AccessAmerica is a scam. A rip off. Plan accordingly and don’t waste your money on tme.

It all comes down to do your homework. Don’t assume that what they are offering you is exactly right. I chose to give up the commission on the policy to make sure that my sister was properly covered.

If an insurance agent ‘leaves a client with the impression that have coverage’ then, in 49 of the 50 states, they have coverage. Sometimes from the carrier, and sometimes from the E&O coverage of the agent- but coverage they doth have. The standard is would a reasonable person believe under the totality of the circumstances that they were covered and would they take steps that the insured took . . . .

I say yes and yes, assuming that under good cross examination that Miguel’s story stands up . . .. I see lots of people who conclude one thing based on what is said, and what is said is a far cry from that conclusion in the cold light of day. . . .

Lots of good advice in the rest of the post and interesting comments too.

Claire @ http://travel-babel.blogspot.com

Good shake-it-up article on travel insurance. It is a very complicated issue as your article illustrates. Almost all policies I’ve seen come with a “free look” period of about 10 days, during which one is a fool not to read the entire policy and comprehend it (or call the maker for clarification). Cancel for any reason policies tend to cost quite a bit more and aren’t (IMHO) a reason for not reading every word. Don’t rely on representations made by the agency you bought from, as they aren’t the insurer.

We buy insurance for some of our trips, primarily for the following reasons: significant money won’t be refundable (e.g. cruise), health/accident insurance (almost no U.S. insurance covers you outside of N. America), and health issues for family members not traveling (read pre-existing clauses).

I could go on and on, and perhaps I’ll be inspired to write a follow-on article.

Access is a broker – here are a few questions – are they licensed to sell insurance in Miguel’s state? If not – he can get a refund of the premium paid AND they cannot defend themselves in a lawsuit.

Access is the agent of the insurer – if he can PROVE Access told him to cancel [proof being some evidence that he called from their records and see if the call center maintains a recording or customer record of the nature of the call, then he probably wins since NO ONE at Access, BCS or Jefferson Insurance will remember the call or be able to testify as to its content] then, since Access is the agent of the insurer – he wins again. He may even win solely against Access – but they have the money to pay for a couple of airline tickets. . . .

Travel insurance is worthless in my book since absent accident or death or an actual calamity – they do not pay. I had one insurer several years ago tell my client that because he had high cholesterol that the heart attack he had was a pre-ex. . . . trust me -they do not make any money paying claims.

Free Legal Advice – read the fine print before you file a claim and make sure the facts in your claim do NOT give them the ability to deny it. The facts need to be basic. NOT detailed. Detailed is like telling the cop why you were speeding. . . .