philo Loc: philo, ca

I booked a trip with a well known company for a trip to Africa. The trip cost was $3500 and the insurance was $500. I had to cancel the trip due to flight problems. The insurance was stated as cancel for any reason.
This was over a month ago and after dealing with the insurance company and all of their BS they sent me back to the tour company. They told me it would take 30 days to get a refund.
I called them this morning and they said they wouldn't refund my money and would issue me a credit for another trip. I told them that I'm 88 years of age and this was my last trip. I asked to speak to their legal department and was told that there was no one I could speak to. I told them that I would seek outside help.
My first step was to file a claim with my credit card company. I did this today.
My next step will be to contact the Boston Business and file a claim with them.
So beware what you are buying. Needless to say I will never book another trip with them. If you want the name of the company PM me.

therwol Loc: USA

I'm having a problem with British Airways. My wife and I booked first class tickets several months ago for a trip to England in September. Now my wife is having a medical issue that prevents her from traveling. The tickets are refundable minus some fees. I began the refund process about a month ago and have heard all sorts of nonsense from the people in their call center in India. I was told that I could get a full refund with a letter from her doctor. I provided that. Then I called back and the person on the phone said that was not true but that a refund request was then put in and that it would take 7-10 business days. When that was up, I was told that no refund request was put in, but one would be put in and it would take 3-5 business days. That didn't happen. After another contact, I was told that it would take 30 days. I'm still waiting.

Another thing, I believe that someone in their call center stole some personal information, and I'm getting phishing calls from people with an Indian accent. I charged the trip on a Wells Fargo credit card. That was the only charge on the card for the past six months. As soon as this refund process was started, I started getting phone calls with a Wells Fargo customer service number coming up on my phone, and the people making these calls have Indian accents and know quite a bit about me, my name, phone number and that I have a Wells Fargo card. They even know the first 4 digits of the card. They claim that there is a fraudulant charge to Amazon that they need to remove after talking to me, but to verify my identity, I need to give them the rest of the 16 digit card number and expiration date. When I told the first of these callers that I needed to call Wells Fargo myself to verify what was being said, the response was, "You're very smart." I hung up. The calls continued on another Wells Fargo customer service number (spoofed, of course), and I told the people on the other end, "You're not Wells Fargo." They hung up. The calls finally ended.

I verified through the bank that they never called me. They deactivated the card and sent a replacement. I filed a complaint about this and their service in general with British Airways. I'm still waiting for my refund of over $10K. Sometimes it seems that dealing with the airlines directly instead of a travel web site doesn't do any good.

philo Loc: philo, ca

I had no issue with United Airlines. They sent me a check within a matter of days. I booked my own travel flight. The travel company wanted $600 to book my flight. So my claim is against the travel company and not the airline.

therwol Loc: USA

I find that traveling by air is always an unpleasant experience, and then there is this nonsense, travel company for you and airline for me. As the song goes, "It's gotta be this or that."

philo Loc: philo, ca

Life can be a B and travel is no fun. We did a search on the Ins. come and they have a one star rating. Why would a major tour company have them as their insurance company?

cliff Hilbert Loc: Plano, TX

Write a letter to the president of the travel company and the insurance company telling them that you will take legal action against them, file a complaint with the BBB and let social media know what you experience with them has been. Send the letters marked "Personal & Confidential" and send it by certified mail to "Addressee Only". then see what happens. They might not care, but they just might take notice and refund your money quickly. You might also send a copy to the insurance commissioner in your state.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

I did IT for a Corps in LA.
A family bought a life insurance policy for their vacation- double indemnity for travel.
The father was scuba diving, and was hit by a drunk in a boat.
It took those trolls maybe 5 minutes to determine that if that dad's boat wasn't moving, then he wasn;t traveling.
Denied.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Are both of these companies based in the US? if not Good Luck

bobups Loc: Bath pa

I here this stories all the time my wife was a travel agent even after Covid hit the government bailed out the airlines with the stipulation that they most refund passengers money but the airlines still tried everything to issue credit instead of cash

trinhqthuan Loc: gaithersburg

Please share the insurance company name here so people would know to avoid. Thanks

V2volk Loc: St. Louis area

Travel insurance companies can be difficult to work with these days for claims. In years past they seemed more customer friendly and willing to pay claims. Unfortunately I have found lately it can be very difficult getting them to pay even for legit reasons. They wear you down with requests for information and proof of every little thing. Filing a claim can takes months to get through the process.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

I always travel with Allianz travel insurance. I’ve had two claims over the years, one this past February, and never had a problem with reimbursement. The February reimbursement did take almost 30 days before I received their direct deposit into my checking account for over $5000, cost to rebook a flight cancelled because of weather.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

My only complaint with any insurance companies that I’ve filed claims with has been the length of time between filing and reimbursement. I always research the latest rating information via “insure my trip.com” and other sources. Reliable information is usually readily available. No offense intended, but I have to wonder whether you did due diligence before signing up for the insurance. Remember, you always have 10-14 days after initial trip payment or deposit to get insurance that includes pre-existing conditions.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I hate to say it, but most insurance is a scam.

The local school had a trip to London planned, and then Desert Storm started. The company allowed cancelation in case of war. As you probably know, Desert Storm wasn't a war, so no refunds.

My insurance coverage through MetLife has been excellent - house, car, boat. It's has been switched to Farmers, so I hope it's still good.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I think your assessment of insurance being a scam is a stretch. Like any product, the buyer needs to not jump in with both feet before researching.
As for the London example, why would you expect that the school would qualify for a refund if they didn't have “cancel for any reason?” It’s not like Desert Storm wasn’t expected or close enough to London to be a concern for travel safety. If that were the case, any trip to Denmark, for example, would cancellable because of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.