We booked an European cruise with Grand Circle/ Overseas Adventure Travel. Because the price was reduced, I agreed to purchase their trip insurance even though I had been warned by other travelers that it is difficult to collect from them. My wife had a stroke a week before departure. I filled a claim with Allianz insurance for the air travel part of the trip and the refund was electronically posted to my account within two weeks. The cruise cost refund request had to first go through a company called Trip Mate. I was told that it could take up to 25 days for their approval. Trip mate approved my application in a little over two weeks. The check did not arrive and, upon checking with Tripmate, i was advised that once they approve a claim they pass it back to Grand Circle/overseas adventures for payment. A call to GC/OAT revealed that claim payment takes 45 days from the Tripmate claim approval date. Be forewarned, if you purchase trip insurance from Grand Circle/Overseas Adventure Travel it may take up to 70 days (25+45) before your refund check is mailed.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
7976 posts
I think that's true of many travel insurance companies.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5429 posts
No surprise there. And not unique to the agencies mentioned. I hope your wife is recovering well.
Posted by
913 posts
If they haven't found a reason to deny the claim, I would consider it a win. I do hope you and your wife are able to take that cruise in the future.
Posted by
New York, NY
4071 posts
First & foremost, I hope your wife is doing better & feeling better! How very scary that she suffered a stroke.
Only buy a trip cancellation policy when you’ve gotten recommendations to do so! Not warnings. Personal recommendations are best but if not, online recommendations with people citing how great the company was paying out claims expeditiously is what you need to see in droves.
Posted by
481 posts
Insurance companies are not in the business of paying claims. Brad
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3287 posts
The company you bought the insurance from is Trip Mate. Not Grand Circle or OAT. They have a link to a recommended insurance company for the cancellation insurance, but they are not the insurer.
And I am surprised the payment will come from Grand Circle, not Trip Mate, but they must have a special arrangement. That is frustrating that this adds an extra 45 days to the time it takes to get your check.