We asked subscribers to each tell us about a time when they submitted a claim — medical or nonmedical — to a travel insurance company and expected reimbursement but had their claim denied. Our aim was to make travelers aware of what they might be surprised to find they are NOT covered for, in certain situations, under travel insurance policies.
When I purchase travel insurance, I always get a policy that includes a “preexisting-condition waiver,” as my principal purpose in purchasing the policy is to have coverage if I need to cancel or interrupt a trip due to an accident or illness. At 77 years old, I do not want to be denied a claim based on some (perceived) preexisting medical condition or to deal with the hassle of proving that there was no preexisting condition.
A few days prior to my taking an Odysseys Unlimited trip to Spain and Portugal in September 2015, I was sickened with a blood infection that required a 5-day hospital stay followed by several weeks of IV therapy and monitoring. Afterward, I made a medical care claim with my travel insurance company, Trip Mate (Kansas City, MO; 800/888-7292, www.tripmate.com). My medical claim was successful, with no major issues.
Based on what I learned during this experience, the points listed below may be useful for other travelers who need to file a claim.
Regarding the hiker in New Zealand who said she did not seek medical attention because it was late on a Saturday (Feb. ’16, pg. 16), she could have talked to the manager at her hotel and asked him to find a doctor who would make a hotel/house call. If not that day, then the next. If no doctor was on call in the city, she could have gone to the hospital.
I read about the traveler who, while on a hiking tour in New Zealand, came down with a respiratory illness, left the tour and took a bus back to Queenstown but did not seek a physician because it was Saturday afternoon (Feb. ’16, pg. 16). Instead, she stayed in a hotel for a few days, then took her scheduled flight home, where she submitted a trip-interruption claim to her travel insurance company. Her claim was denied because she had no note from a doctor attesting to the severity of her illness.
An ITN subscriber was on a hiking tour in New Zealand in April 2014 when she came down with a respiratory illness. Feeling she couldn’t complete the week’s second hike, on the Routeburn Track, she took a bus back to Queenstown, a couple of hours away, but did not seek out a physician for an office visit because it was Saturday afternoon. She recuperated in a hotel for several days before taking her scheduled flight home.
In my column this month, I will first answer a subscriber’s specific questions regarding purchasing travel insurance, then I will provide some thoughts and recommendations on the general subject.
QUESTION: Dear Mr. Wirtanen, my husband and I are planning a trip to China (including Tibet) and Japan in October-November and, for the first time, we are wondering about the value of purchasing travel insurance.
We asked subscribers to each tell us about a time when they submitted a claim — medical or nonmedical — to a travel insurance company and expected reimbursement but had their claim denied. Our aim was to make travelers aware of what they might be surprised to find they are NOT covered for, in certain situations, under travel insurance policies.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 483rd issue of ITN, your monthly foreign travel magazine.
