Retaliated for Disputing (Chase Sapphire)

[Anonymous]

longtimelurker,

That's exactly what happened. I was originated to this insurance company by the travel agency organized my trip. I was lazy and went through this company without much thinking. The price tag was $250 for 6 weeks. After some quick search, I found much better coverage for $60-$70 elsewhere. Then I realized that I got ripped off and tried to fix it before the trip started.

At this point, the logical outcome should be either 1) refund and no coverage, 2) no refund but coverage. But it shouldn't be in a limbo like no refund but no coverage either.

Apperantly, the insurance company is pushing things to that direction by saying 1) we won't refund you, 2) meanwhile we suspended your coverage, just in case, 3) pay us $75 for reinstantation if you want to come back.

If worse comes worse, I see the only way out is to pay reinstantation under protest and dispute again. (or maybe just buy a policy from a relaible company for $60)

Edit: Someone replied that insurance industry is heavily regulated. Yes, it's. But only in US. Outbound travel insurance companies *likely* not regulated. In this particular case, the underwriting firm is Lloyd's of London. 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

You paid for insurance and then tried to cancel it.  When they refused to cancel, you disputed it. Disputing something would get you a refund if it works out in your favor so the insurance company suspended coverage to make sure you didn't get any benefits and a possible refund later. Why are you upset about not having insurance? You tried to cancel the insurance, why does it matter that you're not covered? Or are you just concerned now that in the end, they may side with the insurance company and you lose the money while not being covered?

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I have no idea if this is the case, but there are scenarios where OPs actions make sense.

I buy a policy from company A.    Later I discover a very similar policy from company B at a much lower price.    I attempt to cancel the coverage from A and plan to use part of the money to buy from company B.    However, A gives me pushback and won't return the money, so I don't want to pay additional money to company B, and go ahead, assuming that now I have coverage from A, and I just paid too much.

More due diligence would be good in this hypothetical case, but with something similar, the OP wasn't being totally foolish!

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You forgot the dispute for company A causing your money to be tied up while they suspend the policy so they don't lose money, or in their eyes, ripped off 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

I'm with the other guy, there has to be something in the contract about cancellations and penalties. I don't see how they can just add a reinstatement fee that wasn't disclosed up front. You're also going to have a hard time with that dispute after the fact if you accept their coverage. I would think that by paying the fee they could argue that you reaffirmed the original contract pricing and terms by paying it to get coverage back. You could get the chargeback, but I wouldn't be surprised if they took you to court over it. Personally, I'd leave it suspended to not risk issues with the chargeback and just buy the other, cheaper insurance.

[Berk]

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@Anonymous wrote:

longtimelurker,

That's exactly what happened. I was originated to this insurance company by the travel agency organized my trip. I was lazy and went through this company without much thinking. The price tag was $250 for 6 weeks. After some quick search, I found much better coverage for $60-$70 elsewhere. Then I realized that I got ripped off and tried to fix it before the trip started.

At this point, the logical outcome should be either 1) refund and no coverage, 2) no refund but coverage. But it shouldn't be in a limbo like no refund but no coverage either.

Apperantly, the insurance company is pushing things to that direction by saying 1) we won't refund you, 2) meanwhile we suspended your coverage, just in case, 3) pay us $75 for reinstantation if you want to come back.

If worse comes worse, I see the only way out is to pay reinstantation under protest and dispute again. (or maybe just buy a policy from a relaible company for $60)

Edit: Someone replied that insurance industry is heavily regulated. Yes, it's. But only in US. Outbound travel insurance companies *likely* not regulated. In this particular case, the underwriting firm is Lloyd's of London. 

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Filing a dispute is not going to fix your issue. You paid for a service, later found out that you paid more than you wanted to, filed a dispute with Chase saying that the Lloyd's charge should not be there because the vendor charged me more than I wanted to pay for insurance. The policy itself is not fraudulent or empty - it just cost you more than you wanted to pay. So, from Chase's standpoint it doesn't arise to fraud and from Lloyd's standpoint since you already purchased the insurance and are now disputing that insurance, they can't let you use it so they suspend it. Insurance fraud is huge. Lloyd's will not take any chances. Lloyd's has been in business for a very long time and prides themselves for the quality of service they offer. Also, I'm guessing the insurance is only underwritten by Lloyd's but sold by someone else.

Is the 60-70 dollar insurance better because of the price or does it offer better/more coverage for 70% to 75% less money? And if you bought it through a travel agency, they are going to add on their percentage and resell it to you. And, you get what you pay for. Some travel insurance comes with a concierge who will call and arrainge tee times for you, get you concert tickets, etc. 

I'm guessing the final outcome is going to be that you get little to no money back and don't get the benefit of the insurance. I'd be happily surprised for you if it turns out different. I do, however, hope the best for you.

[zerofire]

Oh man. The problem with insurance is that it is generally all written down including a cancellation policy. Now Lloids is a well known bank so the I am fairly certain that the travel agency policy is good. The problem is that you went the wrong way about canceling it as you were supposed to talk to your agent and not Chase. Most likely the travel agency will charge your card the additional $75 once they win the dispute. My real head scratcher is since you have a Chase Sapphire why did you not use the coverage included in that card? Clearly the travel agency was happy to charge it. I recommend double checking your available policies and finding the combo that works for you.