Has anyone got any thoughts or feedback on travel insurance direct? Was looking at QBE, but at less than half the cost TID looks pretty attractive.
I haven't used TID as their annual policy only provides cover for trips less than 38 days, but I can recommend QBE, although the price has gone up significantly in the last 18mths. I use the website which gives a 33% discount and also pay the extra premium to remove the excess.
My experience with them has been for 2 medical claims...
1. We had spent the day skiing in Furano, Hokkaido and were returning from downtown Furano after an early dinner when I slipped on an extremely icy footpath (no I hadn’t even had a drink at that stage) and sustained a head injury.
An ambulance was called and arrived within 5 minutes with three paramedics, one of whom spoke a little English. They transported me to a local hospital (along with my husband
and two friends!) where I was immediately seen by a doctor and sent for a CT scan. Luckily no skull fracture or brain injury was detected and I was discharged with medication and instructions to return the next day for a checkup. My husband paid the bill by credit card (around $350, and I thought Japan was expensive?!) and we caught a taxi back to the hotel.
Next morning I phoned the toll free QBE number listed for Japan and was immediately connected to Australia where a really helpful and concerned operator took my policy and injury details and asked if I would like to fax the invoices to them for immediate processing or wait til I returned home.
Later that day a nurse from QBE phoned to check on my progress and asked if there was anything they could do for me. He also listed symptoms which may appear and suggested I return to the hospital immediately if I recognised any of them. Very impressive customer service! Two hospital visits later and I was given the all clear and as suggested by QBE I requested a certificate from the treating doctor clearing me to ski and continue ongoing travel.
On returning to Australia, QBE had sent a claim form which I submitted with all hospital and taxi receipts totalling approx $500. Not long afterwards I received a cheque but with a less favourable foreign currency exchange rate than I received from the credit card I had used.
2. Our next claim was late last year when we were on a cruise and my husband suffered a tooth ache. He went to a dentist in NZ on our first port stop and when we got home I sent in a claim form but this time included the credit card statement and the exact amount was refunded promptly.
Other than the first exchange rate issue, I would highly recommend QBE.
