Trip interrupted - how does trip insurance work ?

wanaberetiree

wanaberetiree

Full time employment: Posting here.
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Well this week sucked ....

Last Friday I had to fly back from Amsterdam to make just in time to see my mom passed 6 hours later.

RIP !

I did have trip insurance, but really not sure what would it cover. I had a couple of hotel cancelations fee, and then mainly wasted time for air tickets and returned rental car with 18 unused days.

Any clues what to expect?

Thx
 
Different companies have different terms. Some are slanted toward hospitalization benefits. You will just need to read the terms and conditions.

On the car rental, they usually process the charge when the car is returned and no chsrges are assessed for unused days.
 
No idea how you will fare leaving pre-death. When I broke my shoulder the insurance upgraded me to business class. I now just rely on credit card coverage for standard trip interruption and cancellation since I have good international health insurance.
 
So sorry for your loss. Whenever we travel overseas I half expect a call requiring a quick return due to my elderly father, but I guess I figure if it happens, it happens and haven't tried to insure for it.

I have credit card insurance for trip interruption and I buy my airline tickets and car rental with it (car rental due to primary insurance coverage), so I suppose I would go that route if needed.

In general I never prepay for hotel reservations. I haven't gone on a trip that required a large advance up-front payment in a long time, so that is one case I might insure in the future.
 
First, my condolences for the loss of your mother.

In similar fashion, about 7 years ago, while DW & I were in the middle of a vacation in Hawaii, our oldest son called to tell us that my 90-year-old dad had suffered a major stroke the night before. DS is a nurse practitioner and suggested we get home ASAP. We booked the first available flight home a day and a half later. DD passed the evening after our arrival home.

We had travel insurance and the following was covered:

- Additional expense for last minute airline tickets.
- Reimbursement for unused lodging that had been prepaid.
- Reimbursement for unused days of rental car that were prepaid.

It will likely be a matter of obtaining the documentation of your mother's passing (a copy of the death certificate) along with receipts for your covered losses. The insurance company was prompt and efficient in processing our claim.
 
We were in Italy and had to cut the trip short last month when my own Mother passed away suddenly. I submitted a request a couple weeks ago using Citi Visa card's trip interruption coverage. Still waiting to hear back from them. Fingers crossed.
 
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Get the form from the trip insurance company, read it carefully and complete everything. Submit receipts, documentation, the form, a letter, everything.

We had to also send a copy of the credit card statement showing we had purchased the trip insurance.

Make copies of everything before you send it to them and consider sending it via certified mail return receipt.

If the name of the trip insurance company is TripMate, be prepared to wait about 4 to 8 months after a properly submitted claim. But you will (well, we did) get paid.

Eventually, if they can't find any reason to deny you, you'll get a check in the mail.
 
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SecondCor521 said:
Get the form from the trip insurance company, read it carefully and complete everything. Submit receipts, documentation, the form, a letter, everything.

We had to also send a copy of the credit card statement showing we had purchased the trip insurance.

Make copies of everything before you send it to them and consider sending it via certified mail return receipt.

If the name of the trip insurance company is TripMate, be prepared to wait about 4 to 8 months after a properly submitted claim. But you will (well, we did) get paid.

Eventually, if they can't find any reason to deny you, you'll get a check in the mail.
Click to expand...

+2 on the documentation! We had a trip interruption claim due to a injury fall while traveling (DW broke her kneecap and was in cast from heel to hip). The claim process can be discouraging if you are not diligent. Receipts for everything are critical. I was successful with sending scanned images so that was helpful. One requirement was insurance co wanted proof I cancelled the original reservation, apparently airlines will provide at time of cancellation but forget it later. Underwriter finally agreed we could not have been on the original flight since we had left Europe a week before.
After about 2 months got reimbursement for prorata tour interruption days, cancelled airfare, and misc return costs. Chase credit card covered it.
 
We took trip insurance with our friends and his cancer came back and he was terminal and much to sick to go. Even though I provided the doctors note to the insurance company numerous times they kept saying they didn’t receive it. It was only 1500 and as of 2 years later they never paid. I think his son gave up.
 
candrew said:
First, my condolences for the loss of your mother.



In similar fashion, about 7 years ago, while DW & I were in the middle of a vacation in Hawaii, our oldest son called to tell us that my 90-year-old dad had suffered a major stroke the night before. DS is a nurse practitioner and suggested we get home ASAP. We booked the first available flight home a day and a half later. DD passed the evening after our arrival home.



We had travel insurance and the following was covered:



- Additional expense for last minute airline tickets.

- Reimbursement for unused lodging that had been prepaid.

- Reimbursement for unused days of rental car that were prepaid.



It will likely be a matter of obtaining the documentation of your mother's passing (a copy of the death certificate) along with receipts for your covered losses. The insurance company was prompt and efficient in processing our claim.
Click to expand...



Thx very useful !
 
So update.
In my claim I listed: lost cost for air tickets, e.g. total cost / total duration * days lost; lost days for rented car (same formula); hotel cancellation fees

Insurance paid all but air tickets, since I did not have any additional costs associated with it, not that I expected them to pay for it.

That’s all. It took ~3 weeks after claim submission
It was Travelex
 
I have Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I used the points to purchase an international flight for 2, and had to rebook later due to medical condition. Airline charged $100 per person.

I tried to submit the claim to Chase and they asked for a lot of documents: airline's policy, Chase monthly statements for used points, and hospital/doctor's records. I could not find the points spent on Chase's monthly statement. Eventually I gave up and swallowed $200 loss.
 
We recently put in a claim for a cancelled trip to China for medical reasons. It was with our Capital One Mastercard.

Send in the requested documentation. Had a refund processed within 10 business days. I was shocked at the short turn around time and that the insurance company did not try to reduce the wriggle out of the claim.
 
Wonder if anybody had used Costco Citi Visa card insurance?
 
I do not think that it is the card that matters. Rather the insurance company that the credit card issuer uses.

We had to send in a copy of our credit card statement. For obvious reasons the insurance company did not have access to our account. As it should be.

I suspect the ease of claim may also depend on the size of the claim. Small ones get dealt with quickly. Larger ones probably more down a more senior chain with close examination with a view to limiting the payout. Our claim was relatively small in the world of travel, $1200. I suspect that had our claim been $10,000 there would have been more scutiny and perhaps follow up requests for additional medical information.

We had a very similar experience with a $750. medical claim from a Kuala Lumpur incident. Paid immediately-no follow up questions by the insurer. Probably because they were shocked that a one day hospital visit, xrays, an MRI, two consultations, a prescription,and a full written report and disk with the MRI details only cost $750. CAD at a hospital the specialized in medical tourism.
 
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wanaberetiree said:
Wonder if anybody had used Costco Citi Visa card insurance?
Click to expand...

I had a claim this past May with Costco Citi Visa. It took about a month, but they paid the full claim. There is a max $3,000 per traveler limit with that card, which fortunately we were under that max.
 
spud99 said:
I had a claim this past May with Costco Citi Visa. It took about a month, but they paid the full claim. There is a max $3,000 per traveler limit with that card, which fortunately we were under that max.
Click to expand...



Do you need to do anything special to have this coverage?
Or they will cover all travel expenses as long as they were paid with citi card?
 
wanaberetiree said:
Do you need to do anything special to have this coverage?
Or they will cover all travel expenses as long as they were paid with citi card?
Click to expand...

Nothing to sign up for before you travel, just use the card to pay for your travel expenses. Once I returned home I just filed a claim showing what happened, the dates I paid for the items, and any receipts showing the non refundable or the partial refundable purchases. Citi has a benefits guide that lists what is covered and who has coverage, etc. Google the words "citi visa benefits travel" and then log into your Citi account to see the guide.
 
So sorry for your loss!

We had to cancel a scuba diving liveaboard trip for two on the Great Barrier Reef due to colds. We had a doctor write a note saying we can’t dive with colds and sent it to Chase Sapphire for reimbursement. Very quick reply from them. No issues.
 
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