Has Allianz Insurance benefited anyone well here?

[NJRonbo]

Not new to cruising, but the very first time I have bought travel insurance.

 

I literally spent hours pouring over insurance reviews, looking at The Insurance Store and SquareMouth offerings.

However, "Allianz" has always come up in forum conversations as the one many cruisers pick.

 

So, I bought my girlfriend and I insurance this morning.  Went with the middle plan that gives $50,000 medical and $500,000 emergency evac

 

Of course, now I go back and read reviews of this company and so many are highly negative, even going as far as calling this insurance company a "scam."

I hope I did alright trusting this insurance company and hope to read some positive experiences where when a medical situation occurred, you were properly compensated.

 

I have 15 days to cancel and get a refund so if there is a better recommendation, I can consider it.

[GeezerCouple]

Did you CALL TripInsuranceStore and SPEAK with them?

Reading online policy summaries simply cannot inform someone well enough.  The fine print really matters, as does understanding it properly.

 

Please call them, discuss what your concerns are (they'll ask questions), and perhaps get your money back from Allianz.  

You should do this asap.  The sooner you start insuring, at least with the deposit once that's made, the more coverage options you'll have.

 

Read our reports.  We've have multiple claims, including large ones, and have been paid promptly.  That is what counts, after all...

 

GC

[klfrodo]

Here's the problem with "reviews" from my personal experience.

I have never written a review when things go well or have met my expectation. I have written reviews those few times whenever someone exceeded my expectations. However, if I'm emotionally invested and something has gone horribly wrong in "my" perceived expectation,, I'm blasting away. I admit that when I say "my" expectations, it's very possible that my expectations were unrealistic.

 

The same goes with travel insurance. I would wager that most of the bad reviews regarding travel insurance is when someone files a claim and it is rejected, it's because that event was never a covered reason to begin with. Even though your thought process is the same, the travel insurance thought process is vastly different. Ergo, a review that is flaming hot.

 

Allianz is not a bad travel insurance provider. That's not to say any provider is eager to pay out on losses, but they will pay if you do your due diligence and retain all documentation required.

[NJRonbo]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

Did you CALL TripInsuranceStore and SPEAK with them?

Reading online policy summaries simply cannot inform someone well enough.  The fine print really matters, as does understanding it properly.

 

Please call them, discuss what your concerns are (they'll ask questions), and perhaps get your money back from Allianz.  

You should do this asap.  The sooner you start insuring, at least with the deposit once that's made, the more coverage options you'll have.

 

Read our reports.  We've have multiple claims, including large ones, and have been paid promptly.  That is what counts, after all...

 

GC

I canceled my Allianz policy.  I could always buy it again if needed.

Waiting for TripInsuranceStore to open and will talk to them.  It seems like they have highly favorable reviews across the Internet so I am anticipating that I will have a good conversation with them today.

 

Thanks for the recommendation.

[GeezerCouple]

23 minutes ago, NJRonbo said:

I canceled my Allianz policy.  I could always buy it again if needed.

Waiting for TripInsuranceStore to open and will talk to them.  It seems like they have highly favorable reviews across the Internet so I am anticipating that I will have a good conversation with them today.

 

Thanks for the recommendation.

 

They are very good about returning calls if they don't answer the call, so make sure you leave a message, especially on weekends or after hours, etc.

 

As has been mentioned in several places, in many cases when there is an "unhappy outcome" (insurance claim denied), it's because the person didn't fully understand the coverage, and the reason for the claim was something that was never covered in the first place.  A second complaint reason I see occasionally is that someone has a medically-based claim, and gets all in a snit about "I shouldn't have to show anyone my private medical records!!!!"  Uh, that's correct (other than anything that may be legally required, etc.).  However, the insurer has the right to determine that the claim isn't fraudulent, and also that the specific reasons are indeed covered.  

(I'm making this up, but say someone goes to a physician on a holiday to get some cosmetic surgery.  That's probably not covered.  So the insurer does need more than just a medical bill/receipt, or at least they have the right to see that.  Whether they actually ask for all the records, that's up to them.)

 

Ask TIS any questions; they are very patient.

And IF there are problems with a claim, they could possibly help.

For our first claim (a biggie), I sent a draft of the explanation to Steve, and he made a couple of editing suggestions.  Once he made those, I realized that I had not written it well, and indeed, it could have been misunderstood about "what happened when", etc.  So I re-wrote it, submitted it, and in less than 2 weeks, we had a check for the full amount.  (Note:  This was pre-Covid; things weren't as backed up...!)

 

GC

[NJRonbo]

So, I have to thank you, GC, for the recommendation for the Trip Insurance Store.

 

Had a very nice, long call with Steve.  He ended up saving me over $120 on his insurance vs. Allianz and the overall coverage was more substantial.

Additionally, one of the things that these insurance companies don't tell you is that you shouldn't put the port fees into your overall cost quote as those would be refunded by the cruise line if trip had to be cancelled.

 

The great thing about going through Steve and TIS is that if I have issues, he becomes a middleman and helps me with my claim as well as answering any questions in the interim. 

 

So, thanks again for the very sound advice.

[shardy13]

I purchased the yearly travel insurance for 2018 and 2019.  In 2019 I had a fall d as bd broke my foot.  Required surgery and had to cancel 3 cruises.  Allianz was excellent to work with.  My husband filed the claim online and all three cruises were reimbursed quickly.  I hope this helps.  

[dd likes to cruise]

***Additionally, one of the things that these insurance companies don't tell you is that you shouldn't put the port fees into your overall cost quote asthose would be refunded by the cruise line if trip had to be cancelled.***
 

The same with any hotels you have booked, that are not guaranteed (you can cancel and not pay). Don’t add those either.  

[donaldsc]

We always buy an annual policy from Allianz.  When I had to cancel a trip because of a medical issue they handled my claim very will and w/o problems.

 

DON