Will do anything to avoid paying a medical claim – TL;DR - Sick in USA mid-June, put in claim immediately. Jerked around for two months, still no outcome on insurance claim, it's now late August.

I purchased travel insurance for my trip to the North & Central America for June/July 2013. I did so thinking that the areas I was going to had a reputation for travellers being robbed, and I should be prepared, should my camera/credit cards/other valuables be stolen. I had purchased travel insurance with TID before, and had never had to claim - the reviews were good, what could go wrong?

Well, it turns out I would be robbed, but not by an individual. By TID. While in a cafe in San Francisco on the 17th of June, I fainted in line, hit my head, and while I was unconscious, the cafe called an ambulance. Fun thing about America, they are terrified of lawsuits. So I wake up to a barista who is an RN in her home country, letting me know an ambulance is coming. I’m not exactly in a position to complain.

The paramedics come, assess me and decide that I should be looked at at the nearest hospital - I email TID from my phone *in the ambulance*, ask what I should do. Doctor isn’t sure if I have pneumonia, does an X-Ray decides to rule it as bronchitis. They release me, tell me my bill will probably be around $4,500. Thank god I got travel insurance, right?

So, I go back to my hotel, and now that I’m in a place where I’m able to use Skype to make phone calls, look at the website to see what I’m supposed to do. Right, call Specialty Assist.

(gentle reader, I hear you ask: “what of the email you sent?” - no response until over 12 hours later. This would be my fastest response from TID, ever.)

Specialty Assist send me a bunch of documents to fill out. I print them out and scan them, returning by email within 24 hours. Over the next weeks during my holiday, I will go on to waste hours emailing and filling out & scanning forms.

It’s a waste because I’ll go on to hear nothing from them about the outcome of my case. Eventually, when I realise “okay, these guys have had enough time” on the 30th of july (that’s right - a month and a half later!) they'll reply with “The insurance company have told us that as this is no longer an emergency assistance case that we should to close our file and advise that you should submit a claim to Cerberus.”

Are. You. Joking. Not until I emailed them did anyone tell me.

I contacted TID. Asked what’s going on. Was told to submit a claim through TID. On paper. They will mail it to me. That’s right. All those hours I should have been enjoying myself on holiday that were lost to paperwork were for nothing. The paper form eventually arrives. It’s asking the same questions I already filled out for Specialty Assist. Including the one about your regular GP. I don’t have one of those. I don’t get sick beyond a regular flu - If I think I need to, I’ll go to whichever clinic is closest and open. I've already given TID permission to see my medicare record.

I emailed and resubmitted, following all instructions I was given “For the attention of [name removed]” on August 5th. I hear nothing back until August 8th “Thank you for sending through your documents, please be advised that they have been passed on to the case manager for review.”

Hear nothing back. We’re now close to two months after the event. I call them on the 16th of August, ask what’s happening. Again, I'm the one initiating contact. The girl I speak to tells me I need to submit a claim online.

What. No. Are you kidding me. I am not filling out a third claim.

I tell her, no fracking way am I doing that. I *just* emailed in my claim on August 5th, as I was told to by [name removed].

Oh. Um, do I mind waiting on hold?

She comes back. When did you email the stuff in?

I tell her.

Okay, um, I’m going to put you on hold again.

She comes back, tells me that it takes ten business days for someone to assess the claim, so I shouldn’t have expected to hear back until Friday (9th of August) or Monday (12th of August)

Fine. I can wait four extra days.

No surprise, those days come and go.

August 20th, I email info@tid.com.au again. “What is happening with this case? I keep trying to follow it up, and am getting no response.”

[name removed] calls back that night (8ish at night), makes a lot of “I understand you’ve had a lot of bad experiences with us and I sincerely hope going forward we can work together to improve your outcomes, I can hear in your tone that you’re unhappy with me…”

No, this is my usual speaking voice.

“Yeah you’re frustrated, that’s been your tone from the start”

If anything, I’m now annoyed by the fact you’re passing judgement on my voice. Dude, it’s been two months with no action and I’m not swearing and yelling. I’m keeping my tone even. "Sorry, this is just how I talk".

He asks when a good time to call and let me know what’s happening. I have a late shift the next day, so I say before 11:00am the next day.

[name removed] calls at 10:30, so kudos to him.

Says that it was a "technical error" and [name removed] never submitted my paperwork. So all the conversations I’ve had in August were a lie.

A second call comes at 11:23am, but I’m already at work. I have a message from [name removed] from claims, asking to call her back. I do that afternoon and find out I was missing the itemised bill from my claim, email it through that afternoon with all of the other info I had, but was never asked to submit (basically one other disclaimer from the hospital).

Yesterday (August 22nd) an email back - without the admissions form, they won’t assess my claim. Their provider is attempting to get this.

You know what would have been fantastic? If when I’d been in the right bloody country, someone had told me that this form was needed. I could have walked to the hospital myself and gotten it. but no-one did, and now I’m 90% sure they're just going to reject the claim for not having an admissions form. I have the exit forms, and a prescription from my doctor, and an itemised bill from the hospital, but apparently that doesn't count for anything.

Please don't go with this company.

Claims take months, not weeks, legit claims ignored, terrible communication (both internal and external)