Trip Mate’s earns a 1.4-star rating from 1 reviews and 85 complaints, showing that the majority of travelers are dissatisfied with travel insurance services.
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refused refund
I booked a trip through Grand Circle Travel on June 17th, 2008. Because of my mother's physical problem we had to cancel on Aug 7, 2008. A Grand Circle phone rep told me what my refund would be which was minus the insurance premiums for both our trip costs. I completed all Trip Mate's documents as did my mother's doctor who check marked that she was disabled and could not travel. Trip Mate has been jerking me around ever since insisting that she was not covered - OH YES SHE WAS! Then they said they needed more information from the doctor. The doctor AGAIN wrote a letter saying she was not able to travel. Trip Mate sent us vouchers instead of a refund. This is NOT what I was told by Grand Circle when I booked the trip and when I cancelled. When I booked the trip a Grand Circle rep told me "buy the insurance and then if something happens you won't lose all your money." I am astonished that a company like Grand Circle would align itself with Trip Mate. They have had 74 complaints filed with the Kansas City, Mo, Better Business Bureau in the last 36 months, mine is the 75th, and 9 complaints filed with the Missouri Attorney General's Office, mine will be the 10th. This has been very upsetting to my mother who's 83. She was in fine health when we booked, she's taken 4 trips with Grand Circle, I've taken 3 with them and we've never had a problem until now. Any future trips are in doubt if they continue with this insurance company. Delaying tactics seem to be their game.
Trip mate travel insurance requires the impossible
In May my boyfriend and I planned a 2 week trip to Morocco and Paris. Our trip was fairly complex as we moved from city to city and handled all of our own transportation and hotel bookings. Given the complexity of the trip, the fact that our hotels were very small and would charge full-nights stay in the case of cancellation, and the third world nature of Morocco, travel insurance seemed like a necessity.
We purchased Trip Mate insurance, which was intended to cover us in the case of any cancellations, sickness, losses incurred, etc. We were fortunate that for the most part our trip went smoothly and we encountered no major issues. The only mishap was when my beloved coat was stolen from the luggage rack of the train from Marrakesh to Casablanca at the end of our trip. I reported the coat as lost at the Casablanca train station, but not surprisingly the harried train station staff did not speak English and were generally indifferent to the loss. They showed me the lost and found, where I did not expect my coat to be, and otherwise offered me no forms to fill out or other recourse. We had plans for our one afternoon in Casablanca before catching our flight the following morning to Paris, so dealing with non-English language police seemed like a ridiculous and futile waste of time and would have required us to waste more money by missing our pre-arranged tour of Casablanca.
All that said, I assumed my loss was covered by the insurance I spent good money on. Isn't that the point of insurance? I filled out the necessary Trip Mate paperwork and submitted my claim. My coat cost $208.50 from J Crew, and I was able to provide proof of that, and I sent a detailed explanation of the loss and the steps I took to notify the train authorities.
Imagine my dismay when my claim was denied. The reason? I don't have an official train form claiming the loss. Mind you, no such form exists, and I did all I could do at the station to explain my loss to non-English speaking staff (and I don't speak fluent French or Arabic). In an effort to fix the situation, I had the staff of one of the hotels I stayed at go to the station again on my behalf after my claim was denied. They explained the situation and were told that there is NO loss form to fill out. The website of ONCF also states that there is simply a lost and found. So there is NOTHING I could have done short of cancelling the rest of my plans and attempting to communicate my problem to what surely would have been perplexed and indifferent Moroccan police. I certainly didn't expect them to find the culprit so why would I have thought to bother?
I am a frequent traveler, and I am extremely disappointed of ind that Trip Mate doesn't come through when it's important. Their requirement of an official ONCF form is absurd - how does my ability to fill out a form (that doesn't exist) prove or disprove that the loss occurred? How does Trip Mate actually protect you in a third world country that doesn't have the infrastructure or customer service a more western nation might? I can't imagine many situations that would have inspired me to actually waste a day of my trip dealing with the police, especially for a loss that in the grand scheme of things was small.
Trip Mate once again denied my appeal with the same explanation. They have made no allowances for the fact that they require an official form that doesn't exist. What was I to do?
Avoid Trip Mate at all costs, especially if your trip is to a second or third world country. They will find an excuse to deny your claim, and they have unrealistic requirements for travelers trying to prove a loss. I wasted my hard earned cash on insurance that did NOT protect me when I needed it, and now I'm out more than 200 for my coat plus the hundred some odd bucks I paid for useless insurance.
This is the worst company I ever ran into. I filed a claim mid March 2014 and today is May 5, 2014 and we still haven't received our refund. Every time we call they come up with a different excuse why its taking so long. If you don't get in touch with them they will not contact you. It really seems like there isn't a proper protocol for filing claims. When you talk to the different agents they continuously ask you the same questions the last agent you spoke too. I was asked 4 different times my DOB as if they weren't updating the notes. When calling to cancel the trip please specify that everyone on the trip will not be going because they will only process one person when you told them you was canceling the WHOLE trip. This help delay our status in refunding our money as well. This place really should be looked into. There is no way so many people should be upset and have such negative experiences and this place is still running. My opinion is to stay away from this company. I never had such a bad experience. I think they are rip offs and should be SHUT DOWN for the pay and suffering they put people through just to receive your refund back after purchasing insurance. Almost as if they don't want to grant you your hard earned money back so that you can move on. I urge you, find another agency. They can care less in refunding money back.
you expect insurance to pay for your used coat and your stupidity to put it in a rack on a train in the third world, grow up.
When most people have an item stolen they usually call the police. If you don't know the word police in the language of the country you're going to, you may want to look into that. I'm quite sure they didn't need a TRAIN form. They needed a statement from someone in authority that shows you reported the theft at the time it happened. If they didn't ask for that kind of proof then anyone could claim anything for any reason and just milk them for money for no reason at all. You're required to show your car company a wrecked car when you make a claim, or multiple estimates, so why is this such an unreasonable request?
Why dont you just CREATE a form in MS Word os similar using the ONCF logo (in French of course - using an online translator like babel fish or the like)
Send this to trip mates insurance since the form does not officially exist who are they to say it isnt "the" form.
This should satisfy they´re bureaucratic requirements and they can then pay out.
Just an idea
Fraud
I too purchased TripMate insurance thinking that if anything happens I will be covered. My mother got sick and was in intensive care on June 10th. I called the travel agent and cancelled my trip on June 12th thinking that my mother was going to need some care after she was released form the hospital.Well she passed away on June 14th. As if this was not devestating enough! I filed a claim with the insurance company. I sent in the information they requested from the Dr treating my mother, a copy of her obituary, the itemized statement from the furneral home, a copy of her death certificate, a copy of the PAID IN FULL $5300)receipt from the travel agent. What more could they ask for.I received some postcards for tripmate stating they are working on my claim. When I opened the letter I nearly passed out on the floor! They sent me $1000.00 for all 4 persons traveling. Don"t get me wrong I was not expecting my full $5300 refunded but come on. They said it was due to "travel supplier refund" what ever that means is why my refund was so low. I asked if I had the customary 1 year time frame to use the already paid for airline tickets no one could answer that. What was the purpose in getting this insurance if you don't get your money back? I am looking for a lawyer to investigate this case. I think its time for a class action lawsuit! When you google TRIP MATE there are hundreds of pages of complaints on this terrible company. Can anyone give me some insights on how to handle this case?
([protected]@cox.net)
I’ve also submitted a claim to Trip Mate for days lost during our cruise due to my catching Covid. I submitted their lengthy claim forms in the required time frame and have gotten nothing but a run around. Viking Cruise Line has not been helpful either.
I agree - we should all file a class action suit against TripMate and Unique Vacations for selling this garbage insurance. I have contacted the Attorney General's office and filed a complaint and all they do is make up one excuse after another. I am so sorry for the loss of your mother and you are correct - they should have refunded all of your money.
Here is my e-mail address - dawnbethesda@yahoo.com. If anyone is interested in filing a class action lawsuit, please e-mail. If anyone has already hired a lawyer, please e-mail me as well as I will pay for the lawyer as well. It is bigger than the money now for me, this company is not acting in good faith and should be closed.
I began my request for a refund in January 2022. The requested information was submitted on time. The response took 30 days later and requested additional information. Each time they requested information it took them 30 days to respond again. This is going on now for seven months.On may 27th they requested additional information which had never been requested before stating that I had 21 days to respond or the claim would be closed. They closed my claim . New information was sent and received on June 13 well within the 21 days but continued to keep the claim closed. Multiple request for speaking to a supervisor have not been successful. I believe that litigation is the only way to work with Tripmate. They slow walk everything that they can until the litigant gets bored or loses the material requested for documenting the claim. I will never travel with Viking cruise and would never recommend it to anyone.
John Jucas
Please contact me. I also want to sue this evil company. barneymom1@hotmail.com
I will help with the lawyer cost! I too, believe trip mate wronged us as well. I believe we can find many people to join in on this law suit. I am looking for an attorney as well. I cannot even get a response as too why they will not refund the money. This company is a total scam. I have written letters to 60 Minutes television show as well as all the morning shows to expose this company for what they are, scammers.
Shannon Pybus Jstbrush@aol.com
Mr. Jackson, My name is Katie and I work on customer outreach for Trip Mate. I'm sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with the claims process. I wanted to reach out to you for further information in hopes of addressing your concerns. If you could send provide the name you supplied on your claim, your destination and the dates of your trip, I would be happy to look into this further.
Best regards,
Katie
Travel insurance fraud
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.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Travel cancellation insurance it is not. The insurance was bought on recommendation of an agent of Joy Tour and Travel. The claim was for the two people who did not take the trip - Everybody knows they did not take the trip. I spent extra money for nothing but aggravation. Plus I got to know the claim was denied by going on line, not even to my e-mail. Tacky.
I used to work for them - they are a total fraud. If you get a lawyer, then they will probably cave. But all they want to do is deny, deny, deny.
Non payment
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.
I would like to have someone reach out with proof first it’s a secondary policy that will only pay if I’m not reimbursed by the airlines additionally, how do I get correspondence from Aegean whom have stopped responding to all forms communication.
I filed a claim against viking cruises with TRIP MATE. They are impossible to deal with. They keep asking for documentation about why the airlines canceled our flight. They will not process our claim without that. I reported them to the STATE OF MO
This complaint was filed in May, 2022. It is claim number 7126861
On 7/23/2018 Amtrak was 8 hrs. late coming from Chicago Illinois to Settle Washington. This cause expense for us because we miss the last fairy to Vancouver Iland where our Motel room was. Been fighting with Trip Mate for a settlement for 3 months for the expense that we occurred. What Is wrong with a company that takes 3 months.
My wife and I had to cancel a weeks vacation to Atlantis in the Bahamas due to a medical problem my wife had 2 days before our scheduled departure. We had purchased trip insurance from Trip-Mate. When I read all the complaints online I was worried about getting our money back. Atlantis refunded about half of our payment immediately and said we would have to get the remainder from Trip-Mate. We submitted our claim that included a letter from the Emergency Room Doctor stating that she shouldn't travel for at least two weeks. I'm glad to report that, after 17 days and many phone calls and emails, we did receive a full refund today. All we lost was the $158 cost of the insurance.
Yes, I agree that Trip Mate is highly unethical and must be stopped. I purchased travel insurance for son and myself for a tour to Japan. My son developed a condition that made him hyperactive and has a doctors note that he should not travel for long periods of time. We are Americans temporarily living in Belgium so we had to fly from Belgium to California for the tour which is a 13 hour trip and then from California to Japan which is another 12 hours. Trip Mate would not accept our claim along with the doctors notes. Their reason was that they will not pay for a mental or nervous condition unless my son was hospitalized for this condition. I lost my deposit for the trip plus the cost of insurance for two people. I think this was totally unfair of Trip Mate. Sarah
Overview of Trip Mate complaint handling
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Trip Mate Contacts
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Trip Mate phone numbers+1 (800) 888-7292+1 (800) 888-7292Click up if you have successfully reached Trip Mate by calling +1 (800) 888-7292 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached Trip Mate by calling +1 (800) 888-7292 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached Trip Mate by calling +1 (800) 888-7292 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Trip Mate by calling +1 (800) 888-7292 phone numberClick up if you have successfully reached Trip Mate by calling phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached Trip Mate by calling phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached Trip Mate by calling phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Trip Mate by calling phone number
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Trip Mate emailspremium@tripmate.com100%Confidence score: 100%Supportjwalker@tripmate.com94%Confidence score: 94%rhaynes@tripmate.com86%Confidence score: 86%aingalsbe@tripmate.com84%Confidence score: 84%claimssupport@tripmate.com81%Confidence score: 81%supportmediainquiries@tripmate.com78%Confidence score: 78%communicationclientrelations@tripmate.com77%Confidence score: 77%communication
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Trip Mate address9225 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri, 64114, United States
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Checked and verified by Jenny This contact information is personally checked and verified by the ComplaintsBoard representative. Learn moreJun 30, 2025 - View all Trip Mate contacts
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I was reluctant to purchase insurance from Tripmate because of all the negative reviews. The OAT rep. told me that they had not had problems with the company. I was skeptical but did it anyway. I paid for the insurance and trip costs of a friend I was to travel with. A week before the trip she was hospitalized and unable to go on the trip. I needed to submit hospital and doctor statements/bills. It was a lot of paperwork but I got all together. It took about 4-5 weeks to review the claim but they did refund the cost of the trip. I don't have any complaints.
I have a bad experience with Tripmate. I am in the insurance business and I am pretty sure this company is a fraud. I traveled abroad to see my ailing mother on Dec 19th 2015. Booked return trip for Jan 22nd. On Jan 21st doctor mentioned about deteriorating health of my mother and I decided to cancel the trip, Later her health stabilized a little and decided to fly back on Jan 27th. I filed claim with all doctor's notes and chronological events and trust me -- I know insurance and this claim is legitimate and they are delaying and finally denied. I will pursue with commissioner and Attorney generals office.
It is irrelevant how many claims they paid. It is how many legitimate claims they denied.
I purchased a flight ticket with CheapOAir traveling to Poland from San Francisco departing on Mon Dec 14 and returning on Thu Dec 31. In addition I purchased a travel insurance from Trip Mate, that came with my ticket to protect my trip. The link to see details of my protection plan did not not work so I never had a chance to review it but I trusted I have a travel protection plan. While in Poland my mother got sick and had surgery on heart. She stayed in the hospital till Dec 31st and doctor gave me certificate that there is a need for me to stay longer in Poland. I had to postpone my return date for a week and I called Trip Mate making sure that my plan covers the case. I was told that they will cover in whole whatever I have to pay extra. I ended paying $630 for changing the date of my departure. All necessary forms were sent to Trip Mate. On Feb 4th Two months later I received a letter saying that I changed my trip due to a medical condition of my mother and because she resides in Poland she is not considered a family member as defined by the plan so my request was declined for benefits. I submitted my complain to a Better Business Bureau and I received the response from Trip Mate that there is nothing they can do since my mother resides in Poland (It sounds like discrimination of a family members who do not reside in US, Canada or Mexico!). They also said that when I called their office from Poland asking if they are going to cover additional cost of all changes to my flight I was advised that all costs I will have due to the travel interruption are subject to their confirmation of purchase of the travel protection plan, claim documentations and the plan provisions. They were also unable to confirm that the link with travel plan description was not operational (strange enough that it works now). So after wasting my money for the Trip Mate travel insurance and all the time I spent for submitting the claim along with all documents and additional correspondence I am giving up. For them mother who does not reside in US, Canada or Mexico is not a family member covered by their plan. How artful is that! I will never buy insurance from them and visiting this Forum insures me that I am not the only one being cheated by them. I hope one day they will be brought to justice and will have to pay for being unfair!
90 year old mother stuck in Argentina now and Trip Mate is sending her to a different doctor 3 times still refusing to send her back even though all doctors are saying she is safe to travel! these are their doctors!
I bought a trip from Miami to Hermosillo, México, a 2 way ticket with CheapOAir and explained the agency that I may have a change in my return...and it happened, The weather did not allow me to take the pictures that were programmed and also my client, had a personal problem and could not stay more time to supervise and direct the shooting, therefor, I tried to get in touch with the insurance company Trip mate from Mexico and the only information I could get was that the claim had to be made in the Us where I purchased the ticket. This is a scam, Cheap O Air, in India, they sell insurance for all parts of the world, they insist on buying the "protection" and later they argued that there was no base for payment, after I sent all the paperwork required, because it was an overseas trip that I payed twice!
Do not buy this kind of insurance, it's the worst experience, a loss of time and they are garbage.
Alfonso huerta
Book Cruise/Tour through AAA. The cost of the Tour included the purchase of flight insurance protection for myself and wife . AAA used TripMate as the flight Insurance Agency. Cancelled trip 8/24/2015. Within 3 days of notifying AAA that we wanted to cancel the trip because of my wife's illness we received a refund from AAA for the tour. Had to submit paperwork to TripMate in order to receive the money spent for the airline fairs which amounts to $3, 024.00. Completed all the TripMate paperwork, which included a form that they said had to be completed by our doctor. Sent paperwork to TripMate by way of UPS certified mail. They have received 4 phone calls regarding my claim and they keep telling us that the file is under review. Since I paid $410.00 for the insurance I do not see what the problem is. We did not go on the trip, no airline tickets were issued, so this should be a slam dunk. Just refund my money. Also, since that was the case I don't see why a doctor's report was even necessary. The woman I talked to at TripMate seems to be using every trick in the book to delay a refund. I believe this company is a SCAM. I am really disappointed that AAA is using this company. Since AAA contracted with TripMate I have turned this matter over to them and I am expecting that AAA will be issuing the refund.
I have contacted my local tv station about trip mate. My son's school cancelled their trip because lack of students. I contacted Trip Mate about my refund, I asked them if I will also get my insurance because the school cancelled the trip. They told me, they will see what they can do. They refunded me the money and won't refund me my money for the trip, claiming now that I don't have insurance they don't have to pay. They are a complete SCAM ARTIST! I am hoping they pick up my story because this is not fair to me and everyone else they scam out of their money... I am going to keep on top of them until I am rewarded my money 100%.
People write bad reviews because there are so many bad companies out there who will try to walk on its customers and clients and generally give cooperate America an Ugly name.I am sharing my experience with TripMate because they are one of the most garbage filled manipulating companies I have ever done business with.
This past may I planned a vacation to the Bahamas with a lady friend. When I booked the trip, the agent offered to place insurance on the trip. My travel friend turned out to be bi-polar and and off meds. I decided that this trip was not in my best interest and notified my agent who in turn notified Trip Mate. It is my closest experience with a third world company since serving in the military . Trip mate requested an avalanche of documents almost one at a time. Trip Mate strung this along for months. The most important document requested being proof of trip payment. When it was all said and done I supplied them with credit card statements and weeks later received a voucher for 1/2 the cost of the trip. the other half was issued to the non paying bi polar psycho. WRONG. I did not insure the people I insured the trip. Trip Mate is a bad choice to insure any trip. It is a third party insurance company that leaches off the backs of legitimate travel agents and travel companies. Their job is to string along clients and weasel out of paying as much as possible. There must be a better option than Trip Mate.
We will certainly never use TripMate for any of my travel insurance needs. I truly regret ever having done business with this low class misleading company. They are at best a bad life experience and a hard lesson learned. STAY AWAY FROM TRIP MATE.
I purchased Tripmate insurance at the recommendation of Pleasant Holidays, from whom I bought a Hawaiian vacation package for my family. My husband's cancer subsequently took a rapid turn for the worse and ultimately proved to be fatal, and our young grandson also began suffering psychological difficulties making it inadvisable to take him on a transoceanic flight.
I have been attempting to collect from Tripmate Insurance ever since. Their own claims website is a smoking gun; it shows they've had all the documentation they need to process my claim for months.
I am reaching out to insurance bad faith attorneys now, and intend to file a class action suit against Tripmate if my claim is not paid in full this month. Any and all others who suspect they have been defrauded by Tripmate are welcome to contact me at staceyontheroad@yahoo.com.
Smithgold, We are very sorry to hear about the unfortunate events on your vacation and your dissatisfaction with the claims process. We would be happy to look into this further. Please send us your first name, last name and travel dates via message or email at info[at]tripmate[dot]com. We look forward to speaking about this further.