When it's payback time! (insureandgo.com)

Member Name: Tansi53

Product:	insureandgo.com
Date:	06/12/05 (1248 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to buy, reasonably priced.

Disadvantages: Buyer beware.

At last I have found somewhere that I can voice my opinions, based on personal experience, of my Travel Insurance Cover (or lack of it). I’m afraid the review is a bit (to say the least) long but basically it’s saying, ‘don’t forget the insurance but buyer beware when trying to make a claim’.

**Background**
At the beginning of May 2004 I, and a friend, arranged our longed for holiday in the sun. Having another friend who owns an apartment in Tenerife made it possible for us to plan and book a long, blissful break away from the delightful streets of our home town for most of the school summer holidays.

With mounting excitement our flights were booked and we started the countdown of how many work days were left to complete before leaving.

Don’t forget insurance!

Well, having insured myself through Insure & Go on a number of occasions, I quickly switched on my PC and started the process of buying the necessary cover. After a brief, preliminary search of insurance companies I decided to stick with what I knew.
I have always found Insure & Go easy to book, cheap and helpful and their site is easily navigable. No change there then.
For £42.92 both of us were safely covered for our extended stay on the island. (This didn’t cover us for risky activities or anything out of the ordinary as we knew this wouldn’t be necessary for us, considering the most ‘risky’ thing we intended to do was light a bar-be-que and read action thrillers).

Everything sorted we settled down to plan our essential packing (ie.10 thongs, a pair of shorts and a couple of t-shirts) and arrange our ‘ceremony of the key’ when we collected the apartment key from the owner.

It’s now July and the holiday is getting closer….bliss! Gosh, my leg aches roll on the holiday.

Being an older lady, aches and pains are always present and mostly ignored. (Sorry about the ‘older lady’ and the ‘thongs’, I realise these two don’t sit well together but our apartment had a VERY private terrace) This time, the ache in my leg didn’t pass and I had to start popping paracetemol and/or ibruprofen to get through the work day.

Never mind, a break is what I need.

** The ‘holiday’ **
We arrived at our apartment and the only thing that was spoiling our escape was the fact that I was having to take more pills to enable me to enjoy the views of the sea and the wonderful warmth and sunshine. The pain I was experiencing was getting worse.
Three days later I realised that I was taking many more pills in a 24 hour period than is stated as ‘maximum dose’ on the packets and was still in constant pain. More help is needed here so a trip to the hospital in the nearest town was arranged. No problem, I have my Insure & Go insurance cover.

After an initial consultation through an interpreter and an MRI scan I was admitted to the hospital, a drip placed in my arm and a cocktail of drugs fed directly into my blood stream. The pain eased but the drugs left me feeling disorientated and ‘foggy’.

This is where the phone calls and the paperwork started. I was in no state to do any of this so I was very pleased my friend took over although felt guilty that I had ruined her holiday too.

She, my friend, was running backwards and forwards between the administration department, medical support and me. Making phone calls to the insurance company and filling in countless forms.

The outcome of all her activities was that I had to use my credit card to pay for my treatment and my stay in hospital as the insurance company were still ‘deciding’ whether my policy covered my predicament. My first charge was for £1027.14 and the next was for £1234.25.
My friend had to tolerate a much less than helpful, and rude lady on the phone when dealing with the insurance company and IMR (International Medical Rescue) and in doing so met a number of other vulnerable British ‘holiday makers’, all with insurance cover by various companies, all fighting to make claims that were being refused or delayed. (One such lady had this to contend with whilst her husband was in intensive care suffering the effects of a potentially fatal stroke!).
I think the ‘problem’ was that the insurance company were trying to find a get out wanting to say that I hadn’t mentioned previous back problems when buying the cover…..I had!

Four days later, days filled with my friend continuing to have to spend a fortune on taxi fares to get to and from the hospital, continuing to make frantic phone calls (all having to be paid for) and completing numerous forms, I was advised by the consultants that I needed an operation on my spine as this was the cause of the pain. With still no word from the insurance company and already having spent more money than I had, I was not in a position to go ahead with the surgery.

Wait another day to see if the insurance company agree to pay!

With a handful of pain killers and prescriptions to get more + sleeping pills and other drugs to counteract the nasty effects of the former, I had to discharge myself.

Two days later, back in our apartment and drugged to the eyeballs, I received a phone call from the insurance company.

‘Yes, we will pay for your treatment’ (Too late for me) but would suggest bringing you back to the UK. (Cheaper for them in the long run!)

** Going home **
They arranged flights and ambulance transport but we had to fly into Luton rather than Gatwick (which was our previous arrival destination). This didn’t seem a problem as we live in East Anglia.

The ambulance arrived and we started what turned out to be an absolute nightmare of a journey. All was well until we touched down in Luton airport. We were taken from the plane directly onto an ambulance, which turned out to be a St. John’s ambulance and extremely uncomfortable. After a 6 hours trip across country (one that can be done in 3 if you know your way) I was taken directly to our local Primary Care Trust hospital. (And there lies another story but not relevant here!)


** Payback **
A wad of forms, epistles and evidence later I received a letter (by now the 8th September) with my medical and curtailment expenses cheque. Bearing in mind that although I was reimbursed for the hospital treatment I had had to pay for, I had already lost about £80 in exchange costs, the cost of the insurance in the first place and then there was the £50 excess I had to pay (PER PERSON).

No, they don’t cover for phone calls.
No, they don’t cover for taxi fares.
No, they don’t cover for prescription charges.
And because we had hired the apartment from a friend we could not claim for curtailment of our holiday.

I received a cheque for £73.42 which was for both insured persons. (Not quite enough to book another holiday but at least I didn’t pay all of the medical costs!)


** The Moral here **
Try to buy (or avoid) cover that has been recommended by people who have had the misfortune to have made a claim and not simply by the ease of booking procedures and cost.

Don’t travel without insurance but……!

Make sure you have a credit card with a large balance left to spend.

If possible, never travel alone.

Don’t forget your mobile phone.

List absolutely every ailment that you have been treated for in the past when buying your cover.

Don’t always accept that the best thing is to come home (I am still paying the price of that decision).


** Conclusion **

I am forever grateful that I had insurance that did cover my hospital expenses but have now learned that nothing is straightforward and that, in my experience, many insurance companies hold back decisions to payout when the time comes and you cannot expect to come out of this type of unfortunate situation without being out of pocket.

I would love to hear from anyone who has had a better (or worse) experience than me in similar circumstances as I am now loathe to attempt travelling again without knowing beforehand how my insurance company deals with claims.


** Insure and Go Travel Insurance **
The following information is edited and taken from the Insure and Go website (www.insureandgo.com) and is here in an attempt to make this review less biased.

This is what the company offers on their website covering their various types of travel insurance. Ie. Single trip, annual multi-trip, ski, snow-boarding, backpackers, over 65’s and business travel.
• for trips from 3 days up to 60 days
• up to three under 18s included FREE per insured adult
• automatically cover over 40 adventure sports automatically covered from scuba diving to white water rafting
• three levels of cover available so you can pick the right policy for your needs
• include winters sports for FREE - from 17 up to 24 days*
• travel as many times as you like over the year - with maximum trip durations ranging from 45 days to 90 days*
• up to three under 18s included FREE per insured adult
• over 40 adventure sports included automatically from scuba diving to white water rafting
• cover includes medical emergencies, piste rescue, repatriation, piste closure, personal liability, ski packs and hired and owned equipment
• Our policies cover off piste skiing and snowboarding automatically as well as tobogganing, snow mobiling, guided cross country skiing, mono skiing and ice skating
• Winter sports included free in all annual policies
• cover available from 31 days to 18 months
• over 40 adventure sports covered automatically including three bungee jumps, scuba diving and white water rafting
• cover for medical emergencies, personal belongings, repayment of student loan, personal accident, personal liability, legal costs and more
• add on excess waiver for a small additional premium and should you need to make a claim you won’t have to pay any excess.
• If you are aged between 65 and 75 we have a range of policies to suit your needs.
• Single and Annual policies available:
• Annual policies offer a great duration limit of 31 days per trip and winter sports cover is included at no extra cost
• Cover includes medical emergencies, personal belongings, travel delay, personal liability, personal accident and cancellation.
• Pre-existing medical condition? We offer a simple screening process.
• You may think that when you’re off on a business trip that your employers will pick up the bill should you need medical attention or if you’re the victim of theft. But don’t assume so. Also what if you’re self-employed?
• The answer is to sort out adequate business travel cover before you go.
• We provide cover for delayed business equipment, and will even pay for a courier to get vital items to you.
• Group policies available.

• You receive:
• a discount card that will get you money off at hostels and adventure sport providers around the world.
• Free membership to our travel club offering you great benefits and discounts on car hire, airport parking and much more
• an InsureandGo policy card - unique to InsureandGo customers its the convenient way to take your policy details away with you.
• cover for medical emergencies, personal belongings, travel delay, personal liability, legal costs and much more
• a 24 hour emergency helpline, available 365 days a year


In keeping with Insureandgo's policy of providing the best products for their customers, they have partnered with AIG Europe (UK) Limited to provide Travel Insurance. As part of the American International Group Inc.(AIG), one of the worlds leading international insurance and financial services organisations, the insurance provides the reassurance and stability our customers demand.
AIG has over 50 million customers worldwide and operates in more than 130 different countries and jurisdictions. AIG has more than $800 billion in assets and has an after tax profit greater than the top 3 European insurers combined, ensuring you are protected by a company with exceptional financial strength.
This insurance is provided by AIG Europe (UK) Limited and underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company and/or Landmark Insurance Company Limited. AIG Europe (UK) Limited is an appointed representative of New Hampshire Insurance Company and Landmark Insurance Company Limited. New Hampshire Insurance Company and Landmark Insurance Company Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and are members of the Association of British Insurers. AIG Europe (UK) Limited, New Hampshire Insurance Company and Landmark Insurance Company Limited are member companies of American International Group, Inc. (AIG)
Apologies if I have missed anything.


If you’ve actually got this far, I’m sorry this has been so long but I hope it is of some use to you.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: Gives peace of mind until you have to make a claim.