I have been a loyal customer of TID for at least 6 years, but after 2 experiences with their claims departments, and multiple interactions with customer service, it's time for me to do my research and move on to something better (and going by Choice and plenty of other review websites, there are a lot better, and cheaper out there!). The first instance that lead to me having to make a claim was after i broke my ankle in Bhutan. The nurse that i dealt with was great, very compassionate and understanding, and the fact i could talk to her over WhatsApp made the whole experience much better than i had been expecting. However, when it came time to make a claim in regards to my broken ankle, that's where customer service let her down! I emailed through my claim as i had been told to do, to the email address i was provided with. After waiting a month and hearing nothing back, i got in contact with customer service. They told me nothing had been submitted so i sent them a copy of the email i had sent with my claim. They then told me i had sent it to the wrong email address, so i sent them the email where i had been told by an employee of TID to send it to the particular address. Within 24hrs i had an email notification that i would receive my refund, but no further communication from customer service.In spite of the above i was willing to write it off as a one time error from TID. I have consistently praised them on travel groups i am a part of on social media, however after my recent encounters with the company i can not in good conscious continue to do that, and will instead be warning others to steer clear of them. All it takes is a google search to see that there are higher rated, and at the same time better priced, travel insurance companies out there.My recent experience with them has occured after i got robbed and injured while i was in Tanzania (losing my passport, phone, etc). After contacting the emergency area of TID, i was told that they couldnt help me because i had attempted to extend my policy, but i hadnt yet paid for it. Never mind that the reason i wasnt able to pay for it was because their site wouldnt let me (it kept timing out!)! When i explained that, i was passed off to customer service to try and fix the issue. The guy i was passed onto was unable to fix the issue, and when i tried again to pay for the extension, the site completely deleted any record of the extension, so i emailed customer servide to let them know, but to this day i have still not had a response to that email. I eventually had to purchase a new policy to cover me for the extend dates i was in Tanzania. As there is no Australian embassy in Tanzania, i had multiple issues with being able to cross the border into Kenya to get an emergency passport. I asked for guidance multiple times as to what was acceptable under my policy, but never really got a clear answer. Adding to this was the issue that most things in Tanzania are paid in cash, with no receipt, so again i asked for some guidance on how to deal with this so as to ensure i would be reimbursed for the costs i was incurring, and again there were no clear answers. Surely i can't be the first person they've dealt with in situations like this?!I am currently waiting for my claim to be processed, but based on the questions i received from the claims officer on Day 9 of their 10 day service standard period, i do not have high hopes. The questions seemed to ask for things i had already provided, were not well written and also quite confusing. I got the feeling that they are trying to delay any payout to me, and also try to decrease the amount they pay out to me. I have stated repeatedly that i am willing to sign any legal documentation they may have to verify the vailidity of the amounts i am claiming for, but that always seems to get ignored.If you choose travel insurance companies based on the expected level of service you'll receive from both customer service and claims, you should definitely look elsewhere. There are also other companies who provide better prices. Based on my research, TID prices are only remotely competitive because they always offer discount coupons. But, their service definitely falls short of their prices!
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