Trip Mate insurance for a canceled Viking River cruise

[happytalk44]

We have been attempting to receive payment from Trip Matesince mid-August. We were forced tocancel our cruise because I underwent back surgery. The Trip Mate website has an activity log foreach claim and I was able to access that. It showed our claim had been accepted and processed. I was also able to access other “status”information. The following summarizesthe significant entries to date.

Activity log:

8/25/2017. Call toclaimant. This was actually a return callbecause I used their callback system. Iasked about the status of payment and was told that the checks were mailed on8/18. There is no entry in the activitylog to this effect and I was told they didn’t enter that sort ofinformation. I was told the checks wouldarrive in 5-7 business days. (7 businessdays would have been 8/29.) Ichecked the USPS web site and mail fromMissouri to Florida should arrive in 2-7 days.

8/29/2017. Call to Claimant. Again, this was actually a return call because I used their callbacksystem. The checks had not arrived and Iasked where they were. I was told to“give it a few more days.” I told therepresentative that was not an acceptable answer and asked to speak to asupervisor. I was told one would callwithin 24-48 hours. (48 hours would be8/31.) The call was never received.

9/5/2017. In checkingthe site’s activity log on 9/6 I found an entry that purported that a call hadbeen made to the claimant(us) on 9/5. Nosuch call was received. Not only wasthere no message on our answering machine there was no indication that a “missedcall” had been received. In fact, onthat date our Caller ID showed no calls from anyone, missed or accepted.

9/6/2017. Call toClaimant. Again, this was actually areturn call because I used their callback system. I asked the representative about the supposedcall on 9/5 and she (Tamera) said that the call was made but “dropped” beforeit was completed. She could not explainwhy the entry was made if the call was “dropped” nor why the caller did notattempt to place the call again. Again,I asked where the checks were because they had not arrived in “5-7 workingdays.” She responded that she didn’tunderstand why I was told “5-7 working days” since the criteria they use is “10mail days.” When I asked her what thatmeant she could not define it but that the holiday (Labor Day) probably causedan additional delay; even though whatever the definition of “10 mail days” is,Labor Day was after that. Because ofthat I was told to wait yet another “few days.”

In each instance with these phone calls I confirmed mymailing address and (with the exception of the one on 8/25) I was given theoption of having payment stopped on the checks and new checks issued.

Trip Mate’s Claim Status screen for our claim shows that apayment was made and lists check numbers; however, no amounts are shown. (Separatechecks for myself and my wife.) At onepoint previously, when I was checking the site, there was an entry in theamount column for each of us. Unfortunately,I did not capture the screen at the time.

The information displayed at Trip Mate for our claim alsoincludes a claim status display for each of us. Both of these displays show that our claim is “paid closed” although wehave never received any checks.

Edited September 11, 2017 by happytalk44
pronoun change

[Viking Cruises]

Dear happytalk44,

 

We hope you’re recovering well since your surgery, and sincerely regret to learn of the difficulty you’ve been having with the claim process.

 

While it sounds like your checks have been approved and issued, we understand the frustration you’ve gone through to get accurate information regarding their issuance and delivery.

 

To address your concerns, we invite you to reach out to us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com so we may have a Viking Agent look further into the matter for you.

 

We look forward to hearing from you, happytalk44, and appreciate the opportunity to help you find some peace of mind.

 

Kind regards,

 

Viking Cruises

 

We have been attempting to receive payment from Trip Matesince mid-August. We were forced tocancel our cruise because I underwent back surgery. The Trip Mate website has an activity log foreach claim and I was able to access that. It showed our claim had been accepted and processed. I was also able to access other “status”information. The following summarizesthe significant entries to date.

Activity log:

8/25/2017. Call toclaimant. This was actually a return callbecause I used their callback system. Iasked about the status of payment and was told that the checks were mailed on8/18. There is no entry in the activitylog to this effect and I was told they didn’t enter that sort ofinformation. I was told the checks wouldarrive in 5-7 business days. (7 businessdays would have been 8/29.) Ichecked the USPS web site and mail fromMissouri to Florida should arrive in 2-7 days.

8/29/2017. Call to Claimant. Again, this was actually a return call because I used their callbacksystem. The checks had not arrived and Iasked where they were. I was told to“give it a few more days.” I told therepresentative that was not an acceptable answer and asked to speak to asupervisor. I was told one would callwithin 24-48 hours. (48 hours would be8/31.) The call was never received.

9/5/2017. In checkingthe site’s activity log on 9/6 I found an entry that purported that a call hadbeen made to the claimant(us) on 9/5. Nosuch call was received. Not only wasthere no message on our answering machine there was no indication that a “missedcall” had been received. In fact, onthat date our Caller ID showed no calls from anyone, missed or accepted.

9/6/2017. Call toClaimant. Again, this was actually areturn call because I used their callback system. I asked the representative about the supposedcall on 9/5 and she (Tamera) said that the call was made but “dropped” beforeit was completed. She could not explainwhy the entry was made if the call was “dropped” nor why the caller did notattempt to place the call again. Again,I asked where the checks were because they had not arrived in “5-7 workingdays.” She responded that she didn’tunderstand why I was told “5-7 working days” since the criteria they use is “10mail days.” When I asked her what thatmeant she could not define it but that the holiday (Labor Day) probably causedan additional delay; even though whatever the definition of “10 mail days” is,Labor Day was after that. Because ofthat I was told to wait yet another “few days.”

In each instance with these phone calls I confirmed mymailing address and (with the exception of the one on 8/25) I was given theoption of having payment stopped on the checks and new checks issued.

Trip Mate’s Claim Status screen for our claim shows that apayment was made and lists check numbers; however, no amounts are shown. (Separatechecks for myself and my wife.) At onepoint previously, when I was checking the site, there was an entry in theamount column for each of us. Unfortunately,I did not capture the screen at the time.

The information displayed at Trip Mate for our claim alsoincludes a claim status display for each of us. Both of these displays show that our claim is “paid closed” although wehave never received any checks.

[happytalk44]

Viking posted the above re: our concerns within an hour after my post. Looks good, right? OK--we sent them what they wanted and they called us this AM.

Wow! Sounds good, right?

Would you believe they say they are nothing but a pass-through for the insurance company and can not help us with the problem?

 

Just wanted to post this so everyone reading this would not think that their response was a solution to the problem.

 

Be VERY careful what insurance company you use through Viking River Cruises. This is the insurance company you would use unless you knew they are a scam and chose your own. It never occurred to us that any cruise line would use a disreputable insurance company but it is apparent that Viking does.

[Coral]

I wonder if you can call Department of Insurance where Trip Mate is located?

 

I read something recently negative about Trip Mate with someone else having problems getting a claim resolved. I hope you have resolution soon!

[Host Jazzbeau]

IMO this is another reason to use a Travel Agent:

(1) TAs sell a policy from Allianz that has very good coverage, and when we had to cancel a trip for health reasons this spring they were very reasonable about what they asked for -- and then they paid 100% of our out-of-pocket costs

(2) Throughout this process, my TA was riding herd on them to make sure we didn't fall through any cracks in the process.

(3) BTW another benefit of that Allianz TA policy is that it offers 'pre-existing' coverage even if you only buy the insurance at the time of Final Payment.

[happytalk44]

IMO this is another reason to use a Travel Agent:

(1) TAs sell a policy from Allianz that has very good coverage, and when we had to cancel a trip for health reasons this spring they were very reasonable about what they asked for -- and then they paid 100% of our out-of-pocket costs

(2) Throughout this process, my TA was riding herd on them to make sure we didn't fall through any cracks in the process.

(3) BTW another benefit of that Allianz TA policy is that it offers 'pre-existing' coverage even if you only buy the insurance at the time of Final Payment.

Would you believe we used a travel agent??

She is on top of this but getting no help either.

[happytalk44]

Update on Trip Mate insurance--

It has been a fiasco but thanks to the wonderful customer service of Steven and Sue at Viking River Cruises--and our amazing TA-- we have finally received payment from Trip Mate. Many inconsistent statements from the company finally resulted in the checks arriving but it required a great deal of agony and effort on the part of all-- for our benefit! It is hard enough to have to go through the process without having to put up with deception and shenanigans from the insurance company.

Viking River Cruises will continue to have our support after seeing the wonderful care we received from them when the going got tough.

Thank you Steven, Sue and Donna!!