Jabba 18389 Report post Posted July 4, 2014 I have a couple of family members traveling to the U.S. this Summer. Read a couple of articles about people getting screwed by insurance companies upon a health claim. 1. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/hefty-medical-bills-rejected-by-travel-insurance-firms-1.1407701 2. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/travel-insurance-doesn-t-pay-for-these-bank-customers-1.2651318 Does anyone have any advice about any insurance company who you can actually trust? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cinelli 22184 Report post Posted July 5, 2014 Manulife are very bad. We had them for a benefit provider and they weaseled out of everything they could. They had kids in a call centre who knew NOTHING about medicine phoning and harassing really sick people to get back to work. They denied many other claims and then approved them after our management stepped in. One of my co-workers has a wife who is a medical specialist. She went ballistic when one of their call centre drones would not listen to her. Avoid at all costs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest *Ste***cque** Report post Posted July 5, 2014 It is tragic when these denied claims happen. I have no recommendation about any particular company but I do have some suggestions when buying travel insurance. Travel insurance is typically "post" underwritten, which means the application is not checked for inaccuracies until "after" a claim. Therefore, be doubly careful when completing the application and even go as far as to ask your doctor to verify your health record as required on the application. Most denied claims involve some health issue not being disclosed or being incorrectly stated. Next, I would not purchase this coverage online from the cheapest company. This is not an area where it's smart to look for a cut rate deal. You're probably better off dealing with an experienced broker who can help explain the coverage and emphasize the importance of accurately completing the application. As for denying a claim due to an unrelated medical non disclosure, that can be unfair sometimes. It just depends on whether they would have provided coverage to you in the first place if you had disclosed the issue. If you don't tell the insurer about your heart problem and you suffer a broken leg on vacation, you can't expect the claim to be paid as they wouldn't have covered you in the first place had they known your full history.. The best defence against this is to always disclose your full medical history, or get help if you're unsure. The truth is almost all claims get paid and you only hear of the ones that get denied. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gentleman11 10508 Report post Posted July 7, 2014 It is tragic when these denied claims happen. I have no recommendation about any particular company but I do have some suggestions when buying travel insurance. Travel insurance is typically "post" underwritten, which means the application is not checked for inaccuracies until "after" a claim. Therefore, be doubly careful when completing the application and even go as far as to ask your doctor to verify your health record as required on the application. Most denied claims involve some health issue not being disclosed or being incorrectly stated. Next, I would not purchase this coverage online from the cheapest company. This is not an area where it's smart to look for a cut rate deal. You're probably better off dealing with an experienced broker who can help explain the coverage and emphasize the importance of accurately completing the application. As for denying a claim due to an unrelated medical non disclosure, that can be unfair sometimes. It just depends on whether they would have provided coverage to you in the first place if you had disclosed the issue. If you don't tell the insurer about your heart problem and you suffer a broken leg on vacation, you can't expect the claim to be paid as they wouldn't have covered you in the first place had they known your full history.. The best defence against this is to always disclose your full medical history, or get help if you're unsure. The truth is almost all claims get paid and you only hear of the ones that get denied. As a past frequent national and international traveller, I agree whole heartedly with SteveMcQueen here on the full disclosure of past history. I have had good experience (claim included) with BMO travel with Alliantz. One other tip that I recommend is making sure you have room on your credit cards when you travel, especially internationally. I was with a coworker who got violently ill in Bangkok at the high end restaurant "Cabbages & Condoms" (for real, look it up). He was taken to one of the private hospitals and the first thing they did was go through his credit cards and smile when they pulled an American Exporess Card and then proceeded to admit him. The medical card from the insurer was used after the initial admission. If he had not had the Amex card he would have had to go to one of the national hospitals whose care is not nearly as good as they private ones in Thailand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
womanwhorshipper 256 Report post Posted July 7, 2014 TD Insurance offers annual travel insurance, we have a policy with them. Fortunately we have not had to use it, so I cannot speak to the claims process, but I have dealt with them for other non medical claims. Not sure if it would apply to your scenario, the annual coverage works well for us as we are away several times a year, and it costs less than insurance for two trips.... Not an endorsement, just something for you to look into Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rileydaniels 1901 Report post Posted July 12, 2014 First time I had travel insurance I used CAA travel, I had to make a claim for it ended up in the hospital during my trip. It went smooth Last travel trip I had RBC travel insurance. I didn't have to make a claim. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jabba 18389 Report post Posted July 28, 2014 Many thanks for your replies. One of my family members has various yet medically controlled conditions. According to TD's insurance literature, any claims even remotely related to the conditions will be denied. Case closed. You have to very carefully read the terms and conditions to make your own determination of insurability. As a result, said family member chose not to waste time & money on travel insurance. Crossing fingers all will be good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaziglu 221 Report post Posted August 10, 2014 I would recommend Blue Cross. My parents travel a lot and use it, one of my uncles had it when he was in the states, and he got into an accident and he was covered, and they even brought him back to Canada as our health care is far better and does not cost a fortune unlike the USA. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
