Travel Insurance - Don't rely on it.
Replies: 8 - Last Post: Jun 22, 2012 8:36 AM Last Post By: abraxus
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Travel Insurance - Don't rely on it.
While in Nepal my wife died.It would have cost $8000 to bring her body home to Australia, but i decided to give her a Hindu cremation instead.
If i had spent the $8000 i'd still be waiting for it back.
It's been over 5 months since i first lodged a claim for my expenses & cancelled air fares, i've had to jump through alot of hurdles/paperwork, but i still haven't received any payment.
I just want people to be aware of how slow the processing of a claim can be.
don't pay out more than you can afford in the belief that you will get that money back quickly.
Edited by: abraxus
2
Sorry to hear of your loss.Your experience is the opposite of friends whose insurance company did all the paperwork (including an emergency visa), for a support person to fly to join the bereaved person - left within 12 hours of hearing the news. All the paperwork and translations taken care of and out of pocket expenses refunded within 7 days of filing the paper work.
6
They have finally paid out, but they wanted receipts for everything, like the ambulance & autopsy doctor who basically just wanted backshish.Trying to explain to them that 3rd world countries don't keep first world documentation, & that at the time i wasn't really thinking about getting receipts didn't wash.
Even a legally binding Statutory Declaration wasn't good enough.
At one point they even asked me to provide a different Death Certificate, as the one I had didn't have a cause ov death on it (the cause was never established...3rd world again).
They got an ear full over that & quickly decided that they were being unreasonable.
They also made a $300 deduction on the basis that i'd got a refund from the original airline...i didn't because i was told they would handle it. Dealing with them has been so stressful that i really don't care to try & get that money back. They've beaten me.
I can't name the company as that might put me in a dodgy legal position.
Thanks for the kind thoughts.
Edited by: abraxus
8
^ ok then:http://www.covermore.com.au/
"This insurance is underwritten by Great Lakes Reinsurance(UK) PLC trading as “Great Lakes Australia”, an authorised Australian insurer, regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (‘APRA’).
Great Lakes Australia is a branch of Great Lakes Reinsurance(UK) PLC which is a limited liability company incorporated in England and Wales, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Munich Reinsurance Company.
The Munich Re Group is one of the largest insurance groups in the world and operates worldwide with:
a premium income of around $68 billion
investments of around $340 billion
33 million clients in 25 countries"
now i've seen that i'm more pissed off.
the cover for accidental death was only AUS$20,000.
i claimed that on the basis that my wife's death was not natural (fit healthy 30 year olds w/no history don't just suddenly have a seisure & die...it was caused by something, & therefore it could have been avoided...that in my humble opinion is the definition ov an accident)...sure it was arguable, i had doctors who submitted medical reports backing up my claim, but they didn't even bother, they just completely ignored that part ov my claim.
investments ov $340 billion & they completely ignore my $20,000 claim & rip me off $300
that's the morality ov business/insurance.
in the LP guides it says "if you can't afford health insurance then you can't afford to travel"
in my experience i'd say "if you can't afford to get yourself out ov trouble don't rely on travel insurance 'cus you'll end up being screwed over"
wishing everyone out there the safest travel.
Edited by: abraxus
