In Reply to: travel insurance posted by lynp on Wednesday, 17. August 2005 at 07:27 Bali Time:
the real test of any insurance company is how well they process a claim and how efficient their emergency assistance program is. In my experience (we deal with QBE) if it is a genuine claim they are very good with claims. They use Omega Travellers Assistance to help you if needed while you are travelling. You do have to be 100% up front about anything the company needs to know especially pre-existing conditions. They are of course in the business to make a profit and will investigate all claims and may refuse a claim if there is some doubt, usually it is due to a pre-existing condition that has not been noted on the application or if the policy conditions are breached. You do of course have avenues to appeal any decision on a claim, firstly with the companys own internal dispute resolution process. Then if you are still not satisfied you can take it to the Insurance Ombudsmen.
As an example we had a client who had a motor bike accident in Bali and badly broke his leg requiring medical repatriation and surgery. At first there was some doubt as to whether the insurance would cover him as there was some doubt as to him having an appropriate license. Fortunately he was able to produce his local Bali license and they paid up. This was a bill of $52,000.