Columbus Direct

Didn't cover my hire car collision excess of $2600 – I paid for travel insurance which included the protection of car hire waiver, well I had to fork out the hire car company $2660.37 even though I had travel insurance with car hire waiver protection. The collision happened in a Townsville shopping centre car park. A car reversed into my car as I was reversing as well. I was first out then the other car collided just after but I had had to pay the hire car company even though I was not at fault. Show details

Dreadful customer service. Refusal to pay expenses incurred – Have used this company for a few years. No problems - until i had to make a claim after major holiday catastrophes. Then suddenly no one wanted to talk to you and only a fraction of the expenses have been paid. Claims process dragged on for months. Avoid this company at all cost. Show details

great way to avoid some car rental chaeges – price was competitive and the car rental excess of very good. it's better to get insurance than pay the 20+ dollars per day the,rental company wants to remove it. I would give 5 stars but haven't claimed as yet. Show details

Best Value by Far – We have had an annual policy for many years with Columbus, and even had a small claim which went through seamlessly, so of course when we wanted a policy to cover a 4 month holiday, Columbus was our first stop. Of course we checked others, but Columbus was the best by far. Show details

Read the fine print - carefully – I guess I should have read these reviews before I took out a policy with Columbus. The consensus seems to be that they are reasonably priced and reasonably easy to deal with, until you make a claim !! We are frequent overseas travellers, visiting Europe and Asia one or twice a year over the past 20 or so years. When our previous annual policy… Read more

came due for renewal, I found that the premium had almost doubled, apparently because I am now 65. We have used the same Insurer for around 20 years, but have never made a claim

I called the Insurance Council and they gave me the names of a few companies that insure "seniors" at a reasonable cost, and I chose Columbus.

We had to return home from France 2 weeks before our planned return, due to the sudden death of my mother in law. Our claim would have been for costs to change our airfares and one hotel charge for 3 nights (luckily most of the hotels gave us a full refund).

When I rang to see if I could make a claim I was advised that curtailment costs would be covered due to the death of a close relative, but the policy does not provide cover if the relative is over 85.

If you have parents or relatives over the age of 85, look for another insurer - research shows that some other insurers do not have an age limit like this company.

Columbus has my premium for this year, but never again.

Unknown Quantity yet – We have not made a claim yet --- although we are frequent travellers with an Annual Policy. Therefore we can't comment on the ease of making a claim or service to us. However, we are particularly careful and organised travellers, so this insurance is "just in case". Time will tell.  Show details

Would Hate To Die – As with all people travelling overseas, we took out a travel insurance policy. It was easily set up and details provided and premium taken. Then we went off, it was supposed to be just a holiday - but legislation changed and we turned it into a honeymoon. Very exciting that we could finally marry, so off to the US we headed. Thats when we… Read more

get to the US and it is COLD. Not just cold, FREEZING. Just freezing. Average temperature in Washington DC and New York was 0. Not the weather we are quite used to in Melbourne.

As a consequence, my husband - who normally embraces the cold (he grew up in Ballarat) got sick. Not just a little man flu - he ended up being diagnosed with Influenza-B. Yes full blown flu and you know, it was killing people around Australia in 2017, but that was irrelevant. So the last week we travelled to Vegas as per our itinerary.

This is where his symptoms first appeared, it wasn't anything special but 24-36 hours in I had need to ring the Emergency Assistance line as we could not regulate his temperature. I had really no idea what to do, this was the first time I had ever seen him sick in the 5 years we had been together. So I ring the Assistance line (in the UK) and that was the start of the ordeal. Useless, what a joke - couldn't assist me at all. He wasn't in a position to move, but you know I thought they may have a contact locally? But no, just ring someone. Thanks mate, perfect assistance.

So after having a 2 minute conversation with a US doctor, they prescribed medication - that was useless and did nothing and all we wanted to do was come home to ensure we managed to get full medical care (at this stage, we still had no idea what was really wrong). So I rang the emergency line again and stated that we just needed to get home to ensure he got complete medical care and again useless. NOTHING. The Concierge MD service wasn't much better, they said that the receipt and the information from the doctor to get home would be OK to cover the change of flights.........which that information took two weeks.

I then rang my travel agent and we managed to get new flights out of LA in a couple of days and that was cool, paid the change fee - and we kept the original flight from Vegas to LAX. And then we had 18 hours in LA to fill, so crashed in a hotel for the day (that's a whole different experience and story) - so we then get home.

Then I lodged. After my previous experience in the Insurance industry and having post graduate degrees, I couldn't decipher the claim form. Seriously, so complicated. Just wrong. I submitted the claim form.

By this stage, we finally knew what my husband had and he was on the mend, nearly three weeks later - if we had taken their advice and stayed in the US due to his illness, it would have cost 10 times more as at that stage we were in LA, you know, one of the cheapest places on earth to live and stay in hotels.

So in the end, what I wanted to state is that I would hate to die having this company assist you with any real illness. Apparently having Influenza-B didn't require us to change flights and come home early to get proper medical assistance. I really would never use this company again. Next time I will just book it via the travel agent, who couldn't have helped enough with this, and then let them deal with it and get the correct assistance.

In a nutshell - Columbus Travel Direct are terrible and never getting another dollar from my husband or I.

Great customer service – I tried my luck to request for a refund as our trip didn't pushed thru due to covid-19. It wasn't stated on the policy but luckily, they issued a refund excluding irrecoverable administrative and promotional costs. Good thing I asked. Show details

Quick and Easy – It was easy to navigate and Rate was reasonable compared to others I checked out. This is my second time to buy it but as yet have not made any claims. I am a Pensioner so price and pre-existing illnesses was a major factor for me. Hopefully I won’t need to claim but feel comfortable that they will cover any health issues that may arise while travelling. Show details

Perfect for my needs – I like it for that fact its offered for non resident. Value for money. Easy to understand the policy. Took out twice and like the loyalty discount offered. Love it!!! Show details

Very helpful staff – I have been a member now for 2 years but have yet to make a claim so not sure how good they are until that time. The policy has everything I wanted with the usual restrictions as other policies. So far so good recommended but read the small print. Show details

Essential for Travelling – Competitive pricing for a high level of coverage. Have had an annual premium policy for a number of years. Very simple process to arrange for a policy. Excellent customer service. Show details

Easy and cost efficient – Easy to find cost of a single trip but will use again. only travel once a year but well worth the policy. hopefully won't have to claim on this policy next year. Show details

Good experience – We have just taken out annual insurance for the third year, this year we had a claim and it was handled as good as you could expect for an insurance company, if we are traveling through the year next year we will be taken out insurance with them again. Show details

Haven’t used it but great value and coverage! – Good value by comparison and no claims. Bought it 3 times now over the last few years. Covers lots of different countries so can use it for multi trip and also for rental car insurance coverage to save money. Show details

Great value insurance – The policy is great value and we will be using Columbus again. A work colleague told me about this product. We will be referring Columbus to all our friends from now on. Show details

Used it for years - I wouldn’t use any other company – I have used Columbus Direct Travel Insurance for years - both as an independent traveller and also now with my family of five. I recommend the company to everyone I know. Show details

Super easy – Haven't travelled yet. Purchasing the policy and the Web side were very easy to use and contained all the information I required. I have used them before and will definitely come back Show details

Wouldn't leave the country without it! – Have decided it is too risky to continue to rely on credit card insurance given there are so many loopholes in most policies that make claiming and receiving a benefit too risky. The Columbus policy is clear on what is covered and when and gives you the option to drop coverage or pay for coverage for existing medical conditions up front. i opted… Read more

to pay up front for a couple of minor health things that i take medication for. A couple of hundred dollars well spent if something were to happen and it hadn't been declared up front to the credit card based insurers. Hoping I'll never have to make a claim but confident that Columbus will come through if I do.

Staff are amazing – It pays to call and not purchase online as I was unaware that if your cruising to PNG you must put Asia not PNG as you wouldn’t be covered for cruise Show details

Perfect travel insurance – I have used Columbus for the last 8 years, and am always very happy with service, price and coverage. I'm sure I will continue with Columbus for all future travel. Show details

Good travel insurance at a good price – This was easy to select and purchase. So far no claims, and I hope to keep it that way. The cover is adequate for me and my wife, and is good value. Show details

Travel Insurance – The policy was great value, especially my husband having pre existing issues. Have not undertaken our holiday as yet, take it in Sept/Oct. This is the first timeI have used Columbus. Recommended by a friend. Show details

Excellent value – My policy was easy to create and the site is user friendly. I was surprised at how low the premium was when compared with the other company I use from time to time. My only disappointment with Columbus Direct is that payment options are a bit limited. I would have purchased another policy I needed for later this year if I could have used PayPal or a different credit card to pay for the policy online. Other than that, I'm a satisfied client. Show details

value for money travel insurance – I have been using Columbus travel insurance for over 10 years, and find the policy easy to create online, and easy to understand, also good value for money. I will continue to use Columbus for any furture travel insurance Show details

Good price – Travel policy and medical assessments were easy, fair and at a good price. We've never made a claim, but pay premiums for pre-existing medical conditions. This was the lowest price policy for pre-existing medical conditions - grateful for that. Show details

Reliable value for money – I have used Columbus Direct several times and have found their policies easy to understand. I feel that they offer value for money and it is a very easy online system to use with staff readily available to answer any queries. I will use again Show details

Real value for money – Great staff to work with they knew the product and able to tailor the policie to suit me and real easy to set up. I have yet to make a claim. Just read what you're covered for and make sure it's what your want the annual cover for oldies like me is great i can now afford to travel. Thanks Show details

Excellent service. Great quote. Value for money – Always helpful on phone explain what's is and what's not included in policy. Excellent rates it's our third time with travel insurance. Haven't had to make a claim hopefully they are just as good if the need arises. Show details

Easiest and fairest – have been with Columbus for years. They always send me a reminder when it is time to renew, and the process is always painless. Yes, there are cheaper forms of insurance out there, but I feel Columbus always gives me the best value for money I can find. Show details

One of many trips using Columbus Insurance – I always use Columbus because they give good value for money and are quick to payout when required. I travel to Europe from Australia regularly and have had to make a few claims over the years, all without any issues. Show details

Insurance a must – We have been existing customers for some years now and find filling out the quote form very easy. Luckily we have not had to submit any claims.And if we do in the future we will know where we stand Show details

6th time I have used Columbus Direct in 11 years – Always the easiest to arrange and best value policy available Claiming is a breeze and payment is very fast. I always feel well covered when I travel with Columbus Direct covering me. Show details

Happy to use Columbus Direct – 10 or more time we have used Columbus Direct as our travel insurance agent. Always way cheaper than the travel agent quote. Never made a claim. . We go through all the disclaimers then pay . Staff dealing with us always easy to deal with and answer any questions.  Show details