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Travel Insurance Claim - Update 5/9/16

Posted by (Loudoun County, Va., USA) on

I bought the AIG "Travel Guard" trip insurance (cost:$411) for our upcoming trip to London & Paris. We were scheduled to leave on May 4th, but my wife fell and broke her shoulder, so we'll have to put the trip off until September.
I checked with AIG, and was told to go ahead and make the necessary travel changes, and then file a claim with AIG and they will reimburse me for the cost of the changes.
I'm a little nervous about this, since the airfare change cost is over $1000. In addition to that, there are the costs to change our Eurostar reservations as well as the money that we will lose on our pre-paid Heathrow Express tickets, which are non-changeable and non-refundable.
Just wondering if anyone here has any experience in dealing with a situation like this, and what sort of hassles I can expect from the insurance company.

UPDATE:
I filed the initial claim on 13 April, with the follow-up that was requested by Travel Guard on 25 April.
I got a phone call from Travel Guard on 03 May telling me that my claim had been processed, and "the check is in the mail".
The check was received on 07 May (which happens to be our 45th anniversary) for the full amount claimed.
The only factor I was unhappy about was that since the trip was cancelled and then rescheduled, I had to buy a new insurance policy for $454 to cover the rescheduled trip in September. All in all, however, I'm pretty satisfied

Posted by
4873 posts

We've not dealt with this particular situation, but did have a medical claim with Travel Guard and the claim was handled very well. They did require good documentation, but nothing unreasonable, and everything was settled within a couple of weeks. Based on our experience, your claim will probably be handled well also. Perhaps you can call them (and follow up with an email) and clarify any questions about what they need in the way of documentation. Gut feeling says you'll be ok.

Posted by
16352 posts

Our only claim experience was with a last -minute cancellation of a ski vacation or medical reasons. Reimbursement of prepaid expenses was quick and easy. Our insurance was through a different company, however.

Just be sure and keep all receipts and documentation, and book equivalent replacements in the flights and trains. And note that while the Heathrow Express tickets will have expired by September, they are fully transferable within the period of validity. So if you know someone else who can use them in May, June, or July, pass them on.

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/faqs/ticket-faqs#8881ebd8-0b42-6265-b24c-ff00002d9a96

Posted by
2135 posts

Hi Tim, sorry about your wife. I also had a claim with Travel Guard and it was handled very quickly. My father was very ill and I had to cancel a planned Rick Steves tour. I called and they walked me through the process and answered questions about the forms. It worked out a lot better than I thought it would. Travel Guard paid everything I requested. Good luck!

Posted by
2788 posts

I am so glad to keep reading good things about Travel Guard travel insurance. I have taken out a policy with them for the last five years when going to Europe for a month in the summer. I have never had to file a claim, thank goodness, but it is nice to see good things being said about them.

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