Travelex Travel Insurance

Read all 25 reviews for this company

1. GHT | May 5, 2009

   Very easy to work with and professional company.

2. Jo Phillips | May 29, 2009

   We were shocked beyond shocked to find out our insurance was null and void because my cousin and her husband, while US citizens/retired Air Force, are temporarily on assignment in Germany working for the US Air Force for 3 years. They denied our claim (we flew to Finland from Germany and had to return due to her husband’s health emergency) because they are not living in the US. They took our money for the premium but we weren’t eligible for coverage due to them being in Germany, even though our “covered” trip was from Germany to Finland and back to Germany.

3. Jorge | Jun 12, 2009

   I purchased the Travelex Travel Plus plan as it is very comprehensive and provides Rental Car collision damage coverage, (CDW) – or does it?

   If you read the policy terms carefully you will find that the Rental Car CDW only applies if you rent your car through a Travel Agent. If you rent a rental car directly from the rental company – as most travelers do – the Travel Plus CDW coverage DOES NOT APPLY. You would need to purchase a costly CDW rider or a CDW specific policy.

   Not sure why Travelex seems to be the only travel insurance company with this unusual Rental Car CDW clause. For future travel I will use another company like Travel Insured International who’s World Wide Trip Protector Gold is only a few dollars more and includes proper Rental Car CDW coverage.

4. Dave | Dec 17, 2009

   We have had our travel insurance claim ($755) denied, have been given the run around, have provided all asked for paperwork, and now they say it’s due to a “pre-existing” condition. How were we supposed to know our daughters foot was going to get worse just be for her school trip. We purchased the Basic plan as we were led to belive this is all we needed and as a matter of fact, this was all that was offered!

   The School is now NOT going to use this company nor the travel agent whom they do all their booking with. I am contacting local New York State Insurance division and local politicians to help us. Our daughter is having surgery this week on her foot and we NEED that money to pay for it.

   Travel-EX STINKS!

5. Joel R. | Jan 25, 2010

   We had to cancel a hiking trip to Peru, due to my wife becoming ill before the trip.
   There was a modarate amount of paperwork, but the company paid up the full amount.

6. Cagliostro | Apr 27, 2010

   Situations in the poor reviews below could have easily been avoided had the insured read the small print on their policies prior to purchase. Most travel insurance policies have limitations on pre-existing condition coverage which is almost always waived if the policy is purchased within 15-30 days of initial trip deposit. These limitations are very clear when looking at policies.

   Read the fine print before purchasing, that is YOUR responsibility as a consumer when shopping for insurance. Don’t blame the insurer for your own mistakes.

7. S.M. Olmstead | May 11, 2010

   Travelex is a total rip-off company. First of all, I’m a lawyer so I did read the agreement in ful before I purchased the policy.

   I was stuck in London at a second rate hotel because the original hotel was full at my check-in. Then I had a family emergency and had to fly back home 2 days early and Travelex was of no help at all. They fought me no matter what I provided them and even tho my travel agent keeps pushing them (for her commission, of course) I will NEVER BUY FROM THEM AGAIN.

8. Vince P. | Aug 20, 2010

   Travelex did us right 4 years ago when my girlfriend had full thickness tear of ACL and needed surgery. We were paid in full in a timely manner. I will continue to pay the uptick fee for one of their plans to cover any preexisting condition issues as coverage is all about the plan you pick. We were totally pleased with them and I’m not affiliated with these guys in any fashion. Thus we are back for the fourth time to purchase trip insurance from them, we hope we will never have to use it, but are comfortable knowing they will pay if needed. Read the policies carefully and you should be able to pick the right one for you and hopefully be as happy as we are with Travelex.

9. Vince P. | Aug 20, 2010

   Travelex did us right 4 years ago when my girlfriend had full thickness tear of ACL and needed surgery. We were paid in full in a timely manner. I will continue to pay the uptick fee for one of their plans to cover any preexisting condition issues as coverage is all about the plan you pick. We were totally pleased with them and I’m not affiliated with these guys in any fashion. Thus we are back for the fourth time to purchase trip insurance from them, we hope we will never have to use it, but are comfortable knowing they will pay if needed. They were a little picky with the paperwork so save any documentation needed carefully. Read the policies carefully and you should be able to pick the right one for you and hopefully be as happy as we are with Travelex.

10. Mr. Crawford | Oct 4, 2010

    Do NOT do any business with this company!

    With insurance from Travelex purchased well in advance of travel, I had a flight get cancelled resulting in $800 additional expenses.

    Upon submitting a claim, they pigenholed it into a claim type with the smallest limit of coverage-$500, and then still denied it! It was a very clean claim-all (extensive) documentation provided well within time frames allowed.

    This will be the last time I ever deal with them and coincidently same with my credit card company. The credit card company had used them but dropped them for similar reasons after I had purchased my insurance.

    Run, don’t walk, to any company other than this one to purchase travel insurance.!

11. Tom Mancuso | Oct 29, 2010

    This company is a total rip off. The agency we were going through cancelled the trip and we did not get one cent back from the insurance company even though we had no choice in the cancelation. I would NEVER EVER recommend this rip off company to anyone.

12. Bob Omer | Dec 26, 2010

    These guys are amazing. Had to cancel my insured trip for a medical reason. Filled out their claim form and the check showed up one week later.

13. Glenn | Mar 28, 2011

    I was traveling in Vietnam and contracted an infection which required a 3-night stay in a clinic for treatment. The clinic contacted Travelex regarding payment of the bill which amounted to about $3,000 and immediately received a guarantee that the entire amount would be paid directly to them. I never had to lay out a penny and a couple of days later the company called me to ask if there was anything else they could do. I was totally impressed with the service and will purchase their insurance for all future trips.

14. amer & sheryl darmo | Apr 27, 2011

    since 11/02/2010 we have been stressed out over our luggage that got stolen out of our trunk at the hard rock hotel in hollywood florida. we were on our honeymoon, travelex ins is (AJOKE) DONT GET IT WHEN YOU TRAVEL because the dont pay for any think the are crooks and liers the pretend the are sorry about what happened to you but (THE DONT GIVE A FLYING F…..) about you and your new spouse. so you are on your own when you travel (BOTTOM LINE TRAVELX SUCKS AND LIES AND CHEATS ABOUT THERE OWN CONTRACTS) . i just got denied the claim for the secone time because (LUGGAGE SECURED AND LOCKED IN TRUNK IS UN ATTENDED) .

15. Mark | Jun 8, 2011

    Like at least one of the other reviewers, I am an attorney. In fact, I am an insurance law attorney. I insured a trip to Egypt and Jordan earlier this year and when the tour operator (as did all of them) cancelled the Egypt tour, but continued the Jordan trip, I filed a claim. My claim for Egypt was totally denied and a classic catch-22 reason given. My Egypt trip wasn’t “interrupted” and my trip (because I went ahead with Jordan) wasn’t cancelled. Also, the insurrection in Egypt didn’t qualify as a terrorist attack or strike, according to their claims department. While they may be technically correct, their policy is hopelessly circuitous and (even as admitted by a member of their own claim department) confusing. Plus the company, a division of Nationwide by the way, exhibited ZERO goodwill in this instance. I found the purchase to be complete waste of money and their policy a scam, as others have commented. Plus you are paying a considerable premium for a relatively limited loss, in most instances….similar to appliance/tv/stereo protection plans. Buyer beware.

16. Sally Cadirci | Jun 10, 2011

    TravelEx is the biggest ripoff there is. I was to leave on 1/31/11 for a trip to Egypt and several days before, the airlines canceled all flights to Egypt because of the riots and unrest. The land tour I was to participate in was also canceled, not to mention the State Dept. advising NOT to travel to Egypt. I was to take an 8-day tour in Egypt and then 2 days later meet up with another tour in Morocco. Both trips were booked at different times and separated by 2 days, but covered by TravelEx on the same policy. They did not reimburse me for the total loss due to the cancellation of the Egypt trip because they claimed it was not a canceled trip, it was a trip delay. What a racket they have. The very sort of thing a person would insure against and they deny it. I appealed as did others in our group and all were denied, even upon appeal. I will NEVER use them again, I will NEVER recommend them, and I will be sure to alert everyone I interact with to avoide them like the plague. It should be considered breach of contract or fraud. I understand that this is their pattern. Interesting, Mark (June 8, 2011) I wonder if you were with the same group, as some of the folks we were to join in Egypt were in Jordan first.. I am advised that the travel company we booked through will no longer recommend this company to their travelers either. Nationwide is NOT on your side! they need to change their jingle.

17. Lynette Fripp | Jul 16, 2011

    I would not recommend Travelex to anyone. Our cruise was cancelled due to the cruise line declaring bankruptcy after cancelling the cuise. Travelex insisted I dispute the costs of the trip with the credit card company who then went after the travel agent (who had long since paid the cruise line).
    I got my money back BUT at the expense of the travel agent who had no control of the situation. It was, in my opinion, the responsibilty of Travelex to refund us the money as they advertise bankruptcy as a cause for coverage, and their premiums are not cheap.
    Instead, they passed the buck and an innocent company had to pay up. Unethical and morally wrong.

18. Marguerite | Aug 16, 2011

    Have been using Travelex for over 15 years. Have luckily only had to file 4 claims. One for baggage and 2 others for trip cancellation. We even had one claim denied but it just wasnt a covered reason. Never had a problem with them and they have always been top knotch. It appears that people that have had issues really didnt understand the coverage they were getting. As our agent told us, its similar to house or car insurance. There is always fine print in any insurance and its really our responsibility to read through that and understand the coverage. Just because you have insurance, doesnt mean you are covered for everything. Our agent was very good at explaining all that to us. She also pointed out the many differences in benefits that Travelex offers opposed to some of their competitors. But, I guess you cant please everyone. But all that matters is we have always been pleased.

19. TIM | Sep 26, 2011

    I’m very disappointed in your service or lack of it. My family purchased your service to protect us on our trip to Italy. Due to a 10 hour delay for departure to Berlin and then a missed connecting flight from Berlin to Rome, we missed one day of our vacation in Rome. We were charged 152.77 by our Hotel in Rome for the day we were not even there. We were without luggage for almost three days. We had the right to purchase up to approx. $100 each in clothing but chose not to. The idiotic claims agency you use, Nationwide Claims Administration, chose not to pay our hotel claim. If you ask anyone out there with common sense if the claim should have been denied. They would most likely say no. First, I think you should be morally honest and pay us for our hotel expense we incurred or refund our insurance premium for the whole family. Unless you do the right thing, I will let everyone I know what a rip off your travel insurance is!!!!!!!!! Shame on you.

20. Herb | Oct 20, 2011

    Excellent service and rates. Will buy from them again.

21. Eugene | Nov 13, 2011

    Purchased an Inca Trail trip (4 strenuous hiking days at high altitude) from REI Adventures for four of us. At their repeated urging I bought Travelex insurance. Not my style since in my 76 years I have learned that many insurers are basically fraudulent enterprises.(see Grisham’s ‘The Rainmaker’ 1996).However after 45 years with REI I assumed they had vetted the firm.
    Bought the policy in June, fractured my shoulder while hiking in August, informed REI that I could not make the hike (formal written medical advice) but would accompany my family to Cuzco, arrived there in October, stayed in a hotel at my expense while the others hiked, submitted my claim to Travelex and it was rejected in its entirety. A clause bars lawsuits or punitive damages so I attempted to go to arbitration as appears to be my only option. They are resisting that too.

    So judge, jury, executioner, all in one. Clearly DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS FIRM.

22. Maureen | Nov 14, 2011

    My husband and I were supposed to be on a Royal Caribbean cruise from Oct. 29 to Nov. 12. My husband broke his ankle on Aug. 4, but his doctor said he should be fine by the end of Oct. However, the ankle did not heal well and he is still wearing a boot. He didn’t want to go on a Caribbean cruise wearing a boot. We called Travelex and were told the insurance didn’t go in effect unitl Aug. 5, so his broken ankle was considered a pre existing condition. In addition, his son and only child, James Walker, was hit by a car on Oct. 16 and passed away on Oct. 21. We asked Travelex if we could send a copy of the death certificate, and they said we can do that, but they would still have to consider refunding our money. The case is now with our lawyer. If you need travel insurance consider any other company.

    Update:

    They paid us only after receiving a letter from our lawyer.

    Editor’s Note from Travel Insurance Review:

    Understanding it can be frustrating to handle insurance details in a distressing time, I believe Travelex acted in a professional manner in this case. The claim was received, proper documentation was requested, and the insured was paid within 6 weeks.

23. Fudd | Dec 14, 2011

    My claim for trip cancellation coverage was denied recently, after being reviewed by the Claims Committee. I am not necessarily disputing it, since I understand it was based on their policy and bad timing on our part, although I do feel ripped off. But, more than anything, I am not happy about the conversation I had with the Travel Claims Examiner regarding the final claim denial. When I expressed my perception of unfairness about the “condition not unforeseen” decision relating to my husband’s illness, she compared it to a house burning down, which seemed a bit callous considering that his illness turned out to be aggressive cancer and he died less than four months later. In addition, I found it a little sad that there was no word of sympathy from her, even after I specifically brought up my husband’s death. I didn’t want fake sympathy, but no sympathy at all was disconcerting. Overall, my impression of her was curt and cold. I expected a little more from someone who deals with similar situations regularly. I am looking for another insurance company for my future overseas trips.

24. matt mclean | Dec 20, 2011

    Travelex Insurance Services is terrible. we purchased trip insurance for a family trip celebrating my moms 70th birthday. we purchased trip insurance through from Travelex Insurance Services due to my mom’s mother (my grandma) being sick. My grandmother passed away, therefore we did not take the trip. Now we are out nearly $7,000. Seems cut and dry, nothing to really negotiate if we bought trip insurance to protect us in the case of sickness/death and she has died. First and last time we will use trip insurance, especially from Travelex.

25. Brooke | Jan 9, 2012

    The WORST!!!! i gave them my name, address, phone number, cell phone number, credit card number, mother’s maiden name, drivers license number, and birthdate and they STILL could not reload my card. I spend 3 hours on the phone trying to reload the card for my daughter in London–dont’ be CAUGHT–it is the WORST service, idea, way to get money (unavailable) on the face of the earth. I could walk to London and get $$ to her faster. The absolute WORST service online.