TAMPA BAY, Fla. — A Tampa Bay area couple made a call to Taking Action for You Reporter Jackie Callaway after waiting months for the travel insurance to pay up.
Tampa couple Stan Turer and Alana Bott booked a dream trip to Barbados early this year. The airfare alone set the retirees back $1,600.
Turer, who has a history of health problems, did not want to take any chances, so he paid an extra $175 for trip insurance. He told ABC Action News, “The insurance if for some reason she got sick or I got sick, we would get our money back in full.”
Turer, who is 85, fell and broke his hip months before the scheduled August departure. He went into the hospital for surgery and then moved into a rehab facility in June.
“So, while I was in rehab, I called my travel agent to cancel that trip because I knew I wasn't going to be ready,” Turer said.
The couple said they filled out the forms and filed a claim with their trip insurer in June. The policy required medical documentation, so they sent a letter from Turer’s doctor.
That’s when the wait began. Turer said the travel insurer, Allianz Travel Insurance, never denied the claim, but they weren’t paying it either.
“I spoke to supervisors, and every time I called, they said to me that it's in the working process,” he said.
After three months, Turer and Bott made a call for action to ABC Action News. We contacted the insurance company, and days later, $1,600 was deposited into the couple's account. In an email to ABC Action Action News, an Allianz spokesperson apologized for the inconvenience Mr. Turer experienced.
Veteran travel agent Tammy Levent, owner of Elite Travel in Clearwater, said, in general, trip coverage is smart especially in the COVID era. But travelers need to understand that policies differ.
“There's so many little clauses,” Levent said, that without a careful read, you may not get the coverage you think you are getting.
And it's important to read a company's reviews to see what other customers are saying about the claims process.
There are resources for those who run into trouble with a trip insurer. You can contact Florida’s insurance helpline for free mediation. And consumers can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org for mediation.
As for Turer and Bott, they are using their $1,600 refund towards a Christmas cruise.
