Travel insurance - best underwriters for (annual) cover / avoiding dodgy insurance

NeedSomeHRadvice

Hi all,

I am planning on getting an annual travel insurance and did a bit of research. It possible to find quite cheap yearly cover which is underwritten by AXA but it seems that they have a load of negative reviews all across the net especially saying that they ignore, delay, make you jump through hoops and still not pay out. From what I have read, I am just so happy that I have never had to claim for personal injury whilst abroad, and shudder to think what would happen if I needed repatriation. 

I am happy to pay a bit more to know that I covered as when we're abroad then we're very vulnerable so it's worth it. So my question is are there any underwriters that the fellow MSE recommend where they have put in a claim and been paid out or know of others where they weren't messed around?

Thanks

Voyager2002

There are several links in the chain: the company that sells the insurance; the company that processes the claim; and the underwriters. AXA are a reputable company but policies that they underwrite may be sold by a range of brokers using variable claims management companies, some of whom may be dire.

Before the pandemic there were many reports of serious issues with the company that served as underwriter for Boots travel insurance and many others. That particular company has since been closed down, so probably there are fewer pitfalls now than was the case then.

NoodleDoodleMan

We have the Co-op Bank Everday Extra account that includes annual worldwide cover for one or two account holders up to age 80 for £15 per month.

https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/products/bank-accounts/packaged-bank-account/

There are no strings attached requirements like Direct Debits to maintain the account.

lisyloo

I use insure and go.
I haven’t claimed.
I’ve checked the cover a few times both in the document and in chat keeping transcripts.
they are de facto 5* rated.

Voyager2002

lisyloo said:

I use insure and go.
I haven’t claimed.
I’ve checked the cover a few times both in the document and in chat keeping transcripts.
they are de facto 5* rated.

You have not claimed so you have no idea how good they are.

The de facto rating tells you what the policy covers, but not how well or otherwise they process claims.

NeedSomeHRadvice

Voyager2002 said:

There are several links in the chain: the company that sells the insurance; the company that processes the claim; and the underwriters. AXA are a reputable company but policies that they underwrite may be sold by a range of brokers using variable claims management companies, some of whom may be dire.

Before the pandemic there were many reports of serious issues with the company that served as underwriter for Boots travel insurance and many others. That particular company has since been closed down, so probably there are fewer pitfalls now than was the case then.

The main issue is we've no idea how they will deal with the claim. I am sure Boots are not the only one, AXA gets a lot of bad review but many of the cheaper policies are underwritten by AXA (eg Coverwise on MSM), and sometimes it is not clear at all who the underwriter is unless you read the policy documents.

NoodleDoodleMan said:

We have the Co-op Bank Everday Extra account that includes annual worldwide cover for one or two account holders up to age 80 for £15 per month.

https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/products/bank-accounts/packaged-bank-account/

There are no strings attached requirements like Direct Debits to maintain the account.

That's very expensive and out of my budget but worth it for the xtra perks if you need them. There's yearly policies for £20 underwritten by AXA and around £30 for others so cheaper than single policies if >2 holidays per year.

lisyloo said:

I use insure and go.
I haven’t claimed.
I’ve checked the cover a few times both in the document and in chat keeping transcripts.
they are de facto 5* rated.

Until you claim, you've no idea how they will treat you. I used travelinsuranceweb back in the days 2000's and tried to claim for travel delay of 24 hours after our return flight was delayed. This was all booked through a tour operator. They asked me for a lot of documentation including a letter from the airline about the delay. I had to make expensive international phone calls to the airline and when I got the letter from the airline about the delay and length of delay, travelinsuranceweb said I need to provide get another letter with information about why the plane was delayed from the airline. So I called the airline again, more international phone calls and bills, and airline refused to send any further letters. Travelinsuarnce did not pay out and I got tired of the expensive phone calls to the airline.

Now this was just a small claim for travel delay. How do you think they would have reacted if I needed medical repatriation?? I travel solo sometimes and this is a big worry for me.

Voyager2002 said:

lisyloo said:

I use insure and go.
I haven’t claimed.
I’ve checked the cover a few times both in the document and in chat keeping transcripts.
they are de facto 5* rated.

You have not claimed so you have no idea how good they are.

The de facto rating tells you what the policy covers, but not how well or otherwise they process claims.

Exactly. 

lisyloo

Voyager2002 said:

lisyloo said:

I use insure and go.
I haven’t claimed.
I’ve checked the cover a few times both in the document and in chat keeping transcripts.
they are de facto 5* rated.

You have not claimed so you have no idea how good they are.

The de facto rating tells you what the policy covers, but not how well or otherwise they process claims.

Yes that’s why I pointed it out, to be clear.
but if it looks good from all research done then it’s a starting point for further research.
we can’t all claim on insurance before we take out a policy to get prooof we can only do research.
I volunteered the information, but thought it may be useful as a starting point for further research.

SaverRate

I have used Aviva and Coverforyou (AXA) and claimed with both.

Aviva - Was September 2020, response was quick. Had an issue with the payment amount which was rectified after a complaint. Would and have recommended. 

Coverforyou (AXA) - took 56 working days after all paperwork was received to get a response. Plus 1-2 weeks for payment. Claims handler was helpful. Their excuse for the long response time was COVID and the recent airport staffing issues. Would I recommend? Im not so sure it depends if their response time reduced as overall the actual claim handling was very good.  

I currently have some insurance with staysure but not claimed with them. 

DullGreyGuy

The insurer (aka underwriter) is only one piece of the puzzle as the travel insurance industry in particular is full of delegated authorities where a big name insurer is legally the one ultimately on the hook for the policy but will have absolutely no involvement in the sales or claims process beyond possibly the very largest claims. 

They do have certain obligations in terms of auditing those who their authority have been delegated to but the thoroughness of this and/or how good the others are at hiding things during audits is a separate question and you may question if a book is very profitable and not generating too many complaints then how hard they'll dig to find issues.

Voyager2002

DullGreyGuy said:

The insurer (aka underwriter) is only one piece of the puzzle as the travel insurance industry in particular is full of delegated authorities where a big name insurer is legally the one ultimately on the hook for the policy but will have absolutely no involvement in the sales or claims process beyond possibly the very largest claims. 

They do have certain obligations in terms of auditing those who their authority have been delegated to but the thoroughness of this and/or how good the others are at hiding things during audits is a separate question and you may question if a book is very profitable and not generating too many complaints then how hard they'll dig to find issues.

OK, so what is the solution?

DullGreyGuy

Voyager2002 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

The insurer (aka underwriter) is only one piece of the puzzle as the travel insurance industry in particular is full of delegated authorities where a big name insurer is legally the one ultimately on the hook for the policy but will have absolutely no involvement in the sales or claims process beyond possibly the very largest claims. 

They do have certain obligations in terms of auditing those who their authority have been delegated to but the thoroughness of this and/or how good the others are at hiding things during audits is a separate question and you may question if a book is very profitable and not generating too many complaints then how hard they'll dig to find issues.

OK, so what is the solution?

Look into the seller and the reviews on them rather than the insurer