For those who have had to make a claim on travel insurance....

[MamaParrotHead]

Can you all tell me the good, bad and ugly as to the nature of your claim and how each company performed (as in, how easy/difficult and fast/slow was it to receive your reimbursement), Carnival insurance included.

 

Thanks.

[redlef]

Can you all tell me the good, bad and ugly as to the nature of your claim and how each company performed (as in, how easy/difficult and fast/slow was it to receive your reimbursement), Carnival insurance included.

 

Thanks.

 

Travelsafe. Lost jewelry on the ship. Called the 800 number. They sent me a form. Filled it out and mailed it in. Had a check in about 3 weeks.

[jetskier]

My mom got sick the day before our cruise and had to cancel. We just had to print out the form and have the doctor sign it. Plus submit the cost of the cruise. We had a check back within 3 weeks. This was through Access America.

 

Now in Mississippi, there is a law that requires an insurance company to make payment within 30 days of a claim being submitted.

 

Dave

[AngelKappie]

Access America!!!!

 

I was sea sick on my very first cruise back in Dec 2006 the first night was very rough people at our table told me to go to Dr and get a shot in my butt. :p BOY did that cure my seasickness! It knocked me out for the night, but the next day I was great, for the rest of the cruise I made sure to take my seasickness med everyday to prevent that from happening again!

 

My bill was around $130, I mailed in my claim right when we got home and got a check for the full amount within a couple of weeks!!! I NEVER travel without insurance! I have heard to many stories how people have LOST a lot of money without having any!!!!!

[Caligirl75]

My first cruise was scheduled out of Galveston on the Elation. This was just two weeks before Katrina hit. Because of Katrina our cruise was cancelled--the Elation was going to be used for the folks in New Orleans.

 

Carnival was going to refund our money, but I noticed that the Conquest ended up leaving out of Galveston on the same date, but a different itinerary. We were lucky enough to get on that ship, but had to pay an additional $200 per person for the difference in cost. Travel Guard ended up refunding the difference since we were leaving out of the same port on the same date. I had to submit a letter from Carnival stating the Elation was cancelled, and documentation showing the cost increase. It took about 2 weeks to get the letter from Carnival and then about a month to get our check from Travel Guard.

[MCLASS111]

I just submitted my receipts to Berkley (purchased through Celebrity) as I got sick the morning of embarkation and had to cancel my cruise. :(

I went to an Urgent Med Express, was treated by a doctor and got the doctors' form signed, so I will let you know.....

[rodsandroyals]

I would not use Travelex purchased through insuremytrip.com. Our trip was July 19 -26, 2009 on the Splendor. My granddaughter was treated in the infirmiry for an ear infection. The insurance was primary and we are still waiting for payment. It has been a royal run around. They have not refused to pay. They ask for a piece of information and when that is submitted, they ask for something else. The main stumbling block at this point is getting proof of treatment signed by the doctor that treated her. Even though it is documented on the sign and sail card as infirmary charges. I am extremely disappointed in this product. I will not use this company again.

[crazyforcruizin]

Travelguard. My son left electric razor on ship. After faxing the appropriate paperwork to them, I got a denial one month later. Seems the letter I got from Carnival stated the loss occurred after we got home and therefore was not for the coverage period. They told me to call Carnival and get another letter with a corrected date(which I am sure will be no problem). Why it took one month to get a reply, I don't know.

[cubdaddy]

In my signature is a link to the full story of my Hurricane Wilma cruise on the Imagination. To make a long story short, we could not get out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale at the end of our 4 day turned 6 day cruise. We were offered by Carnival to get back on the ship and go back out on the remaining 3 days of the next cruise. We had to pay $100 each which was a bargain since there was no electric in either city and no hotels. Airports were closed as well.

 

On the second half of our cruise my new camera was stolen. I got receipts for the extended cruise and filled out a report at the pursers desk on the ship. I submitted all this to Travel Guard when we returned. I had a $50 deductable on the camera but got a check within a couple weeks. They were great.

 

Like some of the other posters said, I never sail without it now! We had a wonderful 9 day cruise and the insurance worked!

[jenelizab]

Access America, last month, used them to cancel mine and my sister's flights to Baltimore. I was laid off from my job October last year. Decided to drive to Baltimore instead of fly, to save some money. Since I had been at my job more than three years and the layoff was was due to shortage of work they covered it. Had my check within 10 days or so.

 

If you google them you will find a lot of complaints but I had a really good experience with Access America.

[aggieastrosfan]

CSA for a lost/stolen camera in 2005. Filled out requested paperwork, submitted letter from GS stating the camera reported as missing/stolen, and sent in copy of receipt of camera (was only a couple months old). Got the check within 2 weeks, no additional information required.

[cruiseco]

I would not use Travelex purchased through insuremytrip.com. Our trip was July 19 -26, 2009 on the Splendor. My granddaughter was treated in the infirmiry for an ear infection. The insurance was primary and we are still waiting for payment. It has been a royal run around. They have not refused to pay. They ask for a piece of information and when that is submitted, they ask for something else. The main stumbling block at this point is getting proof of treatment signed by the doctor that treated her. Even though it is documented on the sign and sail card as infirmary charges. I am extremely disappointed in this product. I will not use this company again.

 

People are probably sick of me harping on this but here's a perfect example of why you really, really need to call the provided toll free number every time as soon as you think there is a chance there might be a claim against the policy to find out what will be needed to document the claim.

 

Just a copy of your onboard charges will never be enough with ANY insurer. I'm sure it's not true of this case but what if the reason for the visit to the doctor was spraining an ankle while parasailing or some other prohibited activity? When they don't get something from the doctor spelling out the exact nature of the illness/injury they'll sit on it until they do. It's the insured's responsibility to prove the claim.

[fig414]

My wife got 2nd and 3rd degree burns to her foot 3-4 weeks prior to cruise. Her doctor told her she could not cruise and we had Carnival insurance. We were refunded in full in a timely manner. No hassle whatsoever.

[bills blasters]

We used Travelex, travel lite. We had no trouble at all with our claim. Our plain broke down when we made a stop at a small airport in South Dakota. They could not get us on another plain until late the next morning, and we could have never made the ship in time.

We ended up renting a car and driving to a bigger airport about 300 miles away.

The insurance paid for the car rental and for the gas. Had the check within 2 weeks.

[Cre]

My flight was cancelled due to weather. I filed a claim through Berkley Insurance and received a 500.00 refund in about 3 to 4 weeks.

[Ken076]

I would not use Travelex purchased through insuremytrip.com. Our trip was July 19 -26, 2009 on the Splendor. My granddaughter was treated in the infirmiry for an ear infection. The insurance was primary and we are still waiting for payment. It has been a royal run around. They have not refused to pay. They ask for a piece of information and when that is submitted, they ask for something else. The main stumbling block at this point is getting proof of treatment signed by the doctor that treated her. Even though it is documented on the sign and sail card as infirmary charges. I am extremely disappointed in this product. I will not use this company again.

 

Did the infirmary not give you a "statement" with the treatment/codes - they're supposed to? ken

[Ken076]

People are probably sick of me harping on this but here's a perfect example of why you really, really need to call the provided toll free number every time as soon as you think there is a chance there might be a claim against the policy to find out what will be needed to document the claim......

 

There's usually a section at the rear of the Policy indicating what documentation is needed for various claim types, or as Cruiseco says, you can simply call the 800 number for advice. An S&S statement won't get-it for Trip Insurance, even for Personal Health Insurance. ken

[recyclelady]

I've made claims with Access America on two different occasions.

 

The first was on an Alaskan cruise in 2004. I was sick enough I had to leave the cruise early and fly back to Illinois. (Later to find out I had West Nile). They covered everything, and the bills were whopping!!!

 

 

The second time was about two years ago. My suitcase got chewed up somewhere between Barbados and Miami. Big gash down the side. The airline would take no responsibility. Access America paid. It was a little more of a hassle. They wanted proof of purchase price. The suitcase was about 6 years old! Luckily, I actually keep credit card statements for a REALLY long time and they accepted that as proof!

[Yvonne]

We insure our cruises with Access America. For our January '08 cruise we had to file a claim with them, because the day we were to fly to Florida to start our vacation was the day of my Dad's funeral. We did go on the cruise, but left a day later so had to pay the fee to change our flight, plus the cost difference in the flights for a total of $308 I believe. We had been in contact with the insurance company when my Dad was so ill, and then again after he passed, to find out what our options were. They were very kind, thoughtful, understanding. We submitted our claim to them when we got back and within 2 weeks we had a check for the full amount of the claim, no problem.

[Jay B]

We had a real hassle with Access America after I was hospitalized and had to cancel a trip. We would send in paperwork, wait and get no response, called them and were told that they needed some other document, sent that in and got no responsed, etc. etc. It took about 4 months but we finally got our money.

[SAC69]

We had to cancel a trip on RCCL in 2008 5 days before departure due to my daughter's low blood count (cancer treatment). We used Travel Guard and after submitting all the required paperwork we had all our money back within 3 weeks. We reloaded the trip last July on the Legend to celebrate her cancer remission.

[Heirloom]

That's GREAT to hear so many good reports re: Accesss America.

 

No claims to date.....but we insure each cruise vacation with them, and it's reassuring to know that they are honest and quick to process.

 

One note that took me 2 tries to understand.....with Access America (and I believe with most travel insurance companies)....claims that are due to PRE-EXISTING conditions, e.g., cancelling a trip due to say, a parent getting re-admitted to hospital due to an ongoing disease.......you have to buy the insurance within 10 days of making cruise reservation.

 

Have fortunately never needed this, but have paid (on phone) within those 10 days just in case , on past 3 cruises !

 

One item we get via Access America is.....in case something SERIOUS happens to either one of us onboard....we want a helicopter to get us FAST to nearest location with a decent hospital. Twice now, we've been on cruises where a ship had to change direction to get a serious case to closest island. That may take too darned long.....we want to fly to a hopefully good doctor ! (Which hopefully exists somewhere in Caribbean).

[Jajone]

In my signature is a link to the full story of my Hurricane Wilma cruise on the Imagination. To make a long story short, we could not get out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale at the end of our 4 day turned 6 day cruise. We were offered by Carnival to get back on the ship and go back out on the remaining 3 days of the next cruise. We had to pay $100 each which was a bargain since there was no electric in either city and no hotels. Airports were closed as well.

 

On the second half of our cruise my new camera was stolen. I got receipts for the extended cruise and filled out a report at the pursers desk on the ship. I submitted all this to Travel Guard when we returned. I had a $50 deductable on the camera but got a check within a couple weeks. They were great.

 

Like some of the other posters said, I never sail without it now! We had a wonderful 9 day cruise and the insurance worked!

And we made a claim for expenses incurred waiting for you and the ship to come into port so we could sail. Carnival insurance even reimbursed for food we paid cash for and did not get a receipt for since the store could not issue one without electricity. No questions asked. Of course, it was not for extreme amounts of money. Received the refund within a week of claim. Never was so happy to shower as I was that day! The DOD was well received too.

[joebat1]

Can you all tell me the good, bad and ugly as to the nature of your claim and how each company performed (as in, how easy/difficult and fast/slow was it to receive your reimbursement), Carnival insurance included.

 

Thanks.

 

Next door neighbor had two different no-show due to illness, full refund from insurance both time.

 

I guess Carnival uses Berkley, like Princess, as their carrier. Daughter fell on board due to wet deck stairs. We were sure to have a lot of documentation from ship security, doctors report, & eye witness written report. When I called Berkley requesting a claim form the lady told me it would take 4 weeks....DUH

In reality I had the check in a little over a week.

 

I WOULD NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT ~~!!~~

[rdytocruz]

Travelex Travel Lite. Two claims-one for a stolen camera and one for $1700.00 for an infected blister. Had check within two weeks but you do need to have documentation. It cost me more to replace my camera in Italy and they actually paid me more that the cost of my original camera. Nothing but good service.