International travel insurance claims information

Travel insurance claims are requests made by a policyholder to their insurance provider for reimbursement or coverage of expenses incurred due to unforeseen events during their travel. These claims can cover a variety of incidents, including medical emergencies, trip cancellations, lost luggage, travel delays, and more. Types of Travel Insurance Claims:

• Medical and Dental Expenses: Claims for medical treatment or dental emergencies that occur while traveling.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption: Claims for reimbursing prepaid travel expenses if the trip is canceled or interrupted due to covered reasons.
• Baggage Loss/Delay: Claims for lost, stolen, or delayed baggage and personal belongings.
• Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation: Claims for expenses related to emergency medical evacuation or repatriation of remains.
• Travel Delay: Claims for additional expenses incurred due to travel delays beyond a certain number of hours.

• Claim Form: A completed and signed claim form detailing the nature of the claim, the date the incident occured, severity of the incident in case of medical emergency, and any other requested detail related to the incident.
• Travel Documents: Original tickets, boarding passes, or a copy of the passport indicating travel dates.
• Receipts and Invoices: Original bills, receipts, and invoices for expenses incurred, such as medical treatment, accommodation, or emergency purchases.
• Medical Reports: Medical reports, discharge summaries, and prescriptions for medical claims.
• Police Reports: Police reports for theft or loss claims, obtained within 24 hours of the incident.
• Proof of Ownership: Adequate proof of ownership for lost or damaged items, if applicable.
• Supporting Documents: Any additional supporting documents specific to the type of claim, such as a letter from the airline for baggage delay or cancellation.

• Understand your policy: Make sure you know your policy coverage details and beware of anything that is not covered in your plan. Some treatments might require pre-authorization and failing to do this might result in denial of the claim.
• Seek treatment at in-network provider: Choose to seek treatment if possible at an in-network healthcare provider who meets the requirements of your plan. This will be faster than an out-of-network provider where unfamiliarity with international insurance might slow down the processing of the claim.
• Collect necessary documentation: Collect all the necessary medical records, itemized bills, and prescription bills carefully and ensure to keep the copies of these as a backup in case the submitted documents did not make it to the insurer through postal service.
• Claim submission: For each family member, you need to submit a new claims form, and a new claim form is required for every new condition treated. The claim needs to be submitted before the specified duration for submission, which is usually 60 or 90 days from the date of service. It is always recommended to file a claim as soon as the treatment begins.
• Follow up: Ensure that you have the confirmation that your service provider has received your claim. Keep track of the claim status through the insurer's portal or by contacting their customer service with the phone number listed in the claim form.

• Documentation issues: Incomplete documentation or missing of medical reports, itemized bills can lead to delay in claim processing.
• Communication gaps: Delay in communication between policy holder, healthcare provider and the insurer can cause hindrance in claim processing.
• Understanding the policy: Some individuals might not have understood what exactly is covered and this might delay the claim processing.
• Choosing the healthcare provider: Navigating varying healthcare systems and regulations in different countries can be complex, therefore ensure you have chosen a good healthcare provider.

The insurance company will need 3 to 4 weeks of time to complete the process of the claim submitted after the complete submission of the claim. After submitting the claim form to the insurance company, the company will send the benefits explanation provided for the specific kind of benefit by the plan that you have. Reading it carefully and submitting any required or requested information in time to the company is the key role the client should perform with due diligence.

Once the insurance company receives the required information from the client, the payment will be made accordingly. If it is a direct billing, the insurance company will directly pay the amount to the provider or if it needs to be reimbursed to the client, the insurance company will reimburse the client with the payment.

In both the cases the payment will be the same. The payment of claims delayed or denied by the insurance company without any reason or any excuses are not true. Many claims are pending to be cleared due to the company waiting for the client to provide the required medical records or documents. It is important for the client to communicate with the healthcare provider to provide the required documents to settle the claim in time.

Claims process information of various plans offered by prominent insurers is displayed below. Travelers or students can easily access relevant claims forms and apply for claiming the medical benefits.

Your travel claim can be rejected due to the following reasons:

• Incomplete documentation or missing of medical reports and itemized bills.
• Insufficient information about the incident.
• A claim submitted on an incident that comes under policy exclusions.
• Non-compliance with policy terms and conditions about claim submission such as not submitting claim within the specified number of days, submitting claim with expired policy, claiming beyond the benefit limits.

The deadline for submitting a claim varies by provider, but it is generally within 30-40 days of the incident. It is important to check your policy for specific deadlines and submit your claim as early as possible.

• Report Immediately: Report the theft or loss to the local police within 24 hours of the incident.Make sure to carry necessary identification and state the incident clearly along with the date, location and the time the incident occured.
• Request Report Copy: Request a copy of the police report or a case registration number, which will be required for your insurance claim to recover the stolen property.
• Safeguard the copies and documents: Make sure to safely organize and save the copies of the essential documents and follow up regularly until the issue is resolved.

• Know your claim: Identify your claim or define your claim and what needs to be proved.
• Gather sufficient evidence: Make sure you gather all required documents such as photographs of the damaged item, medical reports for treatment received or itemized bills or receipts and invoices of purchase with expenses incurred due to incident in case of medical claim. Secure the evidence in a well organized way without any ambiguity.
• Filling the claim form: If your claim needs a form to be submitted within a certain period of time, make sure to complete the form in time and submit it with the documents requested either online through email or to the mailing address specified.
• Contact the Insurer: Intimate the insurer about the filled claim form and the evidence such as reports, bills, invoices submitted through email or through phone call. Some insurers need a precertification process to be completed to be treated, so it is important to contact the insurer before getting the treatment in such cases so that the claim process can go smoothly.
• Review and Validate: Review the relevance of the evidence and explain how the evidence supports your claim.

• Review the Denial: It is important to read the denial letter carefully and review the reason for the denial from your insurance provider. Knowing the specific issue for the denial will help in addressing the claim properly.
• Provide Additional Information: If possible, provide any additional information or documentation such as any reports, itemized bills or invoices which can serve as proofs that can help to smoothen the claim process.
• Correction to the denied claim: If there is any missing information or wrong information provided about the claim, please go through carefully to correct these errors and submit the edited corrected version of the claim.
• Appeal the Decision: If you believe your claim was incorrectly denied, you can appeal the decision with your insurance provider. Follow the guidelines for the appeal process and file the appeal accordingly.

Appealing a denied insurance claim

• Understand the denial: Review the denial letter to understand the specific reasons for the denial of the claim.
• Gather documentation: Collect all relevant documents, including medical records, receipts, and any other proof that bridges the gaps the reasons for denial of the claim.
• Contact your insurer: Request clarification and ask for instructions on the appeal process.
• Prepare your appeal: Write an appeal letter including the intention to appeal the denial with the reference number for the claim, reasons for appealing the denial with supporting documents and reports, and keep the insurer posted regarding providing further information if needed.
• Submit your appeal: Submit the appeal by promptly following the company procedure to submit claims either via mail or email or online portal.
• Follow up: Track the status of your appeal and follow up regularly until resolved.
• Escalate if necessary: If the appeal is denied, consider filing a complaint or requesting an external review.

This process will help you effectively appeal a denied insurance claim. If you need more specific guidance, contact our insurance provider directly at (877)-340-7910 or email us.