Allianz Travel Insurance Weasels

[MULTIZ321]

This is The Surprising Way Coronavirus Has Changed Travel Insurance.

This Is The Surprising Way Coronavirus Has Changed Travel Insurance

Coronavirus has changed travel insurance in way no one could have imagined. Here's what you should expect when you buy travel insurance for your next vacation or business trip.

www.forbes.com

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Richard

 

[Marco76]

I have no problem with denial of claim (even though event was determined by them to be 1/22 or Feb3rd).Just e-mail the denial so I can deal with Interval.Again Interval owns a piece of Allianz.

 

[JudiZ]

Good to know. I have bought event insurance a few times (like an event scheduled in February in New England when it might snow) and always felt "covered." Not so much now. I should have known better but, once again, my naivete seems to know no bounds.

 

[dioxide45]

Again Interval owns a piece of Allianz.

Do you have a source for this claim? I can't find anything about it. I suspect that Interval gets a commission from every policy that they sell, but I can't find evidence that II/MVC owns a piece of Allianz.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Do you have a source for this claim? I can't find anything about it. I suspect that Interval gets a commission from every policy that they sell, but I can't find evidence that II/MVC owns a piece of Allianz.

Hi Dioxide45,

This is the closest I could find - II has a partnership with Allianz Global Assistance

Interval International’s Travel Insurance Policy - Breckenridge Grand Vacations Blog

As many of you who book vacations through Interval International know, “would you like to add travel insurance” is one of our standard advisements when confirming a reservation. Travel insurance is commonly overlooked when booking your vacation months in advance. With recent modifications to...

blog.breckenridgegrandvacations.com

Richard

 

[dioxide45]

Hi Dioxide45,

This is the closest I could find - II has a partnership with Allianz Global Assistance

Interval International’s Travel Insurance Policy - Breckenridge Grand Vacations Blog

As many of you who book vacations through Interval International know, “would you like to add travel insurance” is one of our standard advisements when confirming a reservation. Travel insurance is commonly overlooked when booking your vacation months in advance. With recent modifications to...

blog.breckenridgegrandvacations.com

Richard

This looks to just be a partnership/deal for II to offer insurance through Allianz. When you buy the insurance on an II exchange or getaway, the insurance is sold by Allianz and I am sure II earns a commission from every policy sold. But that doesn't constitute any ownership of Allianz by II.

Aside from that. I do find this last statement to be odd; "When booking your next vacation with the help of our Breckenridge team, we will most likely advise you to wait until you encounter an unforeseen circumstance that may impede your trip. As long as it is more than 24 hours prior to your scheduled arrival, you are eligible to add trip protection. " Are they saying don't buy the insurance until you have a pre-existing reason? That likely wouldn't even be covered.

 

[DrQ]

I was reading about a large family that booked a large beach house in Virginia Beach and was on the hook for $10K. Under State and City restrictions, it is now illegal for them to occupy the residence with their original party and some of the family have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The leasing agent will not refund or reschedule outside of 2021. They bought travel insurance and that coverage is being denied due to the pandemic clause in the policy. It turns out the only way you can collect from this company is to select the "Cancel for any Reason" option.

Here is the rub, the management company is still renting out properties during the restricted time period.

 

[pedro47]

We will never purchase travel insurance with this company again.

 

[pedro47]

I was reading about a large family that booked a large beach house in Virginia Beach and was on the hook for $10K. Under State and City restrictions, it is now illegal for them to occupy the residence with their original party and some of the family have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The leasing agent will not refund or reschedule outside of 2021. They bought travel insurance and that coverage is being denied due to the pandemic clause in the policy. It turns out the only way you can collect from this company is to select the "Cancel for any Reason" option.

Here is the rub, the management company is still renting out properties during the restricted time period.

Someone needs to report this to the Virginia , State Attorney General Office, this is not right or fair.

 

[Conan]

This Is The Surprising Way Coronavirus Has Changed Travel Insurance

Coronavirus has changed travel insurance in way no one could have imagined. Here's what you should expect when you buy travel insurance for your next vacation or business trip.

www.forbes.com

.

"New policies come with more limitations. Insurance products are tightening their coverage to exclude future pandemics like the coronavirus."

If a policy has a pandemic clause, it must be a policy purchased within the last few weeks.
See my post below--older policies likely have an exclusion for "epidemics." At least according to Allianz, this would allow them to deny coronavirus coverage across the board. But Allianz says it is voluntarily providing coverage to people who become ill with Covid-19 before or during travel.

 

[DrQ]

"New policies come with more limitations. Insurance products are tightening their coverage to exclude future pandemics like the coronavirus."

If a policy has a pandemic clause, it must be a policy purchased within the last few weeks.

Actually, these started creeping in after the SARS outbreak.

 

[Talent312]

... The leasing agent will not refund or reschedule outside of 2021....

So, what's wrong with 2021?
I'm scheduling a trip to Europe in 2021.
,
.

 

[HenryT]

I'm with you on this. Weasal is too light a word for many insurance companies. Nobody could be expected to know all the specific exclusions. I've been predicting the end of the insurance industry for 20 years now maybe it'll come soon, companies will go bankrupt (and restart under new names) rather than pay out and lose shareholders. Unless the govt bails them out like they did car companies and banks/s&ls.

Sent from my SM-A505G using Tapatalk

I don't think there is any chance the insurance companies will go bankrupt. Having it is too critical to the consumer, and if the insurance companies lose too much money they will just increase their premiums.

What the educated consumer needs to do is to chose the best policy for their purposes, make sure they understand the limitations of the policy, and have a backup plan if possible.

You never need insurance until you need it.

 

[Conan]

Actually, these started creeping in after the SARS outbreak.

Here's Allianz's position on coverage for the new virus:

"Claims due to known, foreseeable, or expected events, epidemics, government prohibitions, warnings, or travel advisories or fear of travel are generally not covered, and coverage can vary by state. However, until further notice, although not covered under most plans, we are currently accommodating claims for:

1. Under Emergency Medical Care Benefit: Emergency medical care for a customer who becomes ill with COVID-19 while on their trip.
2. Under Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption Benefits: Trip cancellation and trip interruption if a customer becomes ill with COVID-19 either before or during their trip." https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/coverage-alerts/2019-novel-coronavirus.htm

So they're claiming that the exclusion for "epidemics" allows them to deny coverage across the board, but they're voluntarily providing cancellation/trip interruption/emergency medical care if a customer becomes ill with COVID-19 before or during their trip.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

What I find unfair about this is we purchased an insurance policy last year for a European trip in Feb before an epidemic was widely known beyond China.

Allianz and other carriers back dated the known date to Jan 22, 2020. Our carrier never notified us that this was a known event and epidemic as of Feb 3 with no coverage for epidemics. No limitation to China in their legal wording of course. If we had become ill with Covid while traveling in Feb it sounds like they could have refused coverage and medical evacuation. Fortunately, we didn't need the policy but we paid significant money for medical coverage which may have been wasted due to an exclusion.

Although they altered their policy for this event due to outcry, what is to stop denial in future epidemics?

If we had followed the policy to their stated info, we should have cancelled our trip before leaving town so would need to actively monitor their website daily as a trip approaches and have cancellable fares since they won't cover that when you cancel for epidemic.

Alternatively, any reason policies are very prohibitively expensive. Consequently, we will not be traveling internationally until rates come back to earth.

 

[pedro47]

Why did Allianz backdate their coverage, that is my problem ?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

We don't know for sure when they put the dates in, however the dates were quietly slipped into their webpage. We received no notice from our carrier which was not Allianz for the Europe trip.

We had Allianz for an April event and there was no notice sent to us either. If we couldn't attend the event due to illness from Covid, then they could have denied us coverage if they hadn't changed their policy. IMO too much legal fine print to deny coverage.

 

[ski_sierra]

You never need insurance until you need it.

and you don't know if you actually have the insurance coverage until you make a claim.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

and you don't know if you actually have the insurance coverage until you make a claim.

This. Well said. IMO This sums up the reality of the entire insurance industry not just travel insurance.

 

[SmithOp]

We will never purchase travel insurance with this company again.

I feel the same now that I’ve filed a claim.

We have a legitimate hospitalization not related to Covid. I filed the claim online and attached the discharge paper. Did not receive email confirmation as expected, its been sitting there 5 days now.

I called Interval, was told I need denial of claim before they will give me a replacement AC (it was a cash Getaway). I asked about what compensation was offered if they approve the claim since it only covers 50% for trip cancellation. Agent went to check, put me on hold, I hung up after 30 min on hold. Surely it doesn’t take 30 min to look up policy.

Anybody notice they pronounce it Alley-anz. I’ve been saying it as A-Lye-anz

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[CalGalTraveler]

I feel the same now that I’ve filed a claim.

We have a legitimate hospitalization not related to Covid. I filed the claim online and attached the discharge paper. Did not receive email confirmation as expected, its been sitting there 5 days now.

I called Interval, was told I need denial of claim before they will give me a replacement AC (it was a cash Getaway). I asked about what compensation was offered if they approve the claim since it only covers 50% for trip cancellation. Agent went to check, put me on hold, I hung up after 30 min on hold. Surely it doesn’t take 30 min to look up policy.

Anybody notice they pronounce it Alley-anz. I’ve been saying it as A-Lye-anz

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Sorry to hear about the hospitalization. It is hard enough to deal with the worry and failing health of a loved one. Having to contend with a mountain of paperwork and requested justifications at the whim of the insurer to pay for something you legitimately purchased for protection is simply wrong.

I hope you get your claim reimbursed soon without much hassle.

BTW...Isn't it pronounced All-lie-ants?

 

[VacationForever]

Ah-lee-ants is how my travel agent pronounces.