Feeling properly stuffed by VA and Amex

[Daver6]

Let me put your question in reverse.

Say you are a customer service staff working for travel insurance. I call you, and ask you if my trip this month is covered. Would you dare give me an answer?

If you say I am not covered, then I claim anyway and my claim is approved, I could accuse you of representing your company, and trying to discourage me from claiming.

If you say I am covered, then I claim and is rejected, I could say that YOU told me that I am covered, so your employer made a false representation, and I am going to now do all sorts of actions against your employer.

So, what would you do, if you were on the other end of the line?

Simple. Have someone who is qualified to give an answer on the line in the first place. Obviously you need to have a specific rather than generic question. It's not rocket science.

You wouldn't accept going in to Harvey Norman to buy a TV. You ask, can I set this TV to record at a pre-defined future time. Would you accept the answer of buy the TV and find out. If you can't figure it out, contact our support department and they'll confirm it then?

 

[BAM1748]

So what exactly does travel insurance cover? All of us take it out (well, most), and all I hear are horror stories trying to claim when something goes wrong. It seems to me that insurance is for exactly this - specifically, for people who purchased flights (and insurance) PRIOR to declaration of a "pandemic".

I would guess when things go right we simply don't hear about those stories and there is nothing to tell.

I have heard some terrible stories but also I've been involved in repatriation of personnel from coup d'etat in both Asia and South America, sometimes it as a cough fight to get the underwriters to pay up and other times they offered assistance. (the countries usually have the words Democratic or Republic or both in their name)

Depends on the underwriter and of course no body knows how good or bad they will be until you need to lodge a claim. When insurers don't pay or try to dodge a claim they should be named and shamed so others know.

 

[Cubiscus]

Fun fact, the vast majority of travel insurance claims are approved.