Trip Mate
reviews and complaints

I purchased a trip along with flights with Sandals/Beaches resort along with Trip Mate insurance. A medical condition arose and I had a Dr's written order to cancel the trip and they still denied the claim. Here is a copy of the appeal letter sent.May 16, 2008

Dear Trip Mate;

I am writing this appeal letter to try and better explain my situation and why I had to cancel our vacation plans. I first saw Dr. Altman the beginning of January for my pregnancy and he stated it was high risk due to the pregnancy with my first child being difficult. He then stated we would treat this as a normal pregnancy and I should treat it as much. He said it was ok to go the Sandals resort in Jamaica, so I booked it. I was told my two different employees at Sandals resort that if I booked the flights with the Sandals Company that they would be refunded along with any payments made. I made sure of this twice.

In February, I started having stomach pain and cramping, which was discussed with Dr Altman, who stated it was too early in the pregnancy for treatment. The medication did not work until you were 20 weeks along. By the end of February, we decided that it was not best to go out of the country in case of complications. Therefore, I cancelled the trip. I was then advised that the flights I was told would be refunded would not be. I purchased the travel insurance for this purpose, in case things made a turn from a normal pregnancy to the same indications that it was following my first pregnancy, as they did in February.

In March, I started having contractions and at 20 weeks, Dr Altman then prescribed the medication needed. I am not trying to take advantage of this situation; I just want you to understand the events that took place. When I read the travel insurance policy, it stated for any medical reason by one of the travelers. I just want what was told to me was owed form the beginning. I feel that between Sandals and Trip Mate I was misled. I could have waited until March to cancel by any means, but I wanted someone else to enjoy the beautiful trip.

I am asking that you reconsider this claim. I feel I have been misled and I do, did have a medical condition that limits me from leaving the United States. While it took you an over a month to decide, I called your company to see the progress of the claim because my husband needed to take a flight. He could have used the ticket that was purchased in January to go towards his trip, but was advised by your company not to. Therefore, he purchased another plane ticket. At least we could have used a portion of what we have lost then.

I would like to think that a doctors order would be enough to persuade your answer.

We bought Trip Mate insurance from Melrose Travel in Philadelphia in good faith and we cannot understand Trip Mate's ongoing dissembling, use of long paragraphs of ‘boilerplate’ in their communications and general attempts to confuse the issue.

(We are now on our fourth round of letters to them spanning ten months.)

We filed a claim with them in June of 2007 when United Airlines cancelled our flight. Now, in April of 2008 they continue to counter our repeatedly submitted statements of fact with dissembling stating that the flight for which we were booked and which was cancelled (we submitted our boarding passes) did not originate in Pittsburgh, even though Pittsburgh is listed LARGE on the Boarding Pass.

Our facts, our laboriously assembled receipts and our documentation and requests are answered by letters from Trip Mate that address none of the issues. They only seek to confound and discourage an attempt to collect on our claim.

In my opinion they are highly unethical. Terrible, just terrible. Don't buy insurance from them unless you want to find yourself involved in months and months of fruitless correspondence and travail. We have reported them to the Kansas City BBB (Missouri), The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Insurance Department and - now - TO YOU!

They do business as Travel Safe, Trip Mate and Stonebridge - BEWARE!

If you have an outstanding problem with them, please let us know. They must be stopped.