Review of travel insurance company AccessAmerica
By Damian on Nov 16, 2006 in Company Reviews, Reviews
Company/Website: Access America, http://www.accessamerica.com
Category: insurance company/administrator
Overall Rating: Good
About: Access America is a division of World Access Service Corp., and a member of the Mondial Assistance Group. Founded in 1983, World Access is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and has offices in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Special Features: “Get a recommendation” tool helps you figure out what kind of coverage you need. Also, BizPack add-on covers cancellations for work related reasons
Full Review: AccessAmerica is an insurance company and policy administrator. They sell products through their own website, comparison engines like Insuremytrip.com, and in over 22,000 travel agencies throughout America.
Simple and customer focused homepage
Their website is simple and consumer-focused. The homepage features a quote engine on the left side, as well as their Recommendation tool (discussed next).
The top right area of the homepage features a travel agent login area. It is very eye catching, even though it has nothing to do with the customers, and seems like homepage real estate that could be better used.
Get a Recommendation tool helps you choose
The selection process is made easier with their Get a Recommendation tool, which allows you to select the type of trip and they recommend appropriate policies. (see screenshot at right).
Choices like “last-minute trips”, “family vacation”, and “student travel” actually mean something to travelers. Oftentimes travel insurance sites use too much industry talk instead of speaking in real-people terms.
Once you select a trip type, AccessAmerica will recommend which insurance policy is right for you. It makes for a good starting point, especially for first time trip insurance buyers.
AccessAmerica provides several options, and even upgrade options
After selecting a trip type with the recommendation tool, you will be presented with different trip insurance plans.(see screenshot below)
They list the quoted prices, and even some additional policy options, such as Car Rental insurance, and their BizPack expanded coverage option.
BizPack Expanded Coverage covers work related cancellations
This is an industry leading option AccessAmerica began offering recently. For a $19 per adult flat rate, BizPack covers cancellation due to work related reasons. They include:
- being required to work
- business/company merger
- business unsuitable due to fire, flood, natural disaster, or burglary
The BizPack option must be purchased within 14 days of the initial trip deposit. This ensures an uninsured traveler does not buy BizPack after getting the bad news about needing to work.
Summary: Overall, AccessAmerica offers an easy to use website, competitive prices, and some useful optional coverage such as BizPack.
Get a quote at AccessAmerica here
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Travel Guard review
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Squaremouth.com comparison website review
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How to buy travel insurance
- Use a comparison site- The best way to buy travel insurance is to use this comparison engine. You only get quotes for the top 10 travel insurance plans, which makes deciding easier. The majority of travelers choose one of these plans.
- Check reviews and buy direct- If you want a quote from a specific travel insurance company, visit our reviews pages. You will see links to purchase insurance directly from the company.
