I'm confused. Did he buy their "Deluxe Comprehensive" coverage? If not, why would he expect them to make good on his claim?

There's someone out there that isn't cynical about insurance companies and their policies?

Well, I guess there was...should be fixed now.

Yep, I bought some tickets from travelocity recently too and considered the travel insurance. However after looking at the terms and conditions I saw that it was a waste of money. I know blaming the OP is against the "comment code", but this Richard seems like a real douchebag.

Chargeback the amount of the travel insurance.

@wcnghj:

On the basis of what claim will you suggest?

It is travel insurance. I thought everybody knew the risk-reward ratio of travel insurance.

"That I should have read the size 4 font in Aramaic hidden by a floating pop up customer survey before paying for the insurance."

Its 9:35 PM but thanks for the laugh of the day.

He should have gone to the doctor for 'exhaustion' or some lame illness that the policy covers...

So he purchased insurance without even bothering to check the terms of the coverage?

Sorry, it's his own fault.

I can't imagine buying life or property insurance without having some idea about what is covered.

We frequently buy travel insurance and Access America is one of the better companies.

But I doubt if he bought "cancel your trip for any reason" insurance. The reasons you can cancel are clearly listed in on the website and certainly in the policy. They usually relate to illness, jury duty, fire at home or similar. The issue for most people has to do with preexisting medical conditions.

There is time to read the policy and cancel AFTER you buy.

I'm sorry that Richard came up short. The message to all is READ THE TERMS and figure out if this is what you want.

Um looking at that chart, what does Access America Classic Limited cover?

The chart is not in four-point type. It specifically sets out what is and isn't covered. I'm not sure what Richard's beef is: he didn't read the policy and he's mad he didn't buy the right one? Unless Access America actually lied to him or changed the terms after he bought it, I'm not getting it.

When ALMOST buying travel insurance for a big family holiday cruise I was told by the agent for a major cruise agency that the travel insurance WOULD cover flight cancellations due to weather. I live in Alaska, and flight cancellations are common in winter. I insisted on seeing the actual policy first since it was nearly $500 insurance for the several cabins we had reserved.

When I got the hard print edition of the coverage (AIG Travel Insurance (arrived the day before they went under!) I read that exceptions to coverage included any "inclement weather" that cancels regularly scheduled flights. Uh....hmm.

The agent was appalled when I called went over a reading comprehension lesson with her.

ALWAYS read the fine print ;-) Insurance companies exist to NOT pay you.

Think of it this way...they are betting whatever you are insuring against will not happen. When you buy the insurance, you are essentially betting it will happen. If it doesn't, you lose...they win. If it does, they lose, and you win.

Monty Python's "Insurance Sketch"

@2:40: "In your policy, it states quite clearly that no claim you make will be paid..."

He didn't get shafted by Access America. He shafted himself.

If the details were hard to find when making the purchase the reasonable response is to think "I'm sure this covers everything, I'll just buy it?"

It took me 15 seconds to find the package he would have had to purchase. As a rule, it is the broker that is to blame. In this case its Orbitz, selling a bare bones product at a profit, probably not even offering options. If you need or want travel insurance buy it directly from the company. It is almost always cheaper, better insurance. Orbitz, AAA etc it doesn't matter, buy it direct.

PS Insurance is highly regulated, the punishments for deceptive practices are so severe, no reputable insurance company would do it.

When we buy travel insurance, it has been because we're traveling to Florida during hurricane season, or because an elderly relative's health is poor, or because of my own chronic health condition. It's not hard to find a decent policy using either of the two websites I've used and at a decent price that covers what we need it to and doesn't cover what we don't need. BTW, some plans offer an upcharge for "work-related cancellations." One site offers many choices, the other offers a more limited selection, but one they maintain is carefully selected. Pricing between the two sites is comparable and far better than any options I've seen directly from travel companies. When I've called either company with questions, real people answered the phone and provided helpful answers. When I told them my needs, they helped steer me towards policies that met them.

Also, any polices I've seen have all had "free-look" periods. After you pay for them, they mail or e-mail you the "fine print" and if you don't like the terms, you can cancel with no penalty.

As a side note, I want to thank Consumer Union or whoever bought you guys. I came here this afternoon (my morning) and saw an entire page of new posts. I love it!

@madog:

You love the new posts?

My hope and dream is for a entire year with ZERO new posts because there are no consumer complaints.

Of course I live in fantasy land where the weather is 70F all year round, gas is $0.25/gal, my wife can lose weight, children say "Yes Sir" and I can eat all the chocolate I want.

@Corporate-Shill: No, no, no. MY hope and dream is for all the posts to be about ways to make our money go farther without anyone screwing anyone, pardon the vernacular.

@mythago: The chart wasn't at the point of purchase apparently.

But yeah, you can't be mad at them because an affiliate isn't clear.

The only time we've ever bought travel insurance was for our honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean, mostly in case something drastic occurred and we had to be airlifted out or something crazy like that. The cost was about 4% of the cruise price, so I considered it worth the cost.

I don't think the insurance company did anything wrong. The terms and conditions are right there in print; all the buyer had to do was read them.

@Corporate-Shill: you still use gas in your fantasy land? Mine has teleportation Machines.

@madog: flying cars!

I bought coverage before renting a minivan for a long trip. Most of the trip went fine but one day I got hit by a stone that completely cracked the front windshield and later I scratched my door on a pole. I filed the claim with documentation and pictures and Access America paid the whole amount in about two weeks, no questions or hassles. I was pleasantly surprised.

@Corporate-Shill: Do you mean that in your hope and dream, there are no consumer complaints because everything goes well and everyone is happy, or because the Chamber of Commerce finally rammed through a bill that allows dissatisfied customers to be shot on sight?

@yasth: It doesn't say in the original post that the terms of the purchase were unavailable, or deceptive, on Orbitz.

Orbitz has a page on travel insurance here. Their FAQ also notes:

"Question
If I cancel my trip, will I get all of my money back?

Answer

No. Trip cancellation coverage refunds prepaid, nonrefundable payments if you have to cancel your trip for one of the reasons covered by your policy. Covered reasons include the following: sudden medical emergencies, financial default of a covered airline, cruise line or tour operator, bad weather, terrorist incidents, and jury duty. Changing your mind about taking a trip or having certain business obligations are not covered. If you cancel your trip for a covered reason, you must notify your travel supplier(s) within 72 hours of the occurrence, otherwise the right to compensation will lapse."

@TrueBlue63: Then there are a heck of a lot of un-reputable companies out there.

@brettbee: be careful with the 'chronic health condition' clause. every travel insurance policy i have read says that a medical emergency for a pre-existing condition isn't covered - if i am hospitalized for my diabetes and can't travel then i am just out the money as far as i have seen. but if i go hypoglycemic, pass out in the street and get hit by a car, i'd be covered

Once again, the "Don't blame the OP rule" is suspended.

I would highly recommend reconsidering your vacation if death, terrorism or quarantine are high enough possibilities :-D

@geoffhazel: We shouldn't mock the OP or blame him, but this is an object lesson in what vacation insurance actually covers versus what you think it probably covers when you buy it. It's a good example for others so they'll remember to read the fine print the next time they consider vacation insurance.

I think the "don't blame the OP" rule more accurately applies to those people who are all, "Whatever, it's the OP's fault for doing this in the first place. Stupid OP!"

A good example: The Walmart flip-flop story was a little before my time, but if I remember correctly it had a lot of people saying the woman whose feet were burned deserved what she got for shopping at Walmart in the first place.

Well, the travel insurance sounds great if you think it's possible you'll have to cancel the trip, but think rationally about things before you pay for them. If you could just pay a little more to turn your non-refundable ticket into a refundable ticket, you'd think the airlines would have jumped all over that cash cow if it were even slightly sustainable.

The second best purchase insurance usually comes from the seller itself (best is often built into your credit card).

I'm confused as to the "Don't Blame the OP" rule. The OP bought an insurance policy without reading what it covered. Then he grossly overexaggerated the "4-point font in Aramaic" (yes, i get it he did it to be colorful) as an attempt to blame the insurance company. So what is the rationale not to "blame" him? And by blame I mean assign him responsibility for not being a good consumer

@mythago: That makes it sound like you must have one of the covered conditions and jury duty. Pretty tough bill to fill.

I buy travel insurance based on risk or the value of the trip. I've done it twice, but generally through my travel agent.

The first time was our honeymoon. It paid for itself when I... erm... dropped my camera into the Pacific somewhere off the coast of Hawai'i.

I have insurance for my trip in March to Italy. Why? Because I booked with Alitalia Vacations and am on an Alitalia flight. You might have heard the company is having some cash flow problems. Back in December, I wasn't sure I still had a vacation.

You could probably argue (successfully) that work constitutes "a quarantine" from real life, and get them to pay out, y'know, if you found a judge nutty enough.

He should attempt to put these on his expense report.

@maxx22:

Dick short. Ha.

At least this time the blame was assigned correctly to the OP in the original post.

I bought a AM/FM radio, but now I can't get XM on it? I hate Radio Shack... They didn't tell me.

@geoffhazel:

As well it should be in this case. I can see why the consumerist posted this since it's a good piece of advice to always look and see what insurance covers before you buy it. It doesn't make the OP any less a doofus for not doing it in the first place. It's sort of like using the story of an absentminded person hit by a car to suggest that you should actually look both ways before you cross the street.

I feel bad for all this guy is out but I've got to say, you've got to read the contract you're signing.

It's an expensive lesson to be sure.

I do appreciate the Consumerist reminding us to check on what our policies cover, though. Most people never update things like flood/homeowner's insurance, car insurance, etc. and they should. I regularly read my policy to see what is covered as a refresher in case I need it.

@conquestofbread: I got scammed this way too, only a lot worse. I purchased a trip from Globus (WITH TRIP INSURANCE). Globus canceled the trip on me and guess what? The trip insurance didn't cover this scenario. Imagine that. Trip insurance sold by Globus that won't cover the scenario where they cancel the trip you booked through them. This is Best Buy like insurance: you can never collect on it.

Sure, even if you read the fine print, the fine print is worded in such a way that the insurance carrier will always find a way not to pay. I'd like to hear otherwise.

@Warll: Short answer: nothing

I used to date a dame who sold travel insurance. Even she said the whole thing was a scam.

Last time I bought trip insurance (Cruise to Bermuda in hurricane season) I was concerned about Expedia's offering because it did not specifically mention hurricane/severe weather obliterating the destination as a covered condition.

I used insuremytrip.com which aggregates packages from a whole bunch of different insurers and lets you compare/choose the ones you want. When you bring up a quote, you can click each line item to read the policy language for that item (that's a little unintuitive) so you know what you're getting into ahead of time.

I was very pleased with it and would definitely use it again for any "risky" travel.

Of course Bermuda was not washed away by a freak hurricane so I did not have to make a claim and can make no recommendation for or against the insurer that I used (I can't even remember who it was).

@mythago: I worked in the industry, and there are disreputable companies.

But it often comes down to the broker, they usually work for the buyer. But get paid by the company (like real estate agents). Insurance cos price their product precisely to the risk. It isn't their fault if a broker mis-markets it.

That is why I said to buy it directly.

@Corporate-Shill: Insurance Fraud.