Common Bad Faith Signs by Insurance Providers

Taking out a family holiday travel insurance plan is a great way to keep yourself and your loved ones secure whilst on a trip. These plans will be of immense help when one of you ends up getting sick or losing important baggage.

But let’s say that something bad happens and you need your provider to cover your expenses. How do you know when your provider is attempting to dodge its responsibilities? Here are three of the most common signs of bad faith and what you can do when facing them:

Unanswered Communications

A professional agent is glued to his or her communications devices – cellular phones, tablets or laptops. The said agent may be busy, but they keep these devices near them to react quickly when a client needs help. A common tactic is to stall for time by not answering phone calls and being extremely slow to respond when they do start to communicate. This can be especially problematic on a family holiday travel insurance plan where you are in a foreign land and need financial help right then and there.

All you can do is keep pestering the company until they take action in your case. It also helps to document all communication, so take note of all calls you make and receive as well as any SMS and email messages. This will come in handy if ever you decide to go to court over the issue.

Complete and Utter Denial of Responsibility

Some agencies have the gall to outright deny their responsibilities even if the said responsibility is clearly outlined in the contract. This bad faith practice works by hoping to convince you that they are correct and that you are responsible to pay out of your own pocket. If enough time passes, they can completely be freed of liability by taking advantage of the statute of limitations.

For the above reason it is always a good idea to bring a copy of your family holiday travel insurance contract with you on the trip. Review the contract carefully and make sure to document your provider’s statements. Try to get them to respond to you via email if you can, since it leaves an indisputable attempt on their part to avoid their responsibilities.

Threats of Litigation

One of the most glaring signs of bad faith is to threaten you with legal action if you should pursue the provider in court. Unscrupulous providers take advantage of the fact that you are far away from your home country to bully you into submission, and it can be surprisingly effective when you are in a land governed by different laws and customs.

The trick here is to seek legal counsel the moment you set foot back home - you stand to gain if your provider is found to be dodging its duties to compensate you. If you have a legitimate claim, you can even use these strong-arm tactics to your advantage in court by proving they have attempted to intimidate you out of taking legal action.

Keep these gems of advice in mind and you will have a better chance of defending yourself if you have an unfortunate experience with your family holiday travel insurance providers. The lesson, naturally, is to ensure you deal with a reputable company with proven track record.

Patrick Chong is the Managing Director of Insuremore. We provide low cost travel cover and offer a range of policies including annual, multi-trip, single-trip and family holiday travel insurance. For all your travel cover needs, Insuremore can help you in the quickest and most cost-efficient way.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.