Travel Insurance Reviews

Good value, right level of cover, covered for skiing. Was cheaper than taking the car rental company excess waiver, and covered much more. Will certainly use for NZ holidays and will check out for overseas.

Very easy to buy insurance online; very good value when compared to other insurers. Fortunately didn't need to make a claim so can't comment on the claims experience but plenty of information provided.

Signing up for the travel insurance was reasonably easy, but the claims experience was another matter. I ended up wondering why I had bothered making a claim. It was not worth it after all the deductions and excesses were taken out.

I always use Columbus Direct , great prices and very friendly staff on the few occasions I have called them. Luckily I have not had to put in a claim.

I've used Columbus Direct for several trips now. Prices are super-competitive and when I've had claims (twice) they've been handled efficiently and promptly. That's why I'm staying with them for my annual trips policy.

Columbus stated that they had a 19 day no questions asked refund. I had to cancel my policy within this 19 day period and Columbus stayed true to their word and refunded me the entire amount paid, no questions asked and they were friendly and professional about it.

Excellent service overall. There was an opportunity for good discussion of our family needs, and I felt as though I was being listened to and receiving a great value deal as well.

We used Columbus for travel insurance many times over a 10 year period. They are exceptional at taking money but my god do not make a claim for $1000 dollars as they put every wall in front of you. It seems to be a waste of money taking out travel insurance , or is dealing with Columbus.

Seemingly good value for money and easy to buy online - but don't be fooled!!!. The moment you actually need them i.e. have a claim, they become painfully difficult to deal with. I had submitted documentation including letters from Doctors and travel receipts, that should make it evident what had happened. However, they kept invoking paragraphs that made no sense and inisisting on me going back to doctors to put the same information on their forms. In the end, I dropped my claim, purely because it wasn't worth the time and effort anymore, and I had no confidence that they would come through since new issues kept "coming up". Thankfully, this was only a $500 issue - would hate to think what people do with real emergencies to deal with.

First of all - several review sites rate these guys highly. Don't be fooled! These are reviews based on the buying experience. It is very easy to buy, and the price is seemingly good value.

However, when it comes to insurance does that really matter if they are not there for you when you need them - i.e. a claim situation? These guys have the worst gotcha paragraphs I have ever seen. If you want to make a claim, you need to throw common sense out the window and arm yourself with the detailed policy paragraphs.

I had to cut a trip short due to my wife's illness back home. Something which the policy is meant to cover. However, I was focused on just getting home to my wife, and hence Columbus refused to reimburse anything whatsoever because I didn't call them first to ask permission to travel home? What difference does that make? Doesn't it say more about the severity of the situation that my only priority was to travel home? Furthermore, their claims people are impossible to speak to and refuse to listen to reason - their job is clearly to avoid making any kinds of payment. Avoid at all cost!!!!!!!

The point of insurance is that it's a "if the worst happens" safety net. Now, this could be the best insurance in the world but if the company simply do not respond to any e-mails (despite them saying in their correspondence that they will) then... it's really a moot point.

They are incredibly hard (seeing as I still haven't had a response then I am being kind) to contact in writing when you need to query or clarify something (so you HAVE it in writing). Good luck cancelling so you make sure that the direct debit doesn't come out.

Very disappointing because good customer service isn't rocket science. It's just common sense.

My wife and I have used columbus 2 years in a row now. I recently had my camera stolen in Bali and Columbus paid up within 10 days. Great service again Columbus!