trip abroad for medical reasons. I submitted a claim on my travel insurance (Amex) straight away. My GP took a while over the form, but eventually I was able to send it in along with the other supporting documents at the end of May.

On 20th June I received a text message saying my documents had been received, my claim was being evaluated and not to contact them.

I'm now wondering how long I should give it before getting in touch? I'm not desperate for the cash because everything was paid on an interest-free card, but I'd still like to see it settled.

This is my first travel insurance claim so I've no idea how long it should normally take, and the Amex website doesn't give any indication.

Voyager2002

A month to six weeks is reasonable, two months is not.

I suggest you send them a polite letter (hard copy) asking for a firm date by which the claim will be settled; stating that you are concerned about the length of time they are taking and indicating that if you do not receive a satisfactory response within seven days you will make a formal complaint.

EssexExile

I cancelled last year & claimed, not Amex though. Every time I sent the the insurance company some paperwork I got a response within the week, usually asking for more paperwork. Once they were happy the money was paid into my account immediately. It took months but that was down to BA taking so long responding to requests for confirmation invoices.

marks87

Delayed thanks for the advice and apologies for not replying sooner.

I got in touch with them and unbelievably they simply sent me another acknowledgement text that was identical to the first one in every way.

So I've just given them a call and it seems my claim has been sitting on file waiting for an assessment for the past three months! The advisor I spoke to said it would be forwarded immediately and I should have an answer by Monday.

Unbelievable.

Katiehound

I had quite a large cancellation claim lodged earlier this year- due to medical problem and I was amazed when the claims firm did exactly what it had stated- something like we hope to process your claim in 5 working days.
5 working days later an e-mail from them saying money would be in my bank a/c within the next few days. I was very impressed

PeacefulWaters

marks87 wrote: »

Delayed thanks for the advice and apologies for not replying sooner.

I got in touch with them and unbelievably they simply sent me another acknowledgement text that was identical to the first one in every way.

So I've just given them a call and it seems my claim has been sitting on file waiting for an assessment for the past three months! The advisor I spoke to said it would be forwarded immediately and I should have an answer by Monday.

Unbelievable.

Make sure you complain specifically about the delay.

£100 compensation seems about right to me. If it's not forthcoming take it to the FOS.

Gloomendoom

Katiehound wrote: »

I had quite a large cancellation claim lodged earlier this year- due to medical problem and I was amazed when the claims firm did exactly what it had stated- something like we hope to process your claim in 5 working days.
5 working days later an e-mail from them saying money would be in my bank a/c within the next few days. I was very impressed

I had a similar experience last year. Three days from claim to payment and they even suggested extra things I was entitled to claim for.

Not what I was expecting at all.


My previous experience with a travel insurance firm was about 20 years earlier and that was like banging my head against a brick wall.

hollydays

I've had bad experiences with travel
Insurance. It seemed that there was no dedicated person dealing , any queries at the time just got put in the file of the next person on shift.
They seemed short staffed, incompetent and overworked.
Despite them having won travel industry awards!!

Voyager2002

hollydays wrote: »

I've had bad experiences with travel
Insurance. It seemed that there was no dedicated person dealing , any queries at the time just got put in the file of the next person on shift.
They seemed short staffed, incompetent and overworked.
Despite them having won travel industry awards!!

So why not name and shame?

marks87

An update - I sent off a letter of complaint last week, but I think the claim itself should still be handled independently of that. So I gave them a call.

The claim was successful and the payment will be in my bank account within 5 working days. Absolute nonsense that I kept having to prompt for updates instead of getting them by default.

Now to see what the complaints department say. It was posted 1st class last Monday so hopefully it won't be too much longer before their response arrives.

marks87

Sigh. I spoke too soon.

Despite being told yesterday that my claim had been approved and the payment would be processed, I received an email this morning asking for further information, viz, a "cancellation invoice" from the airline.

Before the claim went in, I asked the airline for this document, they said they didn't provide them. I took that in good faith, so said this in my cover letter with the other documents.

After a lengthy phone call with the supervisor who sent this morning's email, I got back in touch with the airline. They were slightly bemused by the request, but in the end were able to "hack" their invoice template to write a message saying I had received no refund. So hopefully that's enough to placate Amex.

I guess my biggest gripe is being told yesterday that everything was fine and the payment was being processed, only to then be told today it wasn't. Could I not have been told yesterday that further documentation was required (well, I really should have been told at least a couple of months ago but that's still a separate ongoing issue)?