Insure and regret (Insure and Go)

Member Name: Unhappy customer

Product:	Insure and Go
Date:	21/10/08 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: um.....

Disadvantages: Awful customer services, Claim delays, basics not covered

I bought a long term backpacker policy from these jokers back in April for around £170. As I had previous medical conditions I rang up to take the policy out where I was assured my conditions were covered as standard and not to worry. I also explained that i would be going abroad for 3 months then returning to the UK for 2 months before going away again for a year, again I was assured this was not a problem. Brilliant I thought but how wrong I was.
The problems started after I got ill in Europe and had to be admitted into hospital, I paid everything thinking it'll be ok I can claim it back. Altogether my expenses came to 800 euros so you can imagine how much I wanted/needed to claim that money back (i'm a student). The first time I called I was told they'd send me a claims form, I thought whilst I was on the phone why not request the policy documents and terms and conditions that i'd never received. The gentleman transferred me to the customer services where a very rude man told me that due to returning to the UK my policy was void. I asked what on Earth he was talking about to which his reply was it's not our problem if you don't read our terms and conditions is it (um well actually seeing as I'm calling because I never received them i believe yes that would count as your fault) after struggling with him for 10 mins, he finally agreed to let me speak to his manager before hanging up on me!
Ok not to be deterred I called back daily only to receive the same level of service. Finally one day i lucked out and spoke to a very nice girl who sympathised with the problem and put me on to speak to her manager. The manager stated she would listen to my phone call to see if the advisor told me about this part of the policy and call me back within 3 days. 9 days later I decided it was time to phone again. This time I spoke to the customer services manager who told me that the call had indeed been listened to but there were no notes on what was said so she would need to listen to the call and she'd call me back.
Again cut to a week later and I hadn't heard a thing from them. I ring back and speak to her and she tellls me she hasn't listened to the call yet which is why she hasn't phoned me but she'd make it a matter of urgence. Ok a week later and surprise surprise no contact, I called AGAIN and spoke to the customer services manager who although friendly clearly has no idea what customer service means. She told me she'd listened to the call and although he'd mentioned something about booking times to come home he hadn't made it clear that upon return to the uk after 4 months my 1+1/2year policy would be voided. She also admitted that I had told the gentlemen my plan to come home for 2 months over summer and he had simply responded how lovely rather than you have to phone us and book a home stay which can only be 10 days or your policy is voided.
As this had not been made clear and I hadn't (still haven't) received the policy documents that i'd requested 4 more times she would send my case to the underwriters and ask if they could reinstate/refund my policy and she'd get back to me within 3 days. I informed her time was really of the essence as I would be going abroad again 10 days later. She assured me 10 days was more than enough and i would hear from her in 3. I didn't, nor did I manage to get in touch with her before leaving the UK.
Another problem arose regarding the claim, They sent me a letter stating that my previous medical conditions had not been disclosed at time of sale or i would have been sent some documents to sign. Well i'm sure you can imagine how annoyed I was but being already abroad I was having difficulty connecting to their phone number from abroad. I decided i'd send an email in which i not so nicely explained that I did disclose them and if they wanted to check that then why not listen to the sales call (which had already been listened to 3 times) to confirm this.
I also asked them to forward my email to customer services as I had written a section regarding the other problem. 10 days later I got the most basic reply thanking me for my patience, saying they were looking into my claim and that they had sent my email to customer services who would be in touch in the very near future. Cut to 6 weeks later and 5 more emails and I still haven't heard from customer services. I finally received an email from the claims dept saying that the only amounts they are required to cover is £150 worth and a check is in the post. Obviously i'm not happy with the amount but at this point i think it's far easier and less stressful to take it. I also called and left a message with the customer services dept who claim to never have received any emails and that the previous mentioned customer services manager would call me back and let me know what was decided 2 months ago. Needless to say i'm still waiting for that phone call and i suspect i'll be waiting a long long time.
AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE

Summary: If you actually want to be able to claim your expenses back, don't bother with these