claims on travel insurance

I was wondering what peoples experience was when claiming on their travel insurance. I recently was admitted to hospital whilst on holiday in the U.K. and the insurer did absolutely nothing to help. I was left to do everything myself including arranging flights home. All that the insurer would say was "we can not do anything until we receive a report from your G.P." This sounds reasonable until you find out they took over a week before they sent out the request for the information. They would not transfer me to a hospital that had a department that specialised in the condition I had instead left me in a hospital that had not department or experience of dealing with my illness which was a fairly common one.

I can name the insurer if requested but I would like to see both good and bad experiences others have had.

Unfortunately my experience was much the same as yours Steone, although this was about 30 years ago (the only time I have claimed) My husband was left to get all 4 of us back home to the UK from the USA. Have to say that BA were extremely helpful and got us on a plane within 24hours. We had to pay upfront in US and then claim back once home, after report from our GP. I think that the insurer may have paid a hospital direct had I not been able to get home asap and had ended there.

Steone, I can name the insurer if requested but I would like to see both good and bad experiences others have had.

Please tell us who the company are.

About 15 yrs ago my wife had a problem in the canaries was in hospital for 6 days a in the hotel for 3 days before we got doctor to approve flying and the insurance company were excellent.

The private hospital was great and the insurance covered it all they found alternative accomodation for me and when my wife came out of hospital re arranged flights home.

The only things they would not pay for were food, hire care and the additional payment we had to make for the airport car park back in the UK evreything else was paid up front and we did not have to lay out anything - sorry but I cant remember the name of the insurance company but it was linked with the holdiay package we had.

Steone, if you read your policy you will probably find that the basis of the contract is that it will re-imburse medical expenses etc that are necessarily incurred and caused by accidental means, subject to some exclusions.  If the insurer were to start paying bills immediately, before the claim is accepted as being valid, there may be a problem later.  Do you have a better suggestion on how they operate?

The unwritten advice in any such situation is that you should act as if uninsured. Try to mitigate your losses and not incur costs that are unnecessary or you would not do so, if you were paying yourself.

It's not a perfect world, insurers don't always send out forms immediately, just as some insureds inflate and put in false claims. 

But all UK insurers are answerable for poor service and decisions that are wrong - if you feel this took place make a complaint to the insurer and if you still feel aggrieved lodge a claim with the Financial Ombudsman Service.  It's free!

Perhaps you might think yourself fortunate that you have these options.  I've dealt with the FOS several times and they are superb - far better that the Law Society or the Property Ombudsman who, in my experience, are both biased in favour of their client (I use that word advisedly). 

For a lot of other purchases you make there is no Ombudsman - try making a claim against RyanAir!

acer,

As the OP was on holiday in the UK when the event occurred I am assuming that the travel insurance in question was underwritten in Spain, if so this would not have FOS protection.

You could be right Hep, but why take the risk? 

Why some folk buy a policy written in a foregn language they invariably cannot understand and also have extremely limited consumer rights or support if things go wrong always surprises me. 

Acer,

I assumed that a UK insurer would not offer travel insurance to the UK to a Spanish resident, however I may be wrong.

Do Spain have an equivalent of the EHIC? Presumably, an insurer would expect a policy holder to hold one and may not pay up for treatment that would be covered under reciprocal arrangements. I have heard of of some cases in the UK where claims have been held up due to going to a private hospital straight away and not a public one.

Mark

Spanish equivalent to EHIC:

http://www.seg-social.es/Internet_1/Trabajadores/PrestacionesPension10935/Asistenciasanitaria/DesplazamientosporE11566/index.htm?ssUserText=