Phone: 816 523-0280 I booked a trip through Grand Circle Travel on June 17th, 2008. Because of my mother's physical problem we had to cancel on Aug 7, 2008. A Grand Circle phone rep told me what my refund would be which was minus the insurance premiums for both our trip costs. I completed all Trip Mate's documents as did my mother's doctor who check marked that she was disabled and could not travel. Trip Mate has been jerking me around ever since insisting that she was not covered - OH YES SHE WAS! Then they said they needed more information from the doctor. The doctor AGAIN wrote a letter saying she was not able to travel. Trip Mate sent us vouchers instead of a refund. This is NOT what I was told by Grand Circle when I booked the trip and when I cancelled. They have had 74 complaints filed with the Kansas City, Mo, Better Business Bureau in the last 36 months, mine is the 75th, and 9 complaints filed with the Missouri Attorney General's Office, mine will be the 10th. This has been very upsetting to my mother who's 83. She was in fine health when we booked, she's taken 4 trips with Grand Circle, I've taken 3 with them and we've never had a problem until now. Any future trips are in doubt if they continue with this insurance company. Delaying tactics seem to be their game. My luggage was lost by the airlines on my trip to lima peru, the luggage had my long term prescription medication and preventative drugs that the u. When the airlines didn't return my luggage after two days in lima I told the overseas adventure travel host that I would not be going on the amazon trip for obvious reasons and felt that my travel insurance would compensate for 8 days on the river and a 5 day extension in cusco peru. My claim with trip mate was refused because I was not sick and did not have a doctor's signature saying I was. This is a bogus company and their refusal ploy is to wait the insured out. I am surprized the Missouri state insurance commission allows a company like this to do business in their state and they certinly need to be investigated by the states attorney general. An insurance company is bound by law, and by the provisions of the plan to administrate the travel protection based on those provisions. Any deviation could result in severe fines and even the shutting down of the company by regulatory authorities. The provisions of the plan are usually quite clear, and if the information provided did not satisfy the provisions of the plan for cancellation under a covered medical reason, then the company would have no choice to deny the claim. In this case you were issued vouchers for future travel at least instead of an outright denial. It sounds to me like you want everyone to rape the insurance company for money despite the provisions of the plan you purchased. The burden of proof is on the claimant to provide the information to the insurance company, and in turn on the insurance company to provide proof to the teams of auditors from the government and underwriters that they have to deal with. If the medical records didn't show an incident or a worsening of a condition between the time you purchased the plan and the time of cancellation, then you'll be denied every time. You have to show proof of Dr. If that was shown, the claim would have been paid. I did a little research myself. Did you know that Tripmate pays right around 95 percent of their claims? That's right, you're one of the few, not the many. You need to be happy for the people for whom insurance companies pay at least six figures to evacuate them from a foreign country by military means, or the people who are injured and travel alone, and the insurance company sends a nurse to escort them home at no expense. And yes, it happens much more often than you would imagine. So suck it up and get the right documentation or stop whining about being able to travel with the travel certificates you DID receive. If you think the travel insurance is examining you too closely, you should see what the government does to insurance companies. The insurance companies that are here to protect you. Very poor choice of words. They agreed that they had everything they needed from us but needed to verify information with Sandals. They said they requested the info. They waited one month to email Sandals again I'm told that's company policy, they have to wait at least 21 days but they waited more than a month and could not call to follow up as I requested Now another month has passed... I asked them to call, they refused so I called Sandals. I was told that the information was sent to Tripmate twice. When I called tripmate back, they said they didn't get it and when the month is up, they will email again. Now, how ridiculous is that????!!! I can't get them to talk with Sandals to find out why the information isn't being transmitted or perhaps it is and this is a delay tactic... I asked the claims agent what if this continues for months and months.. Tripmate, in our opinion, is extremely incompetent and perhaps fraudulent in their dealing with customers. I think there is even a class action suit waiting to explode based on my experience and the research I've been doing the past few days. It has been over 3 week and still nothing! This is a huge scam and if I do not get my check soon I will be contacting local stations to do a story. They want your money right away but if you need to get it back good luck... Sparkie +2 Votes Hi, I contacted Trip Mate after receiving ANOTHER ATTENDING DOCTORS statement. I was told the called my doctor to see when my last visit was and it was within my time frame, nothing by the travel agents at Elm Grove Travel said nothing about any of this nor anything about pre existing conditions. They said it did not matter if it was within a certain period of time prior to the time of travel. After talking with someone from Trip Mate, I was lied to twice. Once by them not telling me they contacted my doctor on June 1st to find out when my last appt was, and they were TOLD it was March 21st. Whoever did not document it or they are hiding it... Nothing was mentioned about pre- existing conditions by either Elm Grove Travel nor Trip Mate. So I called my doc and they said they would get the letter ready with the info TM needed and when I called back she lied and said they still need the form filled out... DUH it is already filled out. And they have my neurosurgeon's letter which states I am permanently and totally disabled. Rajna said to me why would you plan a trip then. Pain comes and goes and this was a dream I had to go to Hawaii... With the falls etc... So I cancelled the trip... If there is a class action suit I will be happy to join. They should not be in business... If you want good travel insurance there are many out there, but Trip mate is not one of them. BUYER BE WARE this also happened to my friend. Elm Grove travel did our and never said anything, in fact the opposite that no pre existing conditions applied when we took out insurance with Trip Mate. Now after a month of waiting TM called my doc and they were told my last appt was March 21... Now I get another Attending Physcians statement because they do not have my last appt in writing or why my condition worsened... My call to TM resulted in hearing 2 lies and them telling me this called was recorded of course they can edit the calls as well to their purpose. They have that they called my MD but nothing was writtin down according to TM even though they have the information. Then I was told by Rajna that my doc did not have to REFILE the atttending physcicans statment just write a letter with my last appt and why my condition worsened. To top that off, I am permanently and totally disabled and was asked WHY I was traveling?? Do you have to look disabled to be disabled NO... I was never so insulted in my life. Then she lied and said my doc did have to fill it out again it is all recorded but she sounded so scared I bet they erase what they do not want on there!!! Don't neurosurgeons have enough to do that fill out claim's they are trying to reject just to keep the money? TRIP MATE is not a good insurer but there are many out there far better so keep looking and get a good travel agent!! BUYER BEWARE of TRIP MATE insurance. They are nothing but fraudulent and nothing was told to both of us about pre existing conditions... I sent in all my paper work as did my friend and neither of us have gotten anything but negative responses. They contacted my doc on June 1st and my appt was with their time frame, but someone did not document it on my file, a way for them to loose information. I called them today and filed claims with BBB against both and was lied to by Rajna from TM twice and was told this call is recorded but you know they can erase anything they want to make themselves look good. Does someone disabled need to be NO! I clean, cook, shop but have to do so within my limits when I can. My pain is totally unpredictable and with 3 falls in 3 weeks my back went out and also taking care of my kitty who was slowly shutting down and passed on May 9th... They TM sent me another MD attending statement and said they did not have to fill it out per Rajna, then when I called back to tell her the letter she said would work was coming she said she never said that and she did, another lie. They have it down they called my docs office for my past appt but guess what my doc's offfice remembers the call and yet they have no record of it another way to cash in on a scam. This is the worst company I ever worked with but if there is a class action suit I will be joining and so will my friends. You'd think a doctor's letter would be enough. Then they have you sign a release. Well guess what they can access anything they want when you sign it! If you sign it make sure you cross out anything that does not pertain to your medical history. I had signed up for a trip with Explorica to take a group of students to Europe and thought my health would be OK to do that. I have Multiple Sclerosis and my health is up and down with this disease and I've been doing pretty good with it. When I told my neurologist about the trip, she told me I was crazy to attempt it and that the rigors of the trip would be too much for me. I sent the information to Trip Mate with my doctor's information required and was denied due to what they claimed was the timing of the cancellation and my doctor's response. It ain't going away and a trip like this could have worsened my health permanently. I have appealed, but I am not at all optimistic about a positive result. Since he needed immediate treatment and someone to ride him back and forth for tests and so on, it was impossible for my son to even consider going on his cruise. This is not a common cold, it is a life threatening illness which required him to be by his father's side. We filled out all the correct forms, twice, and all we are getting is a run around, each time they say we didn't include the dates when in fact the doctor's staff filled everything in completely. It is an embarassment to have to keep handing a cancer surgeon the same forms, time and time again only to be told by Trip Mate that they don't have the dates. They are stalling, and I know they have no intention of paying. This is company is a fraud, plain and simple. They take your money but don't expect to collect if the need arises. Once my husband is stable, my son intends to take further action. This needs to stop before any more innocent victims are taken in by their scam. We appreciate your son submitting the forms needed for the claims process. The first information we received, however, included a medical form that did not show treatment dates as required by the policy. According to our records, the claim was paid when we received the additional information requested. If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please feel free to call us at 1-800-888-7292. We understand that this is a difficult time, and our thoughts are with you and your family. Tripmate failed to provide an air ambulance even though it was medically essential and they so admitted. Tripmate provided, instead of an ambulance, only obstacles. Tripmate was no help. I was on my own. I had to secure my own land ambulance to a clinic. Then, I had to secure my own flight home. I had to find my own air ambulance company. Tripmate then took nine months considering my claims. In fact, I was preparing a suit when, at long last, the check for reimbursement arrived. Best Advice +4 Votes Smithgold, We are very sorry to hear about the unfortunate events on your vacation and your dissatisfaction with the claims process. We would be happy to look into this further. We look forward to speaking about this further. My husband's cancer subsequently took a rapid turn for the worse and ultimately proved to be fatal, and our young grandson also began suffering psychological difficulties making it inadvisable to take him on a transoceanic flight. I have been attempting to collect from Tripmate Insurance ever since. Their own claims website is a smoking gun; it shows they've had all the documentation they need to process my claim for months. I am reaching out to insurance bad faith attorneys now, and intend to file a class action suit against Tripmate if my claim is not paid in full this month. Any and all others who suspect they have been defrauded by Tripmate are welcome to contact me at staceyontheroad yahoo. I am sharing my experience with TripMate because they are one of the most garbage filled manipulating companies I have ever done business with. This past may I planned a vacation to the Bahamas with a lady friend. When I booked the trip, the agent offered to place insurance on the trip. My travel friend turned out to be bi-polar and and off meds. I decided that this trip was not in my best interest and notified my agent who in turn notified Trip Mate. It is my closest experience with a third world company since serving in the military. Trip mate requested an avalanche of documents almost one at a time. Trip Mate strung this along for months. The most important document requested being proof of trip payment. I did not insure the people I insured the trip. Trip Mate is a bad choice to insure any trip. It is a third party insurance company that leaches off the backs of legitimate travel agents and travel companies. Their job is to string along clients and weasel out of paying as much as possible. There must be a better option than Trip Mate. We will certainly never use TripMate for any of my travel insurance needs. I truly regret ever having done business with this low class misleading company. They are at best a bad life experience and a hard lesson learned. STAY AWAY FROM TRIP MATE. My son's school cancelled their trip because lack of students. I contacted Trip Mate about my refund, I asked them if I will also get my insurance because the school cancelled the trip. They told me, they will see what they can do. They refunded me the money and won't refund me my money for the trip, claiming now that I don't have insurance they don't have to pay. They are a complete SCAM ARTIST!!! I am hoping they pick up my story because this is not fair to me and everyone else they scam out of their money... I am going to keep on top of them until I am rewarded my money 100%. The cost of the Tour included the purchase of flight insurance protection for myself and wife. AAA used TripMate as the flight Insurance Agency. Within 3 days of notifying AAA that we wanted to cancel the trip because of my wife's illness we received a refund from AAA for the tour. Completed all the TripMate paperwork, which included a form that they said had to be completed by our doctor. Sent paperwork to TripMate by way of UPS certified mail. They have received 4 phone calls regarding my claim and they keep telling us that the file is under review. We did not go on the trip, no airline tickets were issued, so this should be a slam dunk. Just refund my money. Also, since that was the case I don't see why a doctor's report was even necessary. The woman I talked to at TripMate seems to be using every trick in the book to delay a refund. I believe this company is a SCAM. I am really disappointed that AAA is using this company. Since AAA contracted with TripMate I have turned this matter over to them and I am expecting that AAA will be issuing the refund. Do not buy this kind of insurance, it's the worst experience, a loss of time and they are garbage. Alfonso huerta +1 Votes I purchased a flight ticket with CheapOAir traveling to Poland from San Francisco departing on Mon Dec 14 and returning on Thu Dec 31. In addition I purchased a travel insurance from Trip Mate, that came with my ticket to protect my trip. The link to see details of my protection plan did not not work so I never had a chance to review it but I trusted I have a travel protection plan. While in Poland my mother got sick and had surgery on heart. She stayed in the hospital till Dec 31st and doctor gave me certificate that there is a need for me to stay longer in Poland. I had to postpone my return date for a week and I called Trip Mate making sure that my plan covers the case. I was told that they will cover in whole whatever I have to pay extra. All necessary forms were sent to Trip Mate. On Feb 4th Two months later I received a letter saying that I changed my trip due to a medical condition of my mother and because she resides in Poland she is not considered a family member as defined by the plan so my request was declined for benefits. I submitted my complain to a Better Business Bureau and I received the response from Trip Mate that there is nothing they can do since my mother resides in Poland It sounds like discrimination of a family members who do not reside in US, Canada or Mexico! They also said that when I called their office from Poland asking if they are going to cover additional cost of all changes to my flight I was advised that all costs I will have due to the travel interruption are subject to their confirmation of purchase of the travel protection plan, claim documentations and the plan provisions. They were also unable to confirm that the link with travel plan description was not operational strange enough that it works now. So after wasting my money for the Trip Mate travel insurance and all the time I spent for submitting the claim along with all documents and additional correspondence I am giving up. For them mother who does not reside in US, Canada or Mexico is not a family member covered by their plan. How artful is that! I will never buy insurance from them and visiting this Forum insures me that I am not the only one being cheated by them. I hope one day they will be brought to justice and will have to pay for being unfair!