written by Sally93 on 19/11/2014
I had a trip to Morocco booked and had to cancel the day before unfortunately due to ill health. I emailed my travel insurance company (travelinsuranceweb) and advised that I would be starting a claim process very soon.
A response came from Columbus Direct. Apparently, my insurance was now with them. Thanks for letting me know!
They advised that they were currently updating their systems and I would receive a claim form for submission once the system was up and running. I made a doctor's appointment so I could get a medical certificate signed.
2 weeks on, I had heard nothing, and emailed as my appointment was fast approaching. They responded after the appointment had passed, and I received my claim form. I then had to wait another 10 days to see my doctor, then got the medical certificate filled in. I completed all of the necessary documentation 1 month after I had notified I would be making a claim, and posted this off to them.
1 week later, I decided to follow up and see if the claim was received. 3 days later, they advised my claim had not arrived. I told them that no, I posted it, and they responded a few days later that my claim was indeed in their system and that it would take 5-10 working days to process.
Great, I thought, the claim was received, now I just need to wait for an outcome.
A week later, I received a letter in the post with a section of the medical certificate included, advising I needed to fill in Questions 12-17 and post it back.
I was fuming at another delay. I had filled in the whole form.
I wrote and advised I had indeed filled in the entire medical certificate, and had copies to prove it. They wrote back and advised that Questions 12-17 were not complete. I responded with an email with copies of the document attached proving that YES, I had filled in Questions 12-17.
Do they think I was born yesterday? Why on earth would they deny that these questions were incomplete when I even proved it with copies?
The last email I had in response, was that they would pass on my feedback to the claim assessor and this would take another 5-7 working days. I am not willing to wait another 5-7 working days for what I am sure is another delay. I included the following.
"My full claim has now been with yourselves for nearly a month and I am just going round in circles, despite having filled in the documentation correctly and fully. There should not have been any of these issues whatsoever."
Just for a kick in the front teeth, my boyfriend has completed the same claim successfully with his travel insurance company, has already received his cheque, and had no issues whatsoever. I have been mucked around and stalled for over 2 months with mine and have done nothing but provide them with the information they require.
I have yet to hear back but this company have been stalling from the start. It takes me a lot to write a review as I don't think it is the full picture, and I like to have the full picture for a more balanced outlook on the situation. However, I felt I needed to advise others before they make the same mistake.
I am still waiting for my claim to be processed. Absolutely shocking and I would not recommend them to anyone at all.
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