Insurance - The Great Debate! ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

Insurance - The Great Debate!

Replies: 202 - Last Post: 18-Nov-2009 19:26 Last Post By: contrabland

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Posted
07-Dec-2004 05:03
by: LochLomond

Posts: 2
Registered: 07/10/04

Insurance - The Great Debate!

Hi All,

I'm trying to spark off a proper discussion about which Insurance Companies are really worth using, and which ones are happy to leave you abandoned in darkest Siberia.

I've searched this (and other) branches for info on insurance for my own RTW trip, but despite a lot of good general advice, there isn't a lot of feedback on people's experiences with particular companies.

I'm particularly keen to hear from anyone who has used Insure and Go, No Worries, Endsleigh and STA (as these are on my short-list) but any others which are recommended, or should be avoided like the plague, are welcome.

If there is a decent response to this post it will hopefuly serve as a guide for those in my predicament in the future.

Cheers.

Posted
07-Dec-2004 12:39
by: friedel

Posts: 618
Registered: 08/09/02

1

We have had particularly good service from Legal & General in the past, although this was not for a specific RTW policy but rather an annual couple's policy. When I screwed up my knee skiing they were very helpful and reimbursed us without hassle extremely quickly.

We talk about cycling on TravellingTwo and our home area, Nova Scotia, on our NS Travel Guide.

Posted
07-Dec-2004 14:06
by: ksneddon1

Posts: 10
Registered: 30/03/04

2

Avoid Insure & Go like the plague. They have the most incompetent staff I have ever come across. I made 4 claims with them, and every single one they managed to stuff up. They lost documents, which magically appeared when I threatened to contact the Financial Ombudsman, sent letters asking for documentation they had already received, wouldn't respond to emails, didn't return documents to me, etc , etc. After the last claim, where they failed to distinguish between "personal item" and "valuables" meaning I would get 100 pounds less than I should off, I wrote an extremely long letter to the Managing Director to complain, and all I got was a lame apology.

Don't do it!

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu

Posted
07-Dec-2004 16:44
by: mowskwoz

Posts: 3
Registered: 14/12/03

3

I'm leaving on a RTW trip in March, taking in SE Asia, Nepal, the Middle East (Jornand and Egypt), Europe and South America. I haven't finalised travel insurance yet, but I think I will go with World Nomads . You can update the length of your cover online, and make claims online while you are still on the road. It seems to be aimed at backpackers, which is ideal for me considering I will be roughing it a bit, and doing quite a lot of trekking.

I'd appreciate it if anyone who has insured with World Nomads could post some feedback on how they found them, and if they had any trouble.

Thanks.

I'll sleep when I die.

Posted
07-Dec-2004 17:26
by: ksneddon1

Posts: 10
Registered: 30/03/04

4

if you do a search using the term "world nomads" you'll get quite a few posts. Be sure to use the quotation marks though!

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu

Posted
07-Dec-2004 19:54
by: tking

Posts: 42
Registered: 24/06/02

5

Try Boots Insurance - I've claimed with them and they were great. www.bootsinsurance.com

I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.

Posted
08-Dec-2004 05:06
by: LochLomond

Posts: 2
Registered: 07/10/04

6

#2 I had heard some previous negative feedback on Insure and Go, so I guess i'll give them a wide-berth, which is a pity, cos they are very cheap, and on paper the policy looks pretty good. Has ANYONE had a good experience with Insure and Go?

Posted
08-Dec-2004 05:42
by: BpGuru

Posts: 113
Registered: 13/03/01

7

The difficulty with trying to get insurance reccommendations is that so few people claim relative to how many bought insurance. I have seen very few responses to posts like this, from people who had actually claimed on their insurance. Obviously that's a good thing in general but doesn't help people looking at which company to use.

Here is how I look at it. As with any business and product we can use common sense. First, you usually get more or less what you pay for. If they are the cheapest, you can't expect the best service etc. Low cost airlines are a perfect example. Second, if they have been in business a long time, they can't be the world's worst. Word of mouth does work and sooner or later a badly performing company will fail as a result.

So I would say, don't buy the cheapest, buy from a company that has been around for a good number of years. Beyond that, there are probably quite a few that will do the job. How they respond to you as a person when you inquire would be my next criteria. Unfortunately internet quotes take away that personal connection on which you can base this assessment. So contact them by phone and talk to a real person. If you can't get a real person on the phone to ask about their policies, it is a good indication of what is going to happen if/when you want to make a claim.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less travelled by.

Posted
09-Dec-2004 11:59
by: BillyMo

Posts: 2
Registered: 28/11/04

8

We seem to have got a good price with Club Direct

www.secure-insurance-server.com

they do a good package for backpackers that includes various activites which you would have to pay extra for with other companies.
If anyone has ever used them I would like to know how they rate.

Liverpool FC: 5 Times European Champions *****

Posted
10-Jan-2005 15:26
by: timo

Posts: 116
Registered: 23/04/01

9

I've used Club Direct several times - always had a great service with them. Efficient, and polite.

I had cause to claim back some medical expenses at the end of one year, and it was a painless process (the claim, not the medical bit).

More recently, I tried to get them to fork out for a cancellation charge on an unused flight ticket. No luck there - but in all fairness I kind of knew I wasn't covered for that particular episode, but thought it was worth a go. They were still helpful though, so I'll be using them again for sure.

"Of all things I have lost - I miss my mind the most".
Check out The Wander Years!

Posted
19-Jan-2005 04:16
by: imposter

Posts: 125
Registered: 11/02/02

10

Er, don't know if it helps, but I've claimed with Endsleigh before on Personal Possessions Insurance as a student. This is going back three or four years now. They were very professional and thorough - I don't know if this is the norm but they sent round an independent insurance claims chap to "suss me out" and ask about the details of the break-in and check I wasn't telling porkies. No problems with the claim, and they sent me a cheque as settlement pretty promptly. I didn't even have receipts for a couple of the bigger items (camera, zip drive) but I had the box and a manual, and this was enough to satisfy them. After that though, I now always keep my receipts!

I don't know if that is generally representative of how they would handle travel insurance claims, but all I can say is the experience I've had with them is good - maybe that's why their travel insurance quotes are so £pricey!

This would be a handy thread to keep around - can we make it so it doesn't fall off the bottom of the tree?

Promotional Code for World Nomads

Posted
23-Jan-2005 11:37
by: Rambaldi

Posts: 4
Registered: 15/08/04

11

I would NEVER use Columbus again. We had a nasty car accident on holiday earlier this year and they were absolutely useless- to cut short a very long list of complaints it took them 4 days to get me back to London from Cuba, (they even tried to fob us off with economy seats which I wouldn't have physically fitted into as I had a plaster cast around the whole upper half of my body!). The agent they appointed in Havana basically didn't know what he was doing and didn't understand much english. We had to keep phoning the office in London, who were of very limited use out of UK office hours - utterly ridiculous for a company who will be receiving calls from all around the world. Back home our claim was messed up and it took several letters of complaint and 6 months to get (most) of our money back and I think that was only because they knew I was a litigation solicitor so my threat to sue them was something which would definitely be followed through.

The problem is that insurance companies (or Columbus at least) farm each part of a claim off to other companies. The emergency medical co we dealt with were called SAS (Speciality Assistance Services). We had most of our problems with them. When I buy insurance in the future, I will always check to make sure that they do not use SAS. Back in England our money claim was dealt with by a co called Claims Settlement Agencies Limited who "overlooked" our curtailment claim on several occasions.

Posted
27-Jan-2005 09:42
by: Qbbb

Posts: 14
Registered: 14/01/04

12

Had an accident as a passenger while travelling 2 years ago. My insurance was with CGU / AVIVA and the vehicle's was SAI. CGU / AVIVA said I should be paid by SAI because 'by law' it was their responsibility even though there was not a single line on this crucial point, not even in fine print. SAI was completely irresponsive - their foreign claims department is open only 3 afternoons / week, they were rude when I called, my mailed documents never arrived (I had to mail to a friend who then brought them to their office), never a proper email and 90% of the time just no email! I'm not sure what to do as I have no idea how much I'd be able to get. Insurance is always expensive, often a stress and sometimes a complete fraud.

Posted
03-Feb-2005 17:20
by: ruthiebaby88

Posts: 100
Registered: 11/08/00

13

i think if i lived somewhere with a socialized medical system i would get an www.airambulancecard.com

you buy a membership - they will send you from anywhere with a landing strip to your home hospital if you need it - then you can let the government pick up the rest of the bill for your treatment!

vivimos cuando amamos!!

Posted
08-Feb-2005 15:48
by: jtvet

Posts: 13
Registered: 17/06/03

14

I used CGU Insurance from Australia and was injured, in fact blinded in the eye in Cambodia, presumably from kids fooling around with slingshots. The SOS organisation, which I think many foreign insurance companies use, swung into action & flew me on a private flying doctor flight in a Beechcraft aircraft to Singapore for surgery & hospitalisation. I think all in all this cost about $US 30, 000 for the few hundred dollars insurance costs that I paid. However I am still sorting out payment regarding the vision loss over 1 year later. Do not kid yourself, the hospitals in some SE Asian countries are medieval death traps. The GP who looked after me in Pnom Pen told me that some travellers in SE Asia DIE because they don't have adequate travel insurance. Either that, or they undergo surgery, say to remove an appendix under local anesthetic in a SE Asian hospital. That has got to be unpleasant and dangerous to say the least.

With regard to 12), consider legal action.

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