CSA Travel Protection

When we took our cruise to the British Isles in 2017, likemost people, we bought trip insurance to protect us from a "worst casescenario" we hoped would never happen. On the recommendation of our American Express travel agent, we purchaseda policy from CSA Travel Insurance; a company we were led to believe was highlyreputable. When that worst case scenariooccurred, a terrorist attack near London and an official British Governmentwarning that another attack in London was not just likely, but"imminent," we called the CSA's contact agency while travellingabroad and trusted their word that if we bought a new, early flight home fromthe UK it would be fully reimbursed as would several excursions we hadpre-purchased. That was just the firstin a chain of events with CSA Travel Insurance that ranged from incompetence tooutright deception. Our claim was deniedand they absolved themselves from any and all wrongdoing. I gave the CSA claims adjustor informationfrom my notes of all the phone calls I had made to their representatives. She informed me that they had tapes of thosephone calls and their assessment of the tapes supported their denial. They refused to give me access to those tapesas it was "against company policy." I then asked to speak to a supervisor (On 8/17/2017) and was told thatshe would call me within 24 hours. As oftoday (1/14/2018), after repeated calls, she still hasn't called. I'm beginning to think she won't. I filed a report with the CaliforniaInsurance Bureau to try to mediate a voluntary compromise between CSA and us,but they too were denied access to the information in those tapes and CSA wouldnot change their position. CSA relies onshady definitions, limitations and the hope that their customers won't pursueredress. Their policy is, in practice,only meant to protect themselves and their bottom line. It certainly offered us nothing. do not buy trip insurance from CSA TravelInsurance.

When we took our cruise to the British Isles in 2017, likemost people, we bought trip insurance to protect us from a "worst casescenario" we hoped would never happen. On the recommendation of our American Express travel agent, we purchaseda policy from CSA Travel Insurance; a company we were led to believe was highlyreputable. When that worst case scenariooccurred, a terrorist attack near London and an official British Governmentwarning that another attack in London was not just likely, but"imminent," we called the CSA's contact agency while travellingabroad and trusted their word that if we bought a new, early flight home fromthe UK it would be fully reimbursed as would several excursions we hadpre-purchased. That was just the firstin a chain of events with CSA Travel Insurance that ranged from incompetence tooutright deception. Our claim was deniedand they absolved themselves from any and all wrongdoing. I gave the CSA claims adjustor informationfrom my notes of all the phone calls I had made to their representatives. She informed me that they had tapes of thosephone calls and their assessment of the tapes supported their denial. They refused to give me access to those tapesas it was "against company policy." I then asked to speak to a supervisor (On 8/17/2017) and was told thatshe would call me within 24 hours. As oftoday (1/14/2018), after repeated calls, she still hasn't called. I'm beginning to think she won't. I filed a report with the CaliforniaInsurance Bureau to try to mediate a voluntary compromise between CSA and us,but they too were denied access to the information in those tapes and CSA wouldnot change their position. CSA relies onshady definitions, limitations and the hope that their customers won't pursueredress. Their policy is, in practice,only meant to protect themselves and their bottom line. It certainly offered us nothing. do not buy trip insurance from CSA TravelInsurance.

Welcome to CruiseCritic, and so sorry it had to be with a problem like this.

Before I continue, I'd suggest that you contact the Insurance Commissioner's Office again. I don't see how CSA (or any insurer) can simply withhold evidence. Insurance is a regulated industry. (Or, there must be a reason why the Commission didn't need that info?)

I think that one sentence in what you wrote has a hint about "what went wrong":

"CSA relies on shady definitions, limitations and the hope that their customers won't pursue redress."

However, I might disagree about the terms you used in your post, such as "shady".

One real difficulty with travel insurance (any insurance, actually) is to understand the EXACT terms used, as defined BY the insurer... the "fine print".

We've spent untold hours checking on "what does THIS mean???" or "Would THIS be covered by XYZ policy???"

Mostly, we asked the folks at www.TripInsuranceStore.com (especially Steve, the owner) and they were incredibly patient at the start.

And sometimes, I asked *again*, as in, "I want to be sure I understand about the definition of..." because I'm not sure I remembered... would THIS be covered???" :(

One huge issue did in fact involve terrorism (actual, threatened, or feared), and precisely when that coverage could be used.

I do need to mention that we were *NOT* pleased by some of the answers, but at least we had the answers and could plan accordingly.

This is one of the two reasons why we get CFAR coverage (Cancel For Any Reason), which does cost extra. (We'd get it anyway just now, due to a very elderly family member, but we'll probably keep getting it, even if it "just" gives us future peace of mind in terms of "well, that hurricane MIGHT head toward where we'll be sailing..." or some other concern that some people may consider wimpy. "Wimps R Us", etc. :eek:)

Some of the terminology and types of coverage have been changing somewhat recently, so it's also important to know what each specific policy states, not what "the last policy" said, etc.

The biggest problem I see is that you did have a conversation with them before changing your plans. That's a huge concern! We try to get as much as possible in email (writing of some sort), such as, "Hi, I wanted to double check that I understood correctly that....<repeat understanding from phone call>..."

But in some circumstances, there might not be time for that, including time zone differences and less than instantaneous responses, etc.

My point is that what you experienced is very unfortunate, given that you went to the trouble of calling them before taking steps.

I'm not sure if a different insurer would have yielded different outcome. Maybe just a different rep (even at CSA) would have been more clear, or explained things better, or understood your questions better, etc.

It's tough in the middle of things, obviously!

But I would try again with the state commission. Something sounds wrong that the regulating agency can't get documentation, etc.

Your situation does indeed sound worth pursuing.

GC

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to read and critique my post. Your points are well taken and we will take more time and investigate more precisely the next time we buy insurance. One thing you commented on struck me as needing more investigating. At the end of their letter of denial they listed the telephone number of a State Insurance Agency that we could contact. It turns out that this agency can only effect a voluntary mediation between me and CSA even asking me to provide them with what I thought would be a fair compromise. I'm just wondering if there isn't a more formal State Insurance Regulatory Agency that could make a more official investigation, ie gather evidence from both parties and making decisions based on that information. I'm going to pursue that and then, for better or worse, be done with it. Thanks again for your very helpful reply.

a quick google search

http://www.insurance.ca.gov/