How do I make a travel insurance claim that actually gets paid?

The evidence has to be collected while you are still abroad. What to get, in what order, and the deadlines that decide whether a claim is admissible at all.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 30 min
Read: 4 min
Safety: caution

Short answer

Do three things immediately: call the insurer emergency line for anything medical, report theft or loss to local police and get a written report within the policy deadline, and report baggage problems to the airline before leaving the airport and get the reference. Then keep every receipt and notify the claim within the notification period. Evidence gathered after you get home is usually too late.

Safety

For anything medical, the call to the insurer twenty-four-hour assistance line comes before treatment, not after. That call is what authorises the cost, arranges direct settlement with the hospital and controls repatriation. Arranging significant treatment yourself and claiming afterwards is the most common way a valid medical claim ends up reduced or refused.

Step by step

Call the assistance line first, for anything medical.The number is on the policy and should be saved offline before you travel. They authorise treatment, pick the facility, arrange direct payment where possible and manage any repatriation. Doing this first is a condition of the medical section on almost every policy.
Report theft, loss or damage to the right body, immediately.Theft or loss of possessions: local police, in writing, within the deadline in the wording — commonly twenty-four hours. Baggage delayed, damaged or lost in the airline system: report at the airport before leaving and get the property irregularity report reference. Loss at accommodation: report to the property in writing and get a copy.
Collect evidence while it exists.Photographs of damage, the police report, the medical report and diagnosis, itemised invoices, boarding passes, the booking confirmation, the airline delay confirmation, and receipts for anything you had to buy because of the incident. Once you are home, none of these get easier to obtain.
Prove ownership and value for possessions.Original purchase receipts, bank or card statements, a photograph of the item, or the original packaging and serial number. A claim for something you cannot show you owned is settled on the insurer terms, not yours.
Notify the claim inside the notification period.Policies set a deadline for telling the insurer, often within a stated number of days of returning. Notify early even if you do not have all the paperwork — you can supply documents afterwards, but you cannot un-miss a deadline.
Fill the claim form precisely and consistently.Dates, times, amounts and the sequence of events should match the police report, the medical notes and the receipts. Inconsistencies are the most common reason a straightforward claim goes to further investigation.
Claim from the right party first.Airlines are liable for baggage under international carriage rules and for care and compensation under passenger rights rules. Insurers expect you to pursue the airline first and will often only cover what the airline did not. The same applies to a card provider for a failed service.
If the claim is refused, use the complaints route.Ask for the refusal in writing with the clause relied on. Complain in writing to the insurer and get a final response, then take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free, independent and will look at whether the decision was fair as well as whether it was contractual.

Tips

Take a photograph of the policy schedule, the assistance number and your policy number and store it somewhere reachable without your phone — with a travel companion, in an email to yourself, on paper in a different bag.
Keep the excess in mind before you spend time on a small claim. A claim below or barely above the excess is rarely worth the effort, and it may still count against a no-claims position on an annual policy.
If several people are affected, one claim per person is usually required, each with its own excess.

If it doesn't work

Insurer says the claim was notified too late

Cause: The notification period ran from the incident or the return date and was missed while paperwork was being gathered — Fix: Notify first and document later. If it has already happened, explain the delay in writing — insurers must not decline unfairly where the delay caused them no prejudice, and the Ombudsman will consider that.

Possessions claim refused as unattended

Cause: The item was out of arm's reach or out of sight when taken — Fix: Provide the exact circumstances and the police report. If the item was in a locked room or a locked safe, say so explicitly, as those are usually treated differently from a public place.

Medical claim reduced

Cause: Treatment was arranged privately without contacting the assistance line, or at a facility they would not have chosen — Fix: Explain why contact was impossible if it was — an emergency admission unconscious, for example, is treated differently from a self-referral to a private clinic.

Claim declined for non-disclosure

Cause: A condition on the medical records was not declared at purchase — Fix: Check whether the non-disclosure was careless or deliberate. Careless non-disclosure usually means the claim is adjusted rather than refused outright, and that distinction is worth arguing.

Questions people ask

How long does a travel claim take?

A simple baggage or delay claim is usually weeks. A medical claim requiring records from a foreign hospital and your GP takes considerably longer. Chase in writing and keep the correspondence.

Can I claim from the airline and the insurer for the same thing?

You cannot be paid twice for the same loss. Claim from the airline first for baggage and disruption, then claim any shortfall from the insurer.

Is the Financial Ombudsman worth using?

Yes. It is free, its decisions bind the insurer if you accept them, and it considers fairness as well as the strict wording. A large proportion of travel complaints are resolved there.