Travel Insurance Direct Reviews

One of the first companies (that I was aware of anyway) to provide annual policies, I think these guys are worth using... I just wish their pricing was a bit more competitive

I have never been so devastated. The customer service by the claims team at TID has thus far has been horrendous. I have had to chase for my claim to even be looked at. If I didn’t chase them they wouldn’t have assessed it within the 10 day period they strictly state they respond within.Long story short: I was traveling from one hotel in Monterey to my new hotel in San Francisco. We had all our belongings on us as we were travelling between hotels. We stepped out of the car to stretch our legs and take a photo, as our new hotel couldn’t check us in just yet. We walked from one side of the street to the other ( Not a large street – a two lane street) to look at the view. In this time our car was broken in to and my bag stolen. Inside my bag was my engagement ring, all my jewellery, makeup, cosmetics and a few other things. I was very wary of San Fran as I knew that they had a large homeless population there and so was worried about wearing my engagement ring and jewellery on the streets. I thought that I was being cautious by leaving them in the car. I also didn’t leave the car unattended. I was 7.5m from the car and could see the car at all times. TID has stated that they won’t cover any of the stolen jewellery as I shouldn’t have left it unattended. It should have been at my hotel or on me. I was in transit to my hotel – so unsure where else my belongings could be. I also thought I was being the careful one. I took out EXTRA cover of $12K not the normal $5K cover for my luggage and personal belongings as I knew I had a few pretty things to protect. TID is going to cover $5K and not cover any of my jewellery. Not only that they have depreciated all my belongings without even consulting me. E.g. Paying out $30 on a $60 make up brush. It’s not like I can buy a second hand make up brush. I have just had my claim escalated which will take 15 business days for TID to get back to me with an answer as their general claims team was so unhelpful. Michelle( the team leader) in the claims team said to me “ I’m very sorry for your loss but it is reasonable that we don’t pay out on the jewellery given the circumstance”. The lack of empathy, compassion and human decency was astounding. I used TID as they were recommended to me. I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN. BE WARNED.I expect a response from TID within 3 workings day otherwise I’ll be escalating my claim to the ombudsmen.

The destination we were travelling to was closed down as it had 17 powerlines blow down and multiple highways closed due to avalanch control on our USA trip. We found this out whilst driving our hire vehicle to the location so had to book alternative accommodation last minute. We were $3500 out of pocket, I even contacted the TID number whilst Overseas's and the person on the phone said we would be covered. When we got home and put our claim in have said they will not pay as they only cover for extreme weather if you are travelling by coach etc it does not mention anything about if you are driving a hire vehicle. We paid for the top cover and one would assume that they would be covered for extreme weather (that was out of our control).

I have been a customer for over 10 yrs. The last 5 as a yearly insurance holder. TID seems OK until you have to claim. Im on my third claim in 10 years ( all small sums) and this time I have to appeal every step of the way even with all correct documentation.

At first I thought TID looked fantastic, they even came recommended through a program I was doing. But i had to make a claim when I got back and the company has refused to honour the claim even thought it falls inline with their inclusions. I've had to take these guys to the Ombudsman. Very disappointing experience.

I made claims on behalf of people travelling in my groups in October and again in November 2016. I did not need to make a claim! The first claim - In October 2016 - was following the person being injured in a bus accident in Cambodia. When the hospital contacted TID re guarantee of payment for treatment - it was instantly granted. TID assistance kept in constant touch to make sure we were Ok and to see if we needed anything. When a waiting period was needed (airline rules) following treatment TID were happy for my friend to stay at the hospital - so she could continue to improve.
The second time was a claim made for a student who I had to seek Medical advice for in Vietnam in November 2016. The student had a throat infection and then an allergic reaction. All treatment and Medicines were paid by me -when I returned home in Decemberthey were submitted and TID paid the claim within a week. I have been using TID for about 10 years and have recommended it to others but had never made a claim (I still haven't). My experience with these 2 cases was very positive and, especially in the case of the Bus Accident - it was very reassuring and appreciated.

We've used TID a few times. The first for a 'non adverse event' family trip to Fiji. We were really happy with how easy and simple the process was, and the price was spot on. So we used them again.

We had to make a claim when we were in Chiang Mai, my daughter caught a bad case of gastro the night before our flight to another country. It was so stressful!

The hospital wanted her admitted and hydrated, as she was too weak to get on the plane. So all we needed was a certificate from the hospital to say she was unfit for travel and it was covered.

We were able to claim her and my flights, hospital costs and transport to the airport. The rest of my family (an adult and two children) were not going to be covered, so I told them to catch their flights and we'd meet them there when she was better, so we didn't really lose out.

Would definitely use again.

The cost of Travel Insurance Direct was the first thing that I noticed being quite cheap and offering good coverage. I had used them twice before having any issues.

On my most recent coverage with TID, I had the unfortunately experience of having my notebook computer stolen. Checkout is in the morning as usual so I had my luggage and bags stored in my hostel's secured and locked holding area. My laptop was unfortunately stolen out of my bag so I made a claim with TID and their insurance company (Cerebus Claims).

After providing all t he information they opted not to award the claim in favour. The reasoning was that because the hostel is a public area and hostel patrons have access to the secured and locked room as well. This is unfortunate because a hostel is a communal residence with shared bathrooms, bedrooms etc. Therefore using their PDS and wording, they are covered for anything that is stolen if you are staying in a hostel.

Summary: Do not use TID if you plan to stay in a hostel.

BUYER BEWARE! THEY TAKE 2 WEEKS EACH STEP OF YOUR CLAIM AND THEN MAKE IT AS HARD AS POSSIBLE SO PEOPLE GIVE UP. we got travel insurance (www.travelinsurancedirect.co.nz) for a trip to Fiji. As it was a .co.nz site and we live in NZ we thought we were sweet. Then in Fiji our two iPhone6's got water damaged. Being insured we thought we were sweet, but oh no we were far from ok. That was on the 15th of January 2016, 3 months ago! We called and made our claim... Travel Insurance Direct advised we had to get a report to ensure the two phones were damaged cause they didn't have an office in NZ. Uh, 'you don't have an office in NZ?' was our initial response. Nope, they only have an office in Sydney. Bear in mind, these phones are salt water damaged. Now to get the 'Proof of Damage' reports (for each phone) it was going to cost $380 - plus the excess. I pleaded with them that this was ludicrous and by putting a .co.nz and not actually being in the country was no better than fraud. In the end they agreed that I could send them the phones - TO SYDNEY.. We were told the claim would take two weeks just to LOOK at it. TWO WEEKS? Other insurers have a 48 hour response time. Why two weeks? Cause they want you to give up on the claim. This is for a phone, they know you need one (i do for my job), so I nearly gave up at this point. But decided I wanted to see how badly they would attempt to not pay us. We shipped the phones 7 weeks ago. We've called numerous times and your case manager is "unavailable at this time". Over and over again. THEN, my partner has $960 put in her account two days ago. WHAT FOR? we still don't know. So they are saying two iPhone6's (one only 2 months old) are worth $960? DO NOT USE THEM. THEY ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED AND TRULY THE WORST SERVICE I HAVE EVER RECEIVED.

My tour operator cancelled part of my tour and then stopped replying to emails and wouldn't take phone calls.

TID would only cover it if the tour operator stated in writing that they cancelled part of my tour. Except the tour operator wouldn't return emails or phone calls!

I sent a complaint to them but TID ignored it.

Do yourself a favour and buy travel insurance from a company that actually processes claims.

Most economical option when I travelled in both Asia and Europe. Luckily however I didn't need to make a claim. Application was made quickly and easily over the internet. Would use again.

Not only are they the cheapest (make sure to look up the 5-10% discounts which are always floating around). Been using them on every trip and unfortunately I had to make my first claim this year after me and a friend were robbed. On top of that, the police report was filled incorrectly. Although having every right (by their standard PDS) to void our claim, they worked together with us to solve and clarify the issues and ended reimbursing our entire loss. Cannot recommend them enough.