Are there any reputable travel insurance companies anymore?

Rosie_eliz

I'm planning to book a holiday for Summer 2021 and as Martin Lewis says, buy travel insurance as soon as you book. Well I've had a read of the top travel insurance buys on the website. It seems that these insurance companies are reaching out to customers the second they click the 'buy' button and asking for them to leave reviews on websites like trustpilot, so lots of people leaving reviews 'quick and easy to purchase' thanks very much but that's not what I'm really concerned about when it comes to travel insurance. You have to dive pages into the reviews to find real experiences and then you get things like 'my wife had to go to hospital in Spain, they wouldn't cover it because she had visited the GP for an unrelated medical matter within the last 5 years'. Even the praised Nationwide flexplus account has terrible reviews for travel insurance if you do a bit of research. I'm just wondering at this point if the travel insurance is worth the paper it's written on.  I understand covid related cancellations may not be covered anymore, but I'd like to know that if I have an accident or get sick abroad I will at least be protected.. This issue really needs to be addressed by the Ombudsman/regulators. And perhaps MSE should do more research on actual experiences before recommending these cowboy companies..

[Deleted User]

Well, yes, it's certainly worth the paper it's printed on.

But of more value than the paper, is the level of cover you're buying.  TrustPilot is a poor source for gauging a company's performance.  People generally buy something, hoping it's something else and then get upset when it's not.

Browntoa

As above 

People "forget " to mention gp visits and then leave bad reviews as the insurer rightly refuses a claim.

People buy the cheapest product online and then find it doesn't cover them for a whole load of things. 

Currently people are leaving bad reviews as they cancel their holiday , don't want to go on holiday , find out it doesn't cover the fact that their travel agents taking forever to pay out , all of which are not covered by your insurance as standard (may be a bolt on ) or are refusing to cover them to travel against FCO advice

Birseh_

Brownrtoa.....i think you will find the Ombudsman's guidance is 2 years for a condition that decays over time. A GP visit is not in itself an issue. Flu, for example, a sprained ankle that heals within weeks. I don't think Rosie_eliz was trying to say that the GP told this person that open-heart surgery was needed. Like so much of this site the advice given and debate is basically worthless to anybody who actually needs to claim and understand what is what.

couriervanman

trustpilot  cant be trusted for most company reviews way to many unchecked/dodgy reviews

[Deleted User]

Insurance is a minefield.  A necessary evil imo.   I always seem to miss “something” in the small print!  Thankfully have never had to claim and due to people’s experiences since Covid I will certainly be scrutinizing any policy myself and not relying on any reviews.  

epm-84

Browntoa said:

People "forget " to mention gp visits and then leave bad reviews as the insurer rightly refuses a claim.

It's reasonable for insurers to refuse a claim if it directly relates to a known medical condition which wasn't declared but based on some reviews some insurers decide if you don't declare a medical condition/doctor's visit then they'll refuse any medical claim e.g. refusing a claim for a twisted ankle because someone hasn't declared that they saw a gastro specialist 3 months ago, even though there were given an all clear and it was after they purchased the insurance and answered questions truthfully when making their claim.

SevenOfNine

We've been insured with Nationwide FlexPlus account for a few years, with some declared medical issues & the 'age' extra premium.  Last year the day after we arrived in Jamaica I had a medical emergency which resulted in a 2 hour ambulance trip, an operation with general anaesthetic, overnight stay & taxi back to resort next afternoon.

It was a problem I'd had identified in an outpatient visit AFTER I'd booked & already had the insurance, but before we actually went, not cancerous so I had not had to notify N/W. 

N/W were pretty good IMO, the total bill came to approx US $15,000, the only bit I did not fully recover was the full US $90 the taxi cost as N/W have a cap of £20 or so. I'd paid a premium of £4.50 per year for no excess (but they don't offer that now).  The only quibble we had was the hospital took a large 'holding deposit' swipe of my credit card, which would not be submitted if N/W agreed to foot the bill.  N/W did that by the following day but in the meantime the hospital had taken it from my card!

It wasn't quite plain sailing because of that, but it all came out in the wash with some, but not too much effort (& my bank were very helpful & froze the transaction). Though I will say I somehow got a personal insurance handler of my claim, the call centre was getting to be like pass the parcel.

We insured with them to cover this year & when up for renewal in October we plan to stay with them. Would I recommend them, yes - but the lesson I've learnt & applies to all travel insurance, is to call the insurers emergency number  AS SOON as you can, before going anywhere unless it's life or death, so that you are using their approved transport & hospital (thankfully the latter I certainly was, it was fabulous) but the 'ambulance' wasn't (& I think that choice was a little backhander for the resort nurse).  I keep a list of everything 'medical' as I think they've toughened up a bit on notification of medical issues.

Sometimes I think people will give a negative review purely when they failed to read, or understand, the policy they're purchasing. The whole booklet is available on N/W website, I want to read small print before I buy, not after!

Thrugelmir

People need to do the leg work themselves. Or alternatively use an insurance broker to guide them. People want cheap policies. People get cheap policies. One in a hundred events may seem not worth insuring until of course they impact you directly. Then of course it's somebody elses fault these days. Lack of personal responsibility is a growing trend.