Richard is angry. He paid good money for travel insurance when he purchased tickets to Italy, and when he ended up having to work over vacation he canceled the trip and filed a claim. Access America denied it because being required to work during a trip isn’t covered by Richard’s benefit plan.

He writes, “Access america is a scam wrapped in a pyramid scheme, smothered with hatred for human life.” Okay, that’s funny, but in reality Access America is simply an insurance company, and that means it will do everything it can to not pay out. This is a warning for other consumers who consider buying travel insurance: find out exactly what’s covered before you agree to anything. Access America in particular has a highly detailed breakdown of each coverage tier, and you can see that their basic coverage only covers death, terrorism, “complete cessation of services,” and quarantine.

We’re sorry for Richard that he got shafted, and we’re sure these details weren’t easy to find on Orbitz when he was buying his tickets. He writes that the Access America CSR told him “that I should have read the size 4 font in Aramaic hidden by a floating pop up customer survey before paying for the insurance.” Well, no. But don’t trust any travel insurance company until you read the fine print on their own site.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.