How can you be sure Insurance companies will assist you when you are in crisis,

Rock 1234

After the tragic death of David Keogh in Portugal and the refusal of the travel insurance company to repatriate his body back to Ireland, Whats the point in having insurance if the won't help you when you need them most ?

www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/last-photo-of-man-before-pool-death-35...
3 days ago - David's heartbroken family has spoken out about the devastation of his ... by the fact that his insurance company, the AA, refused to pay for his body to be ...

slimjimmc

Moved to Banking, Insurance & Pensions

peteb2

It doesnt make a difference what the circumstances are. You are subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. And an insurer cant confirm indemnity until they are sure the incident is covered.

You apply a set of rules and then said rules apply to all. They are a company out to make a profit. Moral obligations dont mean they have to bring them back.

Rock 1234

peteb2 wrote: »

It doesnt make a difference what the circumstances are. You are subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. And an insurer cant confirm indemnity until they are sure the incident is covered.

You apply a set of rules and then said rules apply to all. They are a company out to make a profit. Moral obligations dont mean they have to bring them back.

It should make a difference what the circumstances are and as far as I am concerned this a step too far, any company that accepts a payment for travel insurance should have the moral duty to repatriate any person regardless of t & c's, It appears some companies have no respect for the dead anymore and profit is there only goal, At least this family had the Kevin Bell Charity repatriate their loved one, How much money is wasted on travel insurance policies that are null and void because of cleverly constructed t & c's that most people never bother to read !

thelad95

Rock 1234 wrote: »

It should make a difference what the circumstances are and as far as I am concerned this a step too far, any company that accepts a payment for travel insurance should have the moral duty to repatriate any person regardless of t & c's, It appears some companies have no respect for the dead anymore and profit is there only goal, At least this family had the Kevin Bell Charity repatriate their loved one, How much money is wasted on travel insurance policies that are null and void because of cleverly constructed t & c's that most people never bother to read !

Emmm.... On one hand your blaming 'cleverly constructed t and c's' but on the other hand you're saying people never bother to read them. Now whose fault is that?

I can't help but feel your argument is being driven by emotion.

Jim2007

Rock 1234 wrote: »

It should make a difference what the circumstances are and as far as I am concerned this a step too far, any company that accepts a payment for travel insurance should have the moral duty to repatriate any person regardless of t & c's, It appears some companies have no respect for the dead anymore and profit is there only goal, At least this family had the Kevin Bell Charity repatriate their loved one, How much money is wasted on travel insurance policies that are null and void because of cleverly constructed t & c's that most people never bother to read !

Our society works on the assumption that adults are capable of make their own decisions and accept the consequence there of. If you choose not to bother reading the T&Cs or not getting a particular policy then that is your problem. The company is under no obligation what so ever to pick up the tab for your actions. Why should we see our premiums go up because you could not be bothered to act in an adult manner???

Henry Ford III

Why was the claim refused?

Rock 1234

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Why was the claim refused?

The situation was that the underwriter insurance company had triggered a investigation into the circumstances of the claim, and the refused to pay for repatriation until the results of the investigation was known. But in fairness to AA insurance the did put their hands up and did reimbursed the charity but of course it was to late, the AA also claimed that the underwriter should have informed them but didn't, the damage is done now and no amount of apologies can put it right,
I was under the impression that the provision of health services, Air ambulance, or repatriation would be covered under all travel insurance regardless of circumstances, and if not why not.These are very rare tragic events thankfully,

Mad Benny

Jim2007 wrote: »

Our society works on the assumption that adults are capable of make their own decisions and accept the consequence there of. If you choose not to bother reading the T&Cs or not getting a particular policy then that is your problem. The company is under no obligation what so ever to pick up the tab for your actions. Why should we see our premiums go up because you could not be bothered to act in an adult manner???

I think that's a bit harsh.

Do you read all terms and conditions every time you upgrade the software on your computer or phone?

You would expect an insurance company to act in good faith. I'm hearing more and more stories of holiday insurance companies not paying out when one would expect them to.

I recently heard of an insurance company not paying out for an illness while abroad because the client had not obtained a clean bill of health before travelling. There was no history of illness.

Mrs OBumble

Rock 1234 wrote: »

I was under the impression that the provision of health services, Air ambulance, or repatriation would be covered under all travel insurance regardless of circumstances, and if not why not.

Well you would be wrong.

peteb2

Mad Benny wrote: »

I think that's a bit harsh.

Do you read all terms and conditions every time you upgrade the software on your computer or phone?

You would expect an insurance company to act in good faith. I'm hearing more and more stories of holiday insurance companies not paying out when one would expect them to.

I recently heard of an insurance company not paying out for an illness while abroad because the client had not obtained a clean bill of health before travelling. There was no history of illness.

You recently heard...... So you aren't 100% on the facts of the matter?

You might not read the terms but you should!

Jim2007

Mad Benny wrote: »

I think that's a bit harsh.

Harsh or not it is a fact of life - You responsible for your own decisions

Mad Benny wrote: »

Do you read all terms and conditions every time you upgrade the software on your computer or phone?

Well first of all I never upgrade if at all possible in the first six months, then I google to see what kind of problems others may be having before I upgrade. But here is the thing the potential loss to me on upgrading my software is far lower that my health insurance so I'd sure spend more time on that. If you treat buying health insurance the same as upgrading software, then you need to reassess your approach.

Mad Benny wrote: »

You would expect an insurance company to act in good faith. I'm hearing more and more stories of holiday insurance companies not paying out when one would expect them to.

An insurance contract is often referred to as a contract of the utmost good faith, that means that both parties to the contract must do so. By failing to read the t&c, failing to comply with the conditions etc... you are the one not acting in good faith. And just because you think you should be compensated does not make it so.

Mad Benny wrote: »

I recently heard of an insurance company not paying out for an illness while abroad because the client had not obtained a clean bill of health before travelling. There was no history of illness.

And what age was the person involved? I hazard a guess and say that they were either over 75 or fell into one of the groups which require certification... did not read the t&c, failed to comply. The old requirement to act in good faith once again!

Jim2007

Rock 1234 wrote: »

I was under the impression that the provision of health services, Air ambulance, or repatriation would be covered under all travel insurance regardless of circumstances, and if not why not.These are very rare tragic events thankfully,

Air Ambulance and repatriation are almost always excluded because the costs are horrendous! A 5 minutes trip on by air ambulance here (Switzerland) will cost you about €35K. We have a lot of repatriations during the ski season and range from around €100K to about €250K depending on the accident.

Oh and while we are at it, SAR is also not covered by your holiday insurance.

CiniO

In general insurance companies must make profit, so on average customers will pay more to insurance companies in premiums, then insurance companies will ever pay out to customer in claims. If this was opposite, no insurance company could stay in business.

Because of that I don't bother really insuring anything, unless I really think it's worth it (f.e. I know there's a high risk there will be a claim on my side, but insurer doesn't know that). Otherwise no reason to bother with insurance.

I find it funny when people hand down big money on insuring virtually anything even their phones or tablets, but don't even bother what is this cover for and what it covers (which is usually very little).

Jim2007

CiniO wrote: »

In general insurance companies must make profit, so on average customers will pay more to insurance companies in premiums, then insurance companies will ever pay out to customer in claims. If this was opposite, no insurance company could stay in business.

Have a look at their accounts and you will discover that with the exception of title insurance (in the US), all most all insurance companies end up paying out the entire premiums collected and then some. In fact a company that breaks even is considered to be a well run company! Insurance profits come from how well they manage the float, not the premiums.