Access America Travel

I was purchasing a home in Phoenix and had to fly-in to look at the house, so I decided to catch my first hockey game while I was there. During the checkout process in purchasing my hockey ticket, Ticketmaster recommended buying trip protection from Access America Travel to protect me in case I could not make the game for any reason. I thought it was a smart move since I am traveling all the way from Hawaii.

Unfortunately on the way to the airport, I got a flat tire on my truck, so I missed my flight. I lost all of my money for my hotel and car through Orbitz and I was charged a $150 change fee for my flight. The one thing I was happy with was the purchase of this insurance at least I would get my money back on this expensive ticket, boy, was I wrong. Access America said that I need to provide tow receipts or a repair invoice - how does one provide paperwork when I fixed the truck myself? It was a flat tire for goodness sake! I discarded the damaged tire and used the full size spare that came with my truck and I am still using the spare to this day. I ended up making the same trip for two days later.

Access America has dragged the "processing" phase of my claim on for over 3 months. I called them yesterday to find out that my claim is still open. However, I have to provide documentation in order to continue the "processing" phase. When I purchased the ticket and the insurance, the check-out screen said that the insurance covered any reason for not making the event. After I purchased the insurance, I got this booklet explaining what they will insure. Per their booklet, my truck causing me to miss the flight should be covered. However, they hide behind having to provide proof that my truck broke down or was rendered unavailable. I even sent them the receipts for the same trip I took two days later, due to missing my original flight. They were heartless, rude and unprofessional. To add insult to injury, I contacted Ticketmaster to try to get reimbursed and to inform them of the insurance carrier they are using. I got a lame email back saying there was nothing they could do and to contact the insurance carrier again. What a joke! For the love of god, do not purchase this insurance.

My father was fighting cancer and as with most illnesses, he was on the mend one day and would have an unexpected setback another day. Because of this, we purchased Trip Insurance from Allianz for our flight booked through Orbitz. Sure enough, my father had to be admitted to the hospital a couple of days before the flight, so we were unable to make the trip.

Allianz denied the claim stating it was due to a pre-existing condition. Nowhere on the purchase screen does it say trips missed due to pre-existing medical conditions are excluded. Apparently, they send you terms and conditions that discuss pre-existing conditions after you purchase the service. This is a blatant bait-and-switch operation. I don't know how they have not been investigated, sued and/or shut down yet. Warning, do not purchase "trip protection" from this company. I just added my complaint to over 550 complaints filed with the BBB.

UK-based Insurance And Go would charge customers for automatic insurance renewal without notifying you. They keep your credit card number for this sneaky and fraudulent act. Therefore, have a second thought before you want to buy their insurance online.

I purchased Access America Insurance when I booked my flight from Orlando, FL to Erie PA over a year ago. My husband's health is always an issue and the company states they will reimburse you for any cost caused by cancel or change of your flight plans due to medical emergency or several olther reasons that may arise,.

My husband broke his ankle, had surgery and was doing great with his recovery when I booked my flight. Two days before my departure we went to his doctor's appointment to have his cast removed. My husband's wound had opened up inside his cast and was a mess. His doctor informed me that I would have to be home to care for his wound around the clock and would not be able to leave him alone as his wound was now exposed and needed 24 hour attention.

I filed my claim the following month when I would be able to fly again at a cost (penalty) for changing my ticket. I had all the the doctor's notes and filed as requested but they have stalled and stalled and stalled, saying a couple of times that his primary doctor needed to sign a different statement, etc. This was not even in the equation as his primary had nothing whatsoever to do with this unexpected medical emergency.

I have said from the beginning that Access America is a fraudulent company and tried to alert all the airlines of this fact. Access America has recently sent me another notice via post card regarding this year-old claim but have heard nothing further.

Heads-up, buyers beware: Access America has officially changed their name to Allianz Global Assistance. No doubt, trying to run from their bad reputation. Avoid travel insurance from them, they are scam artists.

I filed this complaint against Access American with the Illinois Department of insurance. This complaint is against a travel insurance company, Access America. After my personal experience with them, as well as what I have learned through customer forums in the internet, I believe that the State of Illinois should not allow Access America to do business with residents of our state. Please follow this link to read about the experience of others: **. On October 28th, 2011, my wife and I booked a hotel in Chicago, through the website Hotwire. At the time of booking, we purchased the travel insurance for $8.00 (there was an option at "checkout"). The purpose for our trip to Chicago was to run in the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K race in November. Two days prior to our trip for the race, I came down with a virus with flu-like symptoms, and we were forced to cancel our hotel room and trip.

My 12 year-old son had actually come down with the same virus prior to me, on October 27th, to be exact. We had taken him to the doctor at that time, and we were told that he had a virus, and that he just needed to rest and heal, the typical treatment for a cold. I had booked our hotel room with Hotwire the day after, on October 28th. After our trip was cancelled, I submitted my claim to Access America for reimbursement for the hotel (on Hotwire you must prepay, and there are no refunds, unless you buy travel insurance). Access America sent me a letter, stating that they needed additional information about my illness, before they could process my claim. My wife called their office (800-334-7525), and spoke with someone directly about what they needed from us.

My wife explained that I had come down with a virus, and did not need to see a physician, but that my son had seen the doctor, and we were able to discern that we had the same illness. The representative at Access America told my wife that if we submit a Physician Statement Form for my son's doctor's visit, that this would be adequate. So we did this. In a letter dated, January 30th, 2012, Access America claims examiner, Bobby states: "according to the information in the claim file, the condition(s) which led to the change in travel plans, was exhibiting symptoms and/or being treated prior to the purchase of the insurance program. For that reason, we regret we will be unable to honor your claim". Since my son was ill on October 27th, and I booked my hotel room on October 28th therefore my condition was preexisting, and therefore they cannot honor my claim.

Many others who have had dealings with this "insurance company" relate similar stories. I paid $145.63 for the hotel room that I never used. At this stage, I am not worried about the money, but I am simply very angry that I have been scammed by Access America. Hopefully, something can be done to protect the people of Illinois, and other states, from this fraudulent company.

I made plans to fly to Spain because a close friend has been hospitalized and was in critical condition. He has no family who could make the trip. I purposely bought the insurance hoping he would be able to come home before my return flight, or the worst case, that he did not make it. Unfortunately, he died before I left. They said he wasn't a family member, so I would not be compensated. They acted like I was cancelling a "vacation" because someone died.

Don't waste your money! This company is the biggest rip-off! You get travel insurance and you lose your job and they still keep your money! They deduct your account but they keep your hard earned money! Do your research before you buy travel insurance and do not use Access America. They suck!

I had plane tickets with Jet Blue, fell, broke my knee. Tried to see if JB would waive the change fee with my doctor's letter. Jet Blue told me to buy Access America, and make a claim for the change fee. I asked them, but I already broke my knee. JB said it should not be a problem, as long as I bought insurance before the date of the flight.

First question I asked Access America was, my accident happened before I bought insurance, I was told that it should not be a problem with the claim. They sent me the forms to have filled out by my doctor, having the doctor fill out forms and fax back took a few tries, then wait, wait, wait, finally, 3 months later... was denied because my accident happened before I bought the insurance. All the while, I was feeling so good after talking with the associates on the phone, I even maxed them out on their little follow up survey, boy do I feel used. Will be sure to tell all, do not bother to buy the insurance, just suck up the loss. Not worth the time at all. Getting ready to email Jet Blue to tell them what happened, not that it will do anything. They probably get a kick back from Allianz (changed there name to fool people into thinking this is a new company?).

Doctors recommended that I return to the USA on an upgrade flight Due to medical reason (24 hr ft.) AccessAmerica nurses declined going against the doctors' medical advice.

Access America is a rip off and we all need to get together and file a class action lawsuit. I was insured by them and I was on a road trip and on my way home, I was robbed of my personal items (luggage containing clothes). I sent them all the documents that was requested of me and they told me they were not requesting anything else from me. However, that was six months ago and they still refused to pay me.

For all you out there that have problems with Access America, please contact **@gmail.com. He is a great consumer advocate. Please tell him Percy ** sent you! Here's his number as well ***-***-****. I have contacted my lawyer regarding this as well because Access America needs to be stopped. Join me and let's start a class action suit! Pass the word that this company is a scam.

We purchased Access America Travel Insurance for almost $3000 ski condo for 4 nights we booked for January 2 -6, 2012. Of course, it was recommended by Copper Mountain Ski Lodge that was managing the condo rental. On December 27, our sewer system in our house malfunctioned, pipe blockage, such that raw sewage was backing up into a tub and toilet. The Roto Rooter folks could not repair it all that week and had to come the following week, all during our ski trip, to be able to repair it. The repair took January 2-5 with them coming each day, us digging a huge hole ourselves down to the broken pipe before our sewage system was fixed. We spent several nights in hotels during this period because we could not flush toilets or run water in our house.

We contacted Access America, filed a claim and had it rejected because it didn't meet the fine print they had of the definition of uninhabitable home, in that our home was not the victim of a fire, burglary or natural disaster. Just like all the other complaints I read on this website, this outfit is a scam. Their rules are so restrictive that you can almost never collect. Whatever disaster you have that makes you cancel a trip, they are almost sure to find a way to show that it does not meet the criteria they have written down as the only conditions they pay for. I will never buy travel insurance from this company again.

I got the insurance because I had been having trouble with hip pain. When It got so bad that we had to return home, we contacted them and followed their instructions. No one said it was existing so it's not covered but that is what we got today, a reject and a copy of the small print. Sadly I did not research this company before buying and now I see the tons of complaints. It's a scam artist.

In June 2011, we purchased tickets to the Bahamas and took out the travel insurance with Access America. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the trip because Amy, my 94 year-old mother-in-law took ill, and subsequently passed away 1 week after we cancelled the trip. We have been denied payment because they said she had a pre-existing condition. She had cancer for many years but was not diagnosed as terminal when we purchased this insurance.

It was not until the week before that the cancer had spread to her liver and that was when she became terminal. We provided them with all doctors reports to no avail. I agree with the many other complainants that this is a scam, and I will not be using them again.

About three weeks prior to our cruise, I developed a problem with my hip and had to have a hip replacement. We filed a claim with Access America and mailed the necessary paperwork. They needed more papers and proof of this and proof of that. We got all the documents to Access America as soon as possible. It took a while but we got all the cruise money back which totaled close to $ 20,000. My doctor had filled a wrong date on one of the insurance company's paperwork which also delayed the reimbursement. My only complaint is that I wish Access America would list all the documents that they need in the first place instead of sending you letters regarding what they need next.

I bought travel insurance in good faith for flight cancellations and a stay over. I called Access and they advised me that there's no problem since I am covered for hotel costs, with claim #0002135528. I have set all documentations, plane tickets, hotel receipt, etc., then I get a letter that they are not paying. I called and spoke with a representative, and they confirmed that they received all documentations. They, still say that they are not paying. Shame on Access America, and mostly Orbitz.

Scam. You pay travel insurance but they use every excuse not to pay it. And we are serving in the military and bought a ticket for a friend to visit us and return home. Plans were changed due to our military status change. So no need for the flight. We figured this may happen. They won't even give people serving our country their money back. This was done through Orbitz. Both companies are a plague against the honor we try to bring to the name of what it means to be American.

Having read a number of the complaints about Access America, I realize Access America is not in the business of compensating travelers, who run into any type of misfortune. Like several others, I needed to delay my return home, after my father was unexpectedly hospitalized. I have been trying to get Access America to acknowledge my claim since September, 2011. My future business will go elsewhere.

I agree Access America is a scam. They limit payments out based only on what is written in the contract you purchase. Cancellation due to business or existing medical conditions is not covered. I had to cancel 3 flights on American Airlines due to work schedule changes. I am out $917 plus $108 for the insurance. It's best to purchase private insurance through CSA or Travelex that offers cancellation for any reason. You have up to 24 hours to purchase the insurance from date of deposit or airline purchase.

I purchased travel insurance because my mother is 88 and her health can be a problem. We purchased the tickets and the travel insurance in September. Travel was Dec 2-7th. The surprise was on me! On November 3, I had open heart surgery. No flying for two months. The forms and dates and doctor information ask for is never ending.

The action of Access America is still pending. I have been in the doctor's office when they faxed twice the dates they requested. I gave them 7 business days and then our travel agent through AAA ask if we would give them until Dec 28. Next steps will be complaints with the Better Business Bureau, AAA of America and our lawyer to file a claim against Access America, which is becoming Allianz. Interesting!

This is absolutely the worst company ever! I can't believe that airlines offer this type of insurance on their sites. My 77 year old, insulin dependent, diabetic mother was set to travel to see the leaves change in North Carolina in October. We selected Access America due to her age and medical condition. Two weeks prior to departure, she wound up in the hospital with sugar levels over 630. We cancelled the flight as a wise prudent daughter would not bring her mother to the mountains of NC where the closest medical facility is 30 minutes away at best. Access America stated that because she went to the doctor for a routine check up within 90days prior to purchasing insurance, the claim would not be covered. Anyone who is an insulin dependent diabetic goes to the doctor every 60-90 days for a check up. This is not in the fine print of their policy. The company is a sham and they look for ways not to pay claims. We are out $560 in airline tickets and $32 in a bogus insurance policy.

Access America is a total fraud. I bought this insurance and had to cancel because of severe flooding at my destination. Naturally, they denied the claim, saying the reason was somewhere on page 5 of the paperwork. I trusted that a company who American Airlines allows to sell directly on their website would be reputable. It's a big mistake on my part, as they have no intention of ever paying a claim. Save your money.

I bought trip cancellation insurance from Access America, and when my trip was cancelled by the trip operator, I submitted a claim for the part that I was not reimbursed. Access America denied my claim, stating that in their policy, it was specified that cancellation by the trip operator was not covered. You need a lawyer to read the policy before you buy. As a result of this scam, I am out the price of the policy, which is more than $600, plus my losses which were also more than $600. All in all, I lost approximately $1,200.00.

There should be an allowance for sham artists who rip off the public. On August 8th my husband went to the local hospital for a yearly PSA test. Subsequently on August 30th, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Access America is denying our travel claim that was purchased on August 15th because they are saying that the diagnosis started on the date of the PSA test. Does every man who has a high PSA have cancer? No not at all. And then Wayne the supervisor asked me to violate my husband's HIPPA Privacy by asking me to have his doctors release his records, not taking my word on what I was saying. This is not only an invasion of privacy, but is illegal also. Access America wants me to call the doctor's office and have my husband's records released and I feel it is against the law and that this insurance company is a total sham.

My mother went in for her yearly mammogram in July because they say to go yearly once you get a certain age. She bought a trip through Orbitz with travel insurance on Aug. 30. The doctors called her back in and said it looked like she had calcium deposits in her breast on Sept. 1. Then on Sept.12, the day before her trip was to leave, she called to get the final results. She was told she had breast cancer. She cancelled her trip to immediately have surgery and get it removed.

Access America is denying her claim because she went to the doctor in July. So basically they are saying anyone who does a yearly check up is doomed! My mother had no idea she had cancer! She didn't suspect a thing and yet they are claiming it was pre-existing. My mom has turned in all the forms that they continually send her to fill out and Access America has even "lost" forms she has turned in. It's a scam. She has filled out form after form going back several times to re-fill out basically the exact same information in a different paper form. It's the run around.

I have purchased Access America's insurance on many occasions but never had to file a claim. I guess they're only in the business of collecting your money and not reimbursing you. My 95 year old mother's blood pressure went to 200 over 100 and I had to postpone my trip to Florida. They claimed she had a pre-existing condition and denied my claim. I told them everyone has their blood pressure taken every time they go to their physician. However, that does not mean they have a pre-existing condition! Do not purchase insurance from this company.

I have been informed that my co-traveler and I are only entitled to a one day only $200/day per person reimbursement as a result of return Continental flight being canceled (due to snow in the northeast corridor) from Las Vegas NV to Newark NJ on October 29th, 2011.

Upon notice that the flight was cancelled, and given the magnitude of travel disruptions across the country, Continental rescheduled me for the return flight on November 2nd, 2011. This was the soonest available return flight Continental could provide (including stop-over routes) to Newark. It is noted I spent 20 minutes with the agent as we explored every possible alternative to gain a sooner return flight.

On October 30th, I contacted Access America to understand exactly what my travel insurance policies covered so as to determine the most cost effective approach I would pursue (given a 4-day wait for travel return). At that time, I explained my situation to the claim representative indicating all the aforementioned facts. It was important for me to understand my reimbursement allowances as I had (Sunday afternoon, October 30th) the opportunity to leave Las Vegas (for San Diego) with my cousins who were also in Las Vegas (with us on vacation) and had driven there via their personal car.

The claim representative stated my event qualified for daily allowances up to $200 per day (lodging, meals, transportation and misc. items) each for myself and Mary **. I asked 2 times, that would mean if we stayed in Las Vegas, our allowance would be a total (for both of us) of $400/day for the 4-day stay-over for a total allowance of up to $1,600. She did confirm this at the end of our call. I therefore elected to stay in Las Vegas until my scheduled flight on November 2nd.

Upon my arrival home, I contacted Access America (November 3rd) to start the formal claim process. It was at that point that I was informed that the daily allowance of $400 (for both of us) only applies for 1 day. Needless to say, I was quite taken back given that if I had been previously told this on October 30th, I would have not stayed and taken the course of action noted above.

Since then, I have spoken to various 2 representatives (Thomas ID** and Dona **) about my situation. They both informed me the voice recording of 15 minutes was pulled and reviewed by their manager Wade **. Despite my efforts to speak to Wade, or arrange for a call where I can listen to the call he reviewed, each request was denied. I am told this tape cannot be released to me for security purposes. This confuses me as I understand Access America's goal to provide the best in class customer service to its clients and I cannot imagine what security risk it would be as it is myself on the recorded call and an Access America representative.

I have therefore been directed to formally appeal the current reimbursement decision. As I took specific notes from my hotel on October 30th and made my decision to stay based upon what I was told, I am concerned that the call Wade reviewed was not in its entirety. Again, at the end of this call, I specifically asked (which was confirmed) my maximum reimbursement would be up to $1,600 for Qualified expenses. I therefore request another individual review the call with me listening (I have no issues being muted if that is a requirement).

I am sure Access America recognizes Las Vegas is an expensive place vacation (hotels and lodging) plus that weekend there was a very large conference plus the Halloween weekend. There would be absolutely no advantage for me to have stayed (after an already 6-day visit) there for 4 additional days (as I had a free alternative to travel to San Diego and stay with my cousins until other air arrangements could be made) if I had been told the correct information on October 30th.

I bought travel insurance just in case. I ended up with a horrible sinus infection, had fever, and so much pressure that there was no way I could travel by airplane. I had to cancel. I spoke to the representative and was told that I did not have to go to the doctor as long as I got the form filled out. I was denied for not seeing the doctor. I have had sinus infections before and my doctor does not need to see me for it, as I am aware when I have one, so he simply calls a prescription into the pharmacy. I also couldn't reschedule the trip because Hurricane Irene was coming and I couldn't risk being stuck with no flight back.

This "insurance" is a scam. They look for any reason not to pay you. When he called me back, he claimed that his managers listened to my recorded phone calls and never heard I was told that all I had to do was have the form filled out by my doctor. Even on the form, it asks if the person was seen by a doctor and, if so, on what date? If it is mandatory, the form should have said simply what date was the insurer seen. Having both an illness where I got the form filled out by a doctor and we had a hurricane came to the East Coast where I was traveling, they were never going to cover the trip no matter what happened.

I purchased a round trip ticket to West Virginia to visit my aunt on American Airlines in February to fly in May. I had also purchased insurance through Access America. I had a knee surgery in February and by the middle of March, I was fine. The doctor said that I had arthritis starting in my knee but my knee was feeling fine. About the first of May, my knee took a turn for the worst, and the doctor said that the arthritis had flared up and the flight should be put off for a couple of months.

I cancelled the flight, and informed Access America of the problem. I filed a claim and was denied because of a pre-existing condition. I filed an appeal and was denied again. The doctor wrote to them and explained why I had to cancel the flight, and they still denied the claim. I know that the insurance industry is as trustworthy as car salesmen and lawyers but this was ridiculous. They truly are crooks. Do not buy their crappy product, find a reputable company.

My husband needed emergency surgery on his back. He had to stay in the hospital. We had to cancel our cruise on Carnival. We took out Access America Ins. under good faith, never thinking we would have to use it. We did all the paper work and received doctor's letter. We were denied, even though the doctor would not allow him to travel. I called to see if we could appeal and was told to fax over another form. I called a few days later and was told that was not the right way to go and was given another answer.

If you are reading these letters from people please do not use Access America. They are nothing but crooks! All they do is deny people, and keep your money.

I purchased a policy through Delta Airlines for a trip for the birth of my granddaughter. My daughter and her husband asked me to stay longer as she needed help and he had to leave on a business trip. I recommend that Delta Airlines stop using access America. I feel they do whatever possible to deny reimbursement for legitimate claims.

Access America denied coverage saying that pregnancy was not covered in the policy. I called Access America to complain that no where did I read that pregnancy was excluded. At first, I was told that an employee had made a mistake pregnancy was covered, but that because I didn't make a claim there was nothing Access America could do for me. I insisted that at a minimum I be reimbursed for the cost of a policy that I was not allowed to use for a legitimate claim. After several "no" responses, a supervisor took my call and agreed to reimburse me the cost of the policy, but not for the use of the policy as the fine print states normal pregnancy is excluded!

Daughter was in a car accident on June 16th. After her home recovery, we purchased airlines tickets on August 3rd to Italy with Delta Airlines, leaving on October 16th. We also purchased insurance from Access America, they recommended. I also emailed AA about purchasing extra coverage for a pre-existing illness. When I had no response from them, I called and was told that it was covered in the policy I purchased.

In September, it came apparent that her injuries had worsened and she would not be able to travel. I emailed Access America and was sent a claim form. Now we have been informed it was not covered and the claim denied.

I purchased an airline ticket thru Orbitz, and also purchased a trip cancellation protection from Access America. My fiance was severely wounded during combat operations in Afghanistan.

I was scheduled to fly on November 3 to Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, when unexpectedly his condition worsened, and was transferred from Brooke Army Medical Center to Madigan Medical Center, in Fort Lewis, Washington, for specialty care.

I called Access America, explained what happened, and they refused to refund amount of the airline ticket. Also, I faxed a letter explaining the situation from Brett **, the battalion surgeon, to Access America and they refused to refund the $339.33 I paid.

This company is nothing but a bunch of crooks! Based upon the recommendation of Delta Airlines' website, I purchased Travel Insurance from Access America. Subsequent to purchasing the ticket, my wife received a diagnosis of cancer from the findings of a routine medical examination. We had no reason to expect this diagnosis; otherwise I would not have spent $461.80 for the ticket and $26.55 for the travel insurance. Today I received a denial of claim for refund of the ticket purchase from Access America, citing my wife's cancer as a preexisting condition. As far as I'm concerned, Access America is a bunch of crooks and Delta Airlines is nothing more than a shill for their con.

They are the worst company ever. Don't expect them to help you with anything or cover their obligations. They are such a waste of money!

This travel insurance company declined a medical claim stating it's a pre-existing condition, even though the condition was not discovered until after the flight was booked. This is a very deceptive practice. I cannot believe Delta recommended such an unscrupulous business for flight insurance.

We had to cancel our trip due to Hurricane Irene. We had a loss of power at our home for 5 days, including the day our trip was to begin. There was no way to secure home, as the security system was also out. And we had a fallen tree on the house. In addition, the state was declared a Federal Disaster area. Access America denied our claim, as a loss of power did not fall under Natural Disaster as stated in their policy, page 3, under item # 6. Delta should be ashamed to recommend this company to their customers. The claim was for the cost of the airline tickets. I am a Gold Skyclub Member as well. Do not purchase this insurance.

I purchased Access America as my auto insurance coverage, as I was going to be driving a rental car while vacationing in Chicago, Illinois last year in September. While I was there, unfortunately on the third day of my vacation, I was hit from behind while at a dead stop. I had my 4-month-old grandson, his mom and her 2-year-old little girl in the car with me. The woman that hit me saw me beckoning to her in the mirror to pull over to the side of the road into this gas station so that we could exchange insurance information and see how each other was doing since she hit me so hard.

As I was trying to calm everyone down which at this time were hysterical, crying and not knowing what had just happened. Within all this confusion, my grandson's mom didn't hear me asking her to get a pen & paper so that we could get the woman's information. I was hurting myself but trying to keep a level head, this woman saw all of this and got back into her car, stating she was getting her insurance forms, but to my surprise she actually closed her door, backed up and took off as fast as possible. I was stunned because I didn't get any information from her at all. I only knew the color of the car, and that I had smelled liquor on her breath. After calming everyone down, I then called the police and my son. After completing the police report, the police officer agreed that she, no doubt, did not have any insurance and also knew if she had waited for the police she would have definitely been arrested for drinking and driving.

I called Access America the next morning since this happened late and they were closed. I told them what had happened, filed a report, turned the car in and I then left to return home that day to California. I told my husband what had happened when he picked me up at the airport, and he as well was very grateful that we had all come through this uninjured, just shaken up a bit. It's been one year to this day and I was contacted by Access America's Claim's Department. I was told the check was to be made out to me and for me to expect it in 7-10 business days. I'm very happy my claim was granted to me & that all of the family is back to normal even though this could have all turned out much worse.

I was burned by the "72 hour to see a doctor" escape clause. The flight was on Saturday morning. I was on my back with the severe cold/flu for that long!

I feel pretty stupid for making such a rookie mistake (first time I ever bought flight insurance), but based on everything else I've read here, AA (the airline that foisted this waste of time and money on me) should dump them from their website ASAP, and this company should be out of business!

This company is fraudulent and Delta Airlines should be ashamed to be associated with them. My son is serving overseas in the military and paid to purchase tickets for his brother, sister in law and year old nephew (whom he's never seen) to fly across the country just after Christmas to spend a week with him after his return. Knowing that there is always a chance of deployments being extended, he also paid for trip insurance.

The info at purchase indicated that a date change would be covered. We never received any terms and conditions to review after the purchase. Now his orders are likely to change and we find out that the insurance will not cover the resulting schedule changes as advertised.

Way to support your servicemen, Access America and Delta. He's already spent almost a month's pay and now has to cough up another $450 to reschedule their flights.

I have been buying the trip interruption insurance for years through Orbitz. Finally this February while at a cousin's wedding in NYC, I had to file a claim because Delta cancelled my return flight and I couldn't get out until the following day. I called them to file a claim. I was told my claim was limited to $150, which didn't even cover my overnight hotel. I filed the paperwork, got a letter back stating they needed more documentation and gave a fax number to send it to. I complied using the fax number provided. Till now there's no further contact from Access America, no satisfaction of my claim.

This company is a scam. I had to cancel my flight due to illness and was told that unless I went to a doctor within 72 hours, I would not be refunded. I am in a remote area, Pecos, Texas, and the wait for a doctor is 2 weeks. I am very upset with this company.

Just like 99% of you, I agree that Access America is a fraudulent scam and should be reported to the BBB! How do these people sleep at night? They know they are stealing money from good people with reasonable issues that interrupt their flight/vacation. Some of your stories are heart-wrenching and I'm so sorry you experienced a loss to a dear loved one. Here's my story:

My sister is getting married in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in October 2011. Of course, this is a very exciting time and approximately 30+ people booked their flights on Orbitz.Com which included my husband and I. Although we didn't anticipate any issues that would conflict with my sister's destination wedding, we decided to book Access America to insure our trip. Big mistake! It's not about the fine print. It's about the fact that they make excuses for every little thing that is not clearly stated in the coverage!

Doctors told my husband and I that we couldn't get pregnant. On January 15th 2011, we booked our flights to Punta Cana. On February 2nd 2011, we found out we were pregnant. Our expected due date is 10/7/11 - the same day we are scheduled to leave for Punta Cana! What an exciting time - we should be celebrating! But instead we are so angry and frustrated that AA will not reimburse us for our flight. AA advised us to file a claim. So we did. We completed paperwork, our doctor completed paperwork and we provided information from our bank as proof of payment. We spoke with customer service reps over the phone, communicated via email, and faxed or mailed every bit of information that was requested from us. Thank you for putting us through all the hurdles Access America - it was a waste of time! Why drag the situation on for months? You could have told us the first time we called that you were a fraud and you wouldn't cover our trip - even if I was in the hospital delivering my first child. Thank you! (Sarcasm)

Access America, here are your exact words, "pregnancy is not an excuse not to fly" Hello! I will be in the hospital! Their response: "you need an unexpected emergency related to the pregnancy to get reimbursed". When I spoke with a customer service rep and asked for an example of an unexpected emergency related to the pregnancy, she could not give me an example of coverage. Even if I had an emergency (God forbid, I am praying for a healthy labor and delivery), I'm sure AA would find an excuse to not cover the $1,200 we paid for our tickets. Would an emergency C-section be covered? The customer service rep responded, "um, that's a good question!". Really? We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, my advice to everyone out there, don't book through Orbitz. And whatever you do, do not even think about using Access America to insure you and your loved ones.

Access America Travel is the worst company in the history of business. They need to redo their whole contract because it's all lies. Do not get their insurance. They also have the worst customer service.

My son was on a university sponsored trip in Sicily as a volunteer in March of 2011. On March 10, he broke his leg (spiral fracture) which required surgery and titanium rods. The doctor told him that he could fly home, first class, and have the surgery at home and placed him in an expansion cast. He notified his travel agent, who was supposed to take care of details. However, when he arrived at the Palermo airport to fly home, Alitalia refused to board him and said he would need a stretcher plane. He immediately contacted Access America. The representative said she could not arrange a stretcher plane for at least 14 days and instructed him to try to find other arrangements home. She said that he should keep his receipts to submit with his claim, that his chaperone could stay with him to assist him and that she would forward the claim forms to him. So as instructed, he arranged and paid for train tickets to Rome and two British Air tickets to Boston.

I bought the travel insurance from Access America Travel, because I knew that I might have to change my flight due to the fact that my sister was having surgery and her recovery was very unsure. It turned out that she was in hospital and rehab for 4 months. I am her only family and had to remain with her. When I purchased the insurance, I was in good faith that changing my ticket would be covered. I had no idea of all the demands and loop holes that this company has so that your claim is denied.

We purchased car rental insurance coverage at the time of the reservation on the Orbitz travel website. Once we presented the insurance to the car rental agency, we were told that it was useless and had to purchase additional insurance or we would not be allowed to rent the car. I have contacted both Access America and Orbitz. Access America refused to refund our $54, stating that the insurance was 'good'. Orbitz refused to acknowledge our emails or to help. I believe that this is a scam and fraud!

I booked a trip to Hawaii in April 2011 for a trip in November 2011. I bought a trip insurance through Access America on the recommendation of Cheap Tickets. In May, my husband was diagnosed with cancer for the second time after a year in remission. However, this is a more aggressive form of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma which has resulted in paralysis, 8 rounds of radiation and 3 rounds of chemo and the need for a bone marrow transplant at Stanford in November. The oncologist says no travel for 6 months due to contamination and a weakened immune system. I sent in all the paperwork required from the hospital, letters from the doctor, etc.

This company ripped me off. I would give them zero star if the system let me. I paid $244 for a trip insurance from Access America for a set of flights and a cruise from Europe. For work reasons, I couldn't make one of the flights and had to cancel it and buy a new ticket. I called and was told over the phone that I could file a claim because I was required to be at work and couldn't make the originally scheduled flight. I filed the claim online and received an unsigned form letter denying my claim because it's not one of their "named perils." I never received a complete copy of what they do or do not cover, probably because there is so much that they don't cover that they would have to send 10,000 pages and no one would buy it. I have now lost $2,100.00 in place tickets along with the $244 I paid for the insurance in the first place. My issue is not nearly as bad as some of the other complaints that have been submitted about this company, but I felt compelled to submit the complaint if it can save just one person some money.

Trip cancellation insurance was purchased on 04-07-2011 for travel package from Orbitz travel for travel date June 8, 2011--return was open, three family members. We paid $3900 for Delta Air to Orbitz Travel, paid $258 to Access America for trip cancellation insurance. I received $3000 from Orbitz Travel (because of my wife's illness, trip was cancelled). I received $0 from Access America. I tried to remove travel insurance for the next trip and was declined because of the 10-day limit.

I will look for another travel insurance company. This is a very poor insurance company.

I purchased the insurance on 04-12-11. My daughter broke her leg on 07-04-11. She flew to NY on 07-24-11. She returned home early on 07-27-11 due to the pain, instead of 08-07-11 as scheduled. I called Access America on 07-27-11 to explain the situation. I asked the claims representative what I needed to do to file a claim. She told me that I needed a copy of the original ticket, a copy of the new ticket and a completed physician form. She emailed me the claim form. It stated exactly what she had told me.

So, I gathered all the paperwork. I had the physician fill out the form at the next scheduled follow up appointment on 08-10-11. I then mailed in the claim. Now it is the 29th of August and I haven't heard anything from Access America. I called today to check the claim status. I was told that my claim was denied, because I did not take my daughter to a physician within 72 hours from contacting Access America. My daughter saw a physician for her broken leg on 07-05-11, 07-20-11, 08-10-11 and 08-29-11. However, none of these were within this 72 hour time frame that the claims representative neglected to tell me, when I asked her what I needed to do to file a claim.

I called the claims representative on July 27th. I asked her what I needed to do to file a claim. Why did she not tell me that I needed to take my daughter to a physician within 72 hours? Why did she leave that part out about what I had to do? The claims representative should have been upfront and honest with me when I asked her what I needed to do to file a claim.

I wish I had read other complaints about this company before I booked a room through Hotwire and purchased their insurance. Because of unexpected surgery and complications, I had to cancel the room. Due to the runaround from this company, I finally got so upset that I canceled the claim. So, beware people. This company will make it so hard to file a claim. You'll end up doing what I did. Good luck if you filed a claim.

I am very, very disappointed with this company. I purchased this insurance through American Airlines online, by the way, American Airlines does not seem to want to discuss anything about Access America with its customers. I feel that if they offer the insurance on their website, American should stand by it! I became ill the day before my trip. I went to a doctor and received documentation. I spent 2 days filling out paperwork, making copies, going back to the clinic to receive further documentation, etc. One month after I sent in my paperwork, I got a letter saying my claim was rejected due to a "pre-existing" medical condition. The letter said if I have any symptoms "at any time in the 120 days before it was purchased (the insurance policy)", this is considered an existing medical condition.

I had visited the doctor twice during the time span between purchase of the policy and the departure date of my trip. However, I saw the doctor the first time for a routine checkup, not a "preexisting" condition. I DID read the fine print and still do not agree with how this company defines "pre-existing" medical condition. I can now see why so many reviews are so negative. I feel I have been treated unfairly and the company is a scam; just taking people's hard earned money. My family is furious. I have told friends never to bother purchasing this as it seems near impossible to get your money back.

Please read through the other reviews. I feel this company is NOT based on honest practices. I am calling back and writing a manager when the claims department is open again. I'm more upset about the principle of the matter more than the loss of money. I'm so disheartened. The customer service representatives on the phone were very cordial and friendly, but this does not make up for everything else. Please think carefully before buying a policy from this company!

My wife and daughter had planned a trip to visit my recently widowed sister-in-law in Minnesota. My sister-in-law has two young children, so my wife was planning on taking her sister's family for a vacation in Minnesota. We purchased tickets from Delta airlines and reserved rooms in a country Inn. At the same time, we purchased travel insurance from Access America.

Four days before my wife and daughter were to leave for Minnesota, my sister-in-law called us and told us that her son was hospitalized and that he would be remaining in the hospital for a week or more. In response to this, my wife needed to cancel the vacation. We obtained all the necessary documentation and filed it with Access America. They immediately denied the claim, saying that the reason for hospitalization was not covered by the policy. Furthermore, even if it was, the insurance would only cover my wife, but not my daughter, since the relative was my daughter's cousin. Cousins are not covered on the policy, according to the insurance agent.

When I called up and complained to the agent, they said that I could appeal the decision. I asked the agent to email me the information on how to proceed. She promised to do it within the day.

A day passed and there was no email from Access America. I called again. Again, the agent promised to send me the information before the end of the day. Again no email. Finally I got on the web site, and emailed my request. Again no response.

I feel that the insurance is useless and would discourage anyone from purchasing insurance from Access America.

Advertisement under false pretense.

My husband had a death in the family so he purchased flight tickets together with a travel insurance from Access America. He added the insurance because there was a possibility of changing the ticket since the funeral information wasn't made yet. Eventually, he had to change his return flight and Access America used the excuse of family member already being deceased so they could not help him with the exchanged-ticket fee. On top of it all, they wouldn't even return the $20 my husband had given them for the coverage.

We purchased travel insurance because we knew my mother was gravely ill and has been for some time. Her doctor completed the medical form stating that I needed to stay in the area since my mother was now under the care of Hospice. Our claim was denied.

As I searched online, there have been numerous complaints against them for non-payment. I wonder if anyone has been reimbursed since it seems there have been so many complaints.

Do not buy insurance from this company. In December, I had a trip cancelled due to a snowstorm in the NY area. My flight was cancelled and I was unable to rebook for 4 days, which was well past any useful time at my destination. I filed a claim.

Each conversation with the company led to a request for a new piece of information which had not been requested in a prior communication and which was now the crucial information for the claim to proceed. After believing I had sent in all the information, I waited months expecting to hear something. When I finally contacted them, the claim was closed because they had not heard from me. I had received no contact from the time I believed I had submitted all relevant information. Now that I have contacted them, they are requesting, yet again, another new piece of information needed to move the claim forward.

I had flight insurance with Access America for an AA flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Paris (CDG), connecting through Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW). The flight departed on February 4 from LAX and the flight from DFW was delayed by some 4 hours causing us to arrive in Paris on February 5 some 4 hours later than scheduled. This caused us to miss the connection on an independent carrier to another European destination, because there was not enough time to clear customs in CDG. I then had to reserve on another airline and to throw away my ticket on the first.

When I asked to be compensated for my loss, my claim was denied on the grounds that I was insured for February 5th and not February 4th. In other words, they counted the delay as being on the 4th and not on the 5th. In other words, a plane is declared to be late on departure and not on arrival!

I bought a trip to France from the AAA Agency in Capitola, California. I was to fly from San Francisco to Paris on July 11. I had purchased travel insurance from Access America through the travel agent I dealt with.

On July 9, my 89-year-old father was admitted to Kaiser Hospital of Santa Clara, California, by relatives who he visited that day, who became concerned that he might be having a stroke or heart attack based on his physical being that day. He ended up staying in the hospital for three days, not being released until July 12. I had to cancel my trip, as I am the surviving sibling in my family, and was not going to leave it up to a first cousin to return my father home just so I could go on my trip to France.

I was denied coverage by Access America because on the doctor's report part of the claim, the ER doctor noted 'dementia' as a reason for my dad being in the hospital. Dementia alone was the reason for denial of the claim. Within a few days of my father being released from the hospital, he was back to normal, and even driving a car again. Tests at the hospital showed he didn't have a stroke nor heart attack, but his heartbeat was above normal, and he was showing some signs of being dehydrated, and also some medication that he'd been taking had to be modified. I am in the middle of trying to get my money back: $2400 plus. My father's personal physician has emailed a claims supervisor, informing her of the reasons for my dad's hospital stay, and that the reasons had to do with physical, not mental, reasons!

I rate my experience with Access America to be horrible, as I view them as being part of the problem with this country: ruled by corporatist fascists who are only concerned with making billions of dollars and screwing ordinary people like myself in the process.

I booked a trip to Florida for myself and two children. I went to see an ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor) for a clogged ear. Several visits later, I was written a prescription to have an MRI. The MRI revealed a large brain tumor. The ENT referred me to Mt. Sinai hospital. I met with a neuro surgeon, and ENT surgeon. The surgery is scheduled for May 19th, 2011. I underwent a nine hour surgery. After several weeks on being in the hospital, and home stuck in bed, I finally contacted Access America to inform them of the situation, and there was no way I could fly on July 1st, 2011. They were said, "Oh sorry, no problem, call and cancel with continental. We will send you the paperwork."

They told me they needed the ENT doctor to fill out the paperwork, not the surgeons. I thought that was odd. I received a phone call today stating my "first" visit with the ENT was beyond the 120 days, and it voided my claim. They stated my first visit for a clogged ear was a preexisting condition of the brain tumor. I'm sure I'm out the $874.00 dollars, but this is 2011. How can we let a company scam thousands of people? Let us at least put this company under investigation, or at least warn everyone. I know I will do my share on Facebook, Google, and word of mouth.

After I purchased the policy, this company sent me a confirmation letter with a policy and all its rules attached. When I filed a claim for a hotel room after my flight was rerouted and I missed a connection and was put on the first available flight the next day, they denied the claim. Even though the policy they sent said that it was covered, they then claimed that it only covered trip interruption, which they defined as a 24-hour shut down. I don't think that has happened since 911, if then. At any rate, I called Delta to complain and received some satisfaction with them. ACCESS AMERICA is 'access only to your money.' Stay away - far away from this company. Even the Delta guy said never buy this insurance; deal with them directly.

My wife was scheduled to fly into Boston on December 27th, pick up her son, and then take him on a Christmas vacation to see her family. Both her flight, and their outbound flights, were canceled due to a blizzard.

We just got our final denial notice of the trip interruption claim for the remainder of the trip (Delta reimbursed for the canceled flights). Access America interprets their policy to pay a claim ONLY in the event the airline stops ALL SERVICES for AT LEAST 24 hours from "where you're departing, arriving, or making a connection for specific reasons".

They denied her claim because "Unfortunately, we have verified that there was no stoppage of services for at least 24 hours."

In telephone follow-up, I learned that it simply doesn't matter that my wife and her son weren't offered replacement itineraries anytime during the rest of the week, forcing a cancellation of the rest of the trip and other flights. The other flights' claims were denied because those flights were flying as scheduled, never mind that my wife and her son couldn't be on them.

Essentially, even though my wife's trip was canceled due to severe weather, and a replacement itinerary wasn't offered within 24 hours, because some flights were able to fly out of or in to Boston within 24 hours of the initial shut-down, her claim is denied.

This basically means that their policy is worthless, given their vague policy language, unless the airline shuts down completely for more than 24 hours on either end of your trip, or at a connecting location, preventing you from getting a replacement itinerary... NOT because the airline shuts down for severe weather and won't offer you a replacement itinerary for more than 24 hours.

Bottom line, when was the last time you heard of an airline shutting down for more than 24 hours??

And based on what I've read below, it seems any health condition would be considered a pre-existing condition, unless you got shot by someone on the plane, on the tarmac. Class-action lawsuit might be nice, but more likely the best course of action is to simply OPT-OUT OF ACCESS AMERICA.

A student of our Italian Program purchased travel insurance through Access America.com for her trip to Italy. We had to cancel our program because of financial issues and all but one student has not received her refund of airline ticket. The cost for the airline ticket and insurance was $1800. The other students had Travel Guard Insurance and not Access America. The reason they gave me was that we were not a "covered tour supplier" and our student is denied her insurance coverage. Well, if we were not a covered tour supplier, Access America.com should not have issued this insurance to our student. People, beware of online insurance travel companies. This one is truly a scam insurer!

They refused to honor the policy and we are out $2,823. These people are committing interstate fraud.

My case is similar to most posted on this site and proved once again that Access America is indeed a scam. I bought a trip cancellation insurance from this company upon the recommendation of the travel agent. When my wife was diagnosed with cancer and we had to cancel the trip, Access America dragged processing my claim for months, repeatedly demanding additional medical certificates, as if the specialist's, the oncologist's, certification was not enough, thus, wearing me down and forcing me to give up.

I tried to report this scam to the Richmond, Virginia, Better Business Bureau, where Access America is based, but it took me some time to file a complaint, because their Access America is registered under the name "Mondial Assistance." It's unfortunate that the online reservation systems of some airlines urge you to buy trip cancellation insurance when concluding a reservation. And if one is urged to buy insurance from Mondial Assistance, it's the same old scamming Access America.

I bought airline tickets from Delta directly. The agent asked if we want an insurance, never said it was for a medical claim. I canceled the trip only to find out that they sell trip insurance other than "medical", and that should have been explained. We had to cancel, I had foot surgery and because it was then a medical claim, it was outside of their rules. The point is not that I had a medical claim but that when they sell you travel insurance, it is not explained and you buy the wrong kind. We lost $1500 for their miscommunication. Buyer, beware. Always and don't get sucked up when you book with an airline directly. They get commission on the sale and the customer gets "screwed".

I have rented a car through Hotwire to pick up at the Miami airport terminal. The company name was National. My contract was includes an Access America insurance and was fully accepted by Hotwire. National personnel did not want to give me a car with some inconsistent excuses. I wasted a lot of time to inform Hotwire about the problem and in 2 days I received my money back. Reimbursement was not sent for the Access America insurance. I informed Access America 5 times writing emails to the customer service. Every time a new desk operator replied without understanding that the insurance coverage was never opened due to the fact that no car was ever assigned.

No way to receive a rational and precise reply. With the last email, I informed Access America about my intention to publish the event and their bad behavior. My money after more than 2 months has not been reimbursed yet.

I believe that Access America's way to make business is not what a good and honest citizen would like to observe. My advice: do not pay any tickets or book any rental where Access America is entitled to produce insurance coverage. There are many other companies that do not give so many problems to their clients.

Hotwire used a format not valid for the client company National. I wasted 3 hours and I did not receive the car that I needed for my visit to Key West. The rental cost was reimbursed. Until now Access America is keeping my money without any valid reason.

Access America is a scam. I bought a travel insurance for trip cancellation, interruption, suitcases, medical, etc. Then, my trip was canceled and I had to spend money on a taxi to come back home from the airport. When I finally found a ticket, thanks to Copa Airlines, I spent the night at a hotel. I also got sick during my holiday vacation. And guess what? The insurance denied the claim! What a scam! Please don't buy insurance. Keep your money in the bank.

My story is similar to most posted on this site. I insured my air and cruise with Access America. Our flight was canceled due to a snow storm in Minneapolis, MN on 12/11/10. We missed flight, but rebooked for 12/12/10 at 9:00 A M. This flight was delayed for over five hours with almost two hours spent sitting on the plane waiting to depart. This delay of course caused us to miss the cruise ship.

We filed a claim and were given what apparently is the standard run-around before denial of a claim. I blame Hotwire for pimping for Access America and setting me up for this scam, Delta Air for lying and incompetence, and myself for not being bright enough to plan around this disaster.

Yes, we could have rebooked and return home, but the cost would have been greater than staying in Florida for one week. Total cost is $3,000 (including the cost of the cruise for four people, lodging, car rental and meals for one week). I would probably have settled for half, but now it looks like zero.

Thank you consumeraffairs.com for the great service you are providing to our community. I was in the process of paying for a travel insurance protection with Access America, and decided to review your comments prior to clicking the accept button. To my surprise, much dissatisfaction was expressed about this scamming company. Thanks for saving me the trouble!

I purchased airline tickets from US Airways and Flight Insurance from Access America on 10/19/10. My wife was recovering from pneumonia when tickets were purchased. A follow up x-ray was taken to assure lungs were clear. The technician took the chest x-ray a little lower than usual and noted a small dark spot on the pancreas. After tickets were purchased, the exam showed the dark spot to be a tumor (not identified as malignant). A follow-up test found two lymph nodes were malignant. Emergency surgery was performed on 12/09/11 as the tumor was also cutting into a vein supplying oxygen to the liver.

Our claim was turned down due to "pre-existing condition". There was no pre-existing condition for cancer prior to purchase of insurance. There was no indication that there was cancer prior to the purchase of tickets. A review of complaints against this company indicates that this is the main reason for denial for claims. Denied claim and airline allowed travel for one year on purchased tickets, but a charge of $150.00 cancellation fee was charged for each of the 5 family tickets.

I too, made the mistake of buying trip insurance from Access America thru the Alaska Airlines web site. Access America denied my claim because there was a pre-existing condition involved. My wife's mother's health took a decided turn for the worse right before our trip so the trip was cancelled. My answer to that would be that almost all 90 year-olds have some kind of pre-existing condition. In her case she had been stable but it became apparent she had a serious problem with dementia. Oh, and I thought that rental car coverage would be included but no, that was an add on so I lost $400 to Priceline.com in addition to the losses related to the airline reservations. I wish I had seen this site before. I will never buy any kind of trip insurance again.

I purchased a Delta ticket in conjunction with a trip to Egypt. The trip to Egypt was cancelled. I had insured the ticket with Access America, and when I filed a claim, they denied it. I was originally told I would be given $150 for the change fee charge. They subsequently changed their story. I got so many different stories from them. I have subsequently researched on complaints against this company, and found out that claim denials were usual. They are clearly a scam. The ticket cost me $359.80, which I cannot recover, plus about $18 for the fraudulent insurance. I try to be so careful when I travel. This has caused me distress.

I had to fly home from JFK to Nassau Bahamas for my father's funeral. I was unsure exactly when the funeral would be and so I gave it a few days in Nassau and bought a return ticket for a few days later. I had to buy a two way ticket because it is international travel. Because I was pretty sure I would have to change my flight, I bought insurance with Access America, offed on Jet Blue's website. I thought this was a good precaution. I saw "family death" included on the form. Granted I was in a very fragile state and my thinking was not entirely clear. When I sent Access America the required forms (funeral pamphlet, etc) my claim was denied. They stated that "a trio cancellation due to a change of 'plan' dates is not included" among their reasons.

This is a disgusting company. My claim was for around $170. They first addressed this sensitive document to my boyfriend, who had been traveling with me and then made up their own rules as to why my claim could and should be denied and attached information for arbitration with fees that are higher than the sum I was asking for to begin with. How does my father's death not count as death of an immediate family member? They should be shut down and forced to give people their $72 back. .

I paid 500 dollars for insurance, cancel for any reason I was told. Big scam. We planned a trip to Egypt. Because of the problems going on in Egypt they say that the CIVIL unrest is not covered. You need a lawyer to read what they cover and what they don't.

Delta paid us back immediately when there was a state alert and the U.S. Government would not let them fly there. We explained that to Access America and were told that they do not pay for CIVIL unrest. If they refuse to pay for our expenses, I think they should have to at least pay back the 500 dollars that we paid them.The trip does not start for another month.

Having been given the runaround for four months and even lied to by Access America staff, on January 19, 2011, I appealed to Jonathan M. ******, Access America's CEO by sending him the following letter.

"I was disturbed, in fact angered, to receive an umpteenth request for one more doctor's certificate (I have already sent two doctor's certificates), an obvious ploy in an attempt to deny this claim, because as you and everybody knows very well, a Primary Care Physician does not have most of the information required in your unnecessarily long and complicated doctor's certificate when dealing with a cancer case.

The doctor's certificate was completed in great detail by the competent doctor, the Oncologist Dr. ******, who made it abundantly clear that the first symptoms of the disease, that as stated in the enclosed certificate made her advise my wife to cancel the insured trip, did not appear until after the insurance was purchased. Any judge would find that the oncologists certificate indisputably validates this claim that your people have dragged out for four months by bombarding me with numerous form letters in an attempt to wear me down and give up.

Additional proof of your company's policy to deny claims is the fact that two of your people (one of them named Bobbie) assured me on the phone not to worry and that they would phone the doctor for clarification, which they never did.

I trust that as a distinguished personality and Wharton graduate, you will see the harm that these practices do to your reputation and will direct your staff to honor this claim. If I do not receive a check by February 11, I will have no other recourse but to report your company's unbusiness like practices to your BBB, Insurance Commissioner, consumeraffairs.com (that already bristles with your customers complaints), travel agents associations and any other competent entity."

I was hoping that as a distinguished personality Mr. ****** would order his staff to shape up and pay this legitimate claim. Instead, he forwarded my letter to one of his underlings who bombarded me once again with the same two-page medical form in full knowledge of the fact that the Primary Care Physician does not have the information required to fill it out, thus perpetuating Access America's policy of delaying tactics- asking for impossible documents and even lying and saying "don't worry, we'll call the doctor". They never did. It is a determined effort to deny legitimate claims. It is sad that this policy obviously has the blessing of the CEO.

I will never buy insurance through Access America again. It have been totally ** over by them twice now.

The first time, my daughter got sick and we were not able to make the flight to our friend's wedding. On the phone that morning, the agent told me that my husband re-booked the flight for a day later, and once my daughter could be seen by the doctor, the change fees and difference in fare would be covered. We went ahead and did that for his ticket only and the additional cost was over $1,000 which we would only have done under the guidance of the agent. Of course the ticket is bought, and now, the next agent we speak with says we were told wrong and would only be reimbursed for the $350 cost of his ticket. We lost $650 due to misinformation by agents.

Second incident was when we (stupidly), again, bought insurance for our trip to Quebec. Our flight home to Newark was canceled and re-booked 4 times by Continental (a whole other complaint I should file). At first, we were told by their agents that we qualified for "travel delay" coverage which would be up to $200 pp. After the first day, when I called back, they said that because the cancellations went over 24 hours (it ended up being over 2 days), the coverage would now fall under "trip interruption" since there were no flights being offered out of Quebec to Newark on Continental. This would cover up to $412.16 pp for meals/transport and accommodations related to the delay.

We get 2 checks for $200, claiming that when they looked up the airline information, there was 1 flight that left Quebec to Newark on Continental - a flight that we were not on nor offered by the airline, and due to this, we did not actually qualify for interruption coverage. Access America again misinformed me and again weaseled out of paying the money that their agents led us to believe would be coming. Loss number 2 was for $320. Pitiful!

I called this company on Dec. 23, 2010. I talked to a very nice lady and explained what had happened on my trip. She explained to me that was what my trip delay/cancellation insurance was for. She said that since my flight had been cancelled several times and then eventually cancelled, and that I spent the night in the airport, I could claim $150.00 each day that I had to stay in the airport. So she sent me the claim forms to fill out. I had some questions about the claim forms so I called the company back and spoke to another lady. She put me on hold several times so that they could listen to the recording of the previous phone conversation and then she informed me that I was misinformed about my claim. She said that I couldn't claim anything since I didn't go to a hotel. I tried explaining to her that if I had gone to a hotel, I could have missed the chance of catching the next available flight. All she could say was "sorry".

Access America is a company that is not honest and reliable. I will not recommend using this company and I will not be using Orbitz again until they decide to give the customers a choice of insurance companies to choose from.

I am truly sorry it has come to this, however, I think it is very important you know the contractual breach with Access America and myself. On September 8, 2010, I purchased a travel protection policy from Access America for travel on October 29-31, 2010. I later changed the dates with American Airlines and paid a penalty to change the dates to November 12, 2010. I reviewed the Access America policy number ** which was issued on September 8, 2010 to figure out if I had to contact Access America to change the original dates. There was no reference in the contract to contact Access America to change dates.

On November 10, 2010, I contacted American Airlines and Access America to cancel my revised travel date of November 12, 2010 because of a seriously ill family member who later passed away on November 12, 2010. I started a claim with Access America on November 10 and retained a physician certification form from my family member's doctor who clearly stated: "He will need his family support at this time." After contacting Access America, they said my claim will be denied because I changed the travel dates from my original travel dates in October 2010.

I challenged their decision because there is no reference in the contract stating I am required to contact Access America to notify them of the change. They still denied the claim although there is not a written clause stating the insured is required to contact Access America in the event travel dates change. Obviously, this is emotionally challenging because I had purchased an insurance policy for protection and when needed, the insurance carrier is not honoring the claim. I think it is only fair for Access America to honor the trip cancellation protection of $391.40 for which it was issued.

I purchase flight cancellation insurance when I purchase my ticket from San Jose to LA. My living boy friend developed fibrillation that evening and the cardiologist advised us to cancel the trip.

Access America denied the claim with the reason that it was a "pre existing" condition. Also, because the illness was on the day we purchase the plan. I presume his death that day would have been a pre-existing condition!

I found extremely dishonest that these conditions are not explained before you purchase the insurance. Furthermore, developing an illness on the day the plan is purchased is totally out of our control. This company is a fraud and I would like some kind of awarness available to future customers when this company advertise on airlines sites. Thank you.

This company is a fraud. I purchased insurance for a trip to Florida to attend a fellow veteran's birthday party, who was 80 yrs old. Prior to the trip, my friend had an accident breaking his leg and was in the hospital. My trip had to be canceled. I had purchased this insurance thinking that I was protecting my trip, as the ad when I purchased from Delta Airlines. What a joke, after filling out paper after paper, talking to many people at this company, one agent said "you're wasting my time and yours, we don't pay anyone!" No one gets paid. It's a complete fraud!

I have been traveling for years and have used Access America's services on at least 4 or 5 occasions to purchase travel insurance, since one never knows if or when something unfortunate might occur. Unfortunately, this is the second time I've had to cancelled planned trips where our traveler's insurance was through Access America. On both occasions, Access America has found reasons, more like excuses to not pay me back due to what they call "pre-existing conditions." this time and last time because my husband had to cancel at within a week of our travel plans because he was informed by his boss the President of RHA of NC that he had to be in a meeting that was not prior scheduled due to changes in Federal changes in benefits and money for the clients my husband works with.

Needless to say, I was not happy about our trips being cancelled on either occasion! To give you a bit more information, on the first trip that we had to cancel, Access America stated they would not reimburse us because their policy specifically says that if you have to cancel due to business reasons they will not reimburse or cover your loss. Well, excuse me but if it is due to an emergency meeting being called at the last minute and one of the travelers is "told" he must be there, you as an employee are not going to tell the president of the company, "I'm sorry, but I have travel plans, so I can't be at your meeting." Because of my husband's position in his company, when meetings of this nature are called, he must clear his calender and be at these meetings. There was no way that my husband was to know beforehand that this meeting was going to be called, nor that his presents was going to be mandated, so because of Access America, we were out over $600.

As to the second trip that we had to cancel (claim number 0001361247), I was informed by my neurologist three days before we were due to leave that I could not travel because I had hurt/aggravated the condition of my neck. First, I was told by Access America that they needed a statement from my doctor, which I did provided and it was dated 5/10/10 and our trip was to start on 5/13/10. Then Access America sent me another letter saying they needed me to refill my claim, which I did. The company then wrote me and told me my claim was denied due to lack of medical information. So I asked my doctor to rewrite his letter with more of and explanation of why I could not travel. Access America received this letter, along with another claim form. After I made two phone calls to Access America's company, I finally got another letter telling me that they would not cover our claim because I have a preexisting condition that kept me from traveling.

Here's the cause of the matter. I had this same condition since 1987. It flares up periodically and is extremely painful, however it has never kept me after traveling on a plan before. I simple take my pain medications and go to sleep throughout the fight. This was the first time any of my doctors had told me I could not travel, even though I've again, had this condition since 1987. However, because my neurologist put in his second letter that it was a preexisting condition, now Access America will not cover my claim. Had my doctor not put in his follow-up letter that it was a preexisting condition, I was told by one of the agents at Access America, I would have been due for Access America to cover my claim. Needless to say, I am extremely angry and upset that Access America refuses to pay out and cover my cancelled claim price.

They kept having me send them information until they had a reason to deny my claim. Also they first tried to say that due to the date on my neurologist's second letter it makes my claim invalid because it was dated on the current date on which it was sent out and did not include the date that he had told me I could not travel, although this information was on the first letter he wrote for me and it did not say anything about me having a preexisting condition.

The only thing I can figure is that Access America Travel Insurance & Assistance will continue questioning and asking for information until they find a way to deny coverage on a claim. I was very careful to read all their small print before I purchased their insurance for our May trip since they had ripped us off the last time we had used them and had to cancel so I wanted to make sure that there would be no problems with this trip just in case something came up. I again want to state for the record that I've had this condition with my neck since 1987 and have never had a doctor tell me I could travel. I have been cautioned to be very careful, but not that I could not go on a planned trip.

When I asked Ms. *** if this meant that Access America would never cover me when I traveled because I have this problem with my neck, she told me "No, not necessarily," but she would not go into any further detail. I have to admit that when I called Access America this time, which is the fifth time I have called them, that I was not cordial, nor polite, as I had been on the four previous calls.

As a matter of fact, I was downright angry and unfriendly. I had tried being polite and friendly and doing everything Access America's agents had indicated to me that I needed to do up to this point, but I had finally reached my point of them finding all the excuses they could find to deny my claim and carry this process out as long as they could so that, I'm supposing, I would just give up. I will not give up this time. Access America owes me $896 and I want my money reimbursed asap. No more **** around. The company owes me my reimbursement and they need to pay up according to their contract. I will say this, I will never purchase travel insurance through Access America again and I am advising all my friends, family, the BBB and anyone who tunes into Facebook and Twitter not to use Access America's travel insurance because they are a rip off!

I've just found this website and would like to add my own bad experience with Access America in the hopes that others will think more clearly about supporting this company. My experience doesn't have me out nearly as much money as some (only $150 in change fees, plus the cost of the "insurance"), but I'm still not happy with what I got (namely, nothing but a denial of our claim).We bought our tickets from Alaska Airlines in March for a trip in September 2010. Not knowing what might happen so far out, I also bought Access America Travel Insurance for the first (and very last) time. In mid-August, my wife began to experience very severe migraine headaches and panic attacks.

So we were not denied coverage, as some who've told their stories here, because of a "pre-existing condition." We were denied coverage because buried somewhere in the fine print (but no where on the Alaska website where this insurance is described in such glowing terms) is a clause that denies coverage for "mental or nervous health disorders or any related physical complications." I would like Alaska Airlines to publish the complete list of the illnesses and circumstances that are not covered by this "insurance" policy. I would hope that if most of their customers read that long list, they would not waste their money as I did. Result: $150 of change fees for Alaska Airlines plus the cost of the "insurance."

My wife and two friends were going to New York for a few days and insured their travel via Access America. The day before the flight (8/21/10), my wife became ill and was unable to travel so they had to cancel their trip. She filed a claim with Access America on 8/30/10. We received a letter on 9/6/10 requesting a copy of the E-ticket Itinerary and proof of payment for the trip. Even though this information was provided with the original claim paperwork, we faxed in the requested documents on 9/13/10. After not hearing anything for weeks we tried to access the claim status on line. The website listed for status is *** , surprise, this link does not work. We contacted two different reps by phone and they said that they had never gotten the info. Rather than fax it again, we sent the documents directly via email.

Another week of waiting and we contacted Access America again by phone. They said that they now needed documentation from a doctor that she was too ill to travel. We provided our doctor's name and office numbers and were informed that they would fax him the necessary form to complete. A few more weeks of waiting and we contacted them again (by phone since the web site link they provided still does not work). We were informed that since her condition is a chronic condition, they consider it to be a pre-existing condition and they could not honor the policy. This company thrives on misdirection, overloading you with paperwork and contact issues. They continually "don't receive" things you send and ask for more and more documentation until you either give up or they find a loophole to avoid paying.

I am a travel agent and have been selling this insurance for many years. They offer a policy which is supposed to be a perk for agents that covers all travel for a year. I purchased this in May 2010 and I never thought more about it and went ahead and planned a trip for us for October. I got very sick two weeks before and only then did they advised me that the policy I purchased does not cover trip cancellation. It begs the questions: How is this policy a perk and why would anyone buy such a policy since cancellation is precisely what you are trying to cover?

They are completely denying the claim and I am out $5000. Their own information says cancellation is covered but now that I look at it, the policy does not. What a fraud this is and I would feel responsible if they had done this to any of my clients. Please file this so others do not fall into this trap.

I had a 24-hour trip delay when my flight from New York was got delayed by 6 hours, resulting in missed connections along the way to the final destination. I also incurred considerable travel/hotel costs and missed business because I missed my scheduled appointment at the destination. I had bought Access America trip cancellation/interruption/delay insurance. However, in spite of spending hours in filing a claim with all proof of delay (from the airline) and new boarding passes, Access America denied my claim saying they would only cover natural disasters (such as a volcanic eruption or hurricane).

I felt cheated because it's not mentioned anywhere in the insurance document. Even the fine print does not specify clearly. I would warn others not to take Access America Trip interruption/delay insurance unless they are fully aware of this fact.

I own my company and do subcontract work for other companies. I purchased flight insurance with Access when booking a flight home on Hotwire, but ended up having to drive home because my contract was terminated due to lack of work. The policy says it covers termination or layoff that isn't your fault. I could find nothing else in the paperwork about this. Access started spouting off other rules and such not in the paperwork provided me to avoid paying the claim. A total ripoff! Don't waste your money on this insurance.

I purchased travel interruption insurance from Access America because my husband is chronically ill and I knew there was a chance he would not be able to travel. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened and when I tried to get my money refunded, it became apparent this company is deceptive, fraudulent and nothing more than a bunch of scammers. They never told me they would not cover a pre-existing medical condition. In fact, their website leads you to believe that is what their product is for. When I filed the claim, they still never told me it was going to be denied. Instead, I had to fill out numerous pages, have the doctor fill out 2 pages and then send it in. I checked numerous times on the status and all I could get was "it's pending" or "it's in review."

They finally sent me a letter saying they want another physician statement from a different doctor! It was just another stall tactic because they clearly had no intention of paying and they have carefully trained their staff to avoid giving out the information consumers need. They told me that since he had been to the doctor less than 120 days prior to travel, they won't cover the condition. I tried explaining that chronically ill people generally go to the doctor at least every 30 days. And since when aren't chronically ill people supposed to travel?? Who needs a break more than them? Clearly they are discriminating against sick people or are using that as another excuse not to pay. Do not buy Access America Travel Insurance. It's a waste of your money! I also contacted Hot Wire since I made the reservations through them and thought they would be appreciative of me letting them know. Not a chance! They are in cahoots with Access America so I wouldn't recommend making reservations through Hot Wire either.

I booked a flight to Saskatewan for a dental course at a fishing lodge, and took out an insurance policy with Access America for about $5000 to cover the course and travel. A few weeks before the course, the operator cancelled and refunded most of the money for the course. I filed a claim with Access America to cover the nonrefundable plane ticket, lost VAT tax and the cost of the person I had already paid to cover my office while I was away. Access America totally denied the entire claim and paid not even a penny, even though the policy I paid for advertised full amount for cancellation. I do not recommend using them, although I have used them in the past for many years. In the past, any claim made was required to have huge amounts of documentation, so I had all that, but they state they will not pay anything because the reason for cancellation wasn't on their list. How about the reason of "not my fault", since that is why I took out a policy, in case the trip was cancelled due to circumstances beyond my control?

In March, 2010, my mother flew from Phoenix to Houston on Continental Air on a round trip ticket. She was scheduled to return three weeks later. However, she feel ill in Houston spent weeks in ICU, rehab, and eventually was moved to a senior retirement center. She is unable to fly, and thus unable to use her return ticket to Phoenix worth $150. She had purchased travel insurance with her ticket, and filed a claim with Access America. Then the nightmare began! The requests for documentation from the hospital, rehab, and physicians were copious. Requests for additional information have now gone on for months. All documentation has been sent repeatedly. Access America is a scam.

I have been buying travel insurance for years. Never again! I got stranded in London when the Icelandic volcano exploded and had to file a claim for the first time. Access America has been uncooperative, deceitful and just plain impossible to work with. My husband's trip was also cancelled and you would think they could simply explain the procedure. The worst part is they do not take a copy of your itinerary for the trip where it says how much you paid Orbitz as proof of payment because they say it does not prove you paid.

How else is Orbitz or the airline going to issue a ticket number, a seat and an itinerary if you don't pay. Is a big scam, designed to wear the costumer down to just give up. Well, I will never buy insurance from them and I'm telling everyone I know about this problem.

I had booked a 7-day Alaskan cruise for my grandson and myself. Our plane had mechanical problems so the flight was cancelled. By the time we got off the plane and tried to make other arrangements, the best we could do was to arrive in Seattle at 6 pm. The ship left at 4 pm. I called Carnival and our only option was to book flights to Skagway to meet the ship 3 days later and pay a penalty of $300 each (per the Passenger Vessel Act). We would have had to also book a hotel in Skagway for at least one night in order to take an early morning shore excursion that I'd already booked in Skagway. What a nightmare. So I would have had to pay another $860 for one-way airfare to Skagway, $600 in penalties, and extra accommodation and still missed the first 3 days of a 7-day cruise. That does not make any sense. Since then, I've gotten my money back from Carnival and United Airlines.

Access America has paid me $150 so far (for a trip delay of 1 day). My grandson was delayed too! And the soonest we could have continued on the cruise was 3 days. What a rip off.

Tried to obtain a quote for flight insurance via United Airlines website for upcoming trips. When I attempt to input my state of residence, HAWAII is not listed in the program among the list of states as I scrolled both up and down. Lack of travel insurance for all residents of the State of Hawaii which is discriminatory.

I purchased travel insurance with Access America for a flight from Detroit to Boston. I had to cancel because of a problem involving a close relative who got into trouble with the police because of a medical issue. I had to go to Cincinnati to bail him out, which forced me to cancel the flight. When I called Access America, I was put on hold for about 40 minutes; then they told me it was not covered because it wasn't the right kind of medical emergency. I will never deal with this company again. Loss of plane fare, including extra charges for baggage.

My child got sick with a cold and I cancelled the same day my hotel & they never refunded my money.

I bought travel insurance for a trip to New York City from Hotwire.com, which uses Access America. My claims are for $312. For three months, I got no response. Each agent gave me a different story. After 3 months, today, I was told over the phone that my claim is denied. The reason is the party I was going to meet from London could not travel because of volcanic ash, and this is not covered by the policy. I asked why it took 3 months to tell me it was not covered. No answer. As I am unemployed, I fund all my job searches myself. Losing $312.00 for which I paid insurance for an event I, a consumer, I could not prevent.

Access America Travel Insurance is a total scam. I purchased this insurance policy along with Delta flights for my daughter. We were going to my son's wedding and to say good bye and be careful for his deployment to Afghanistan. My daughter recently lost her job due to budget cuts. She found a job that required her to start 2 days before our scheduled return.

I had to re-book her flights. I called Access America to get a refund on her original ticket. They gave me some stupid reason why their policy did not cover such events. I asked the rational for such an exemption and the agent gave no answer. Needless to say, I told her I had wasted my money. She actually agreed with me! I told her I would never use Access America again. Beware of Access America. They are a scam.

My daughter is a kidney transplant patient. She had a transplant 5 years ago. We live in Nebraska. Her transplant doctors are in California. We travel there two to three times a year for check-ups etc. The last visit was to do her annual kidney biopsy to make sure her kidney was not going into rejection. Unfortunately, it was. We had to stay there an extra day while the doctors administered a 12-hour IV drip.

The 12-hour IV drip made us miss our flight by 6 hours. I contacted the travel insurance company immediately explaining the situation. The customer service person was very nice and explained to me that this should all be covered and not to worry but that she would download all necessary forms to complete my claim process.

I received the emailed forms and was quite surprised by all the information they required from the doctor. It took the doctor's office an hour to complete the form.The forms were sent back to Access America. For weeks, l had to call them to find out the status. They informed me I'd have to resend them; their email system had been down for a while so I should fax them.

Two weeks later I was sent a letter explaining my claim was denied because it was all related to a "pre-existing" condition.

I called them to re-explain the situation but it fell on deaf ears. I was told anything to do with my daughter's kidney transplant would be considered a pre-existing condition. I then asked why wouldn't you state it on your website home page that you will not cover any one who is traveling for medical reason? I was told it was listed in the multi-page, fine print terms and conditions and that is all we are required to show.

On April 8, 2010, my parents bought tickets to travel to GA with Delta. I advised them to pay for insurance because the tickets were nonrefundable. On the 16 of April, my dad had to have a tube put in his chest for draining fluid from asbestos cancer mesothelioma. Now they were going to GA to seek an alternate way to treat this cancer. When the doctor put the tube in, they told them he could not fly. So they had to cancel. Now the cancer was not the reason for not flying, it was the procedure of the tube.

But Access America say it does not matter. It is a pre-existing condition and that is that and there will be no refund. I have filed the proper paper work from the doctor that put the tubes in and he says they did not know about the tubes until 3 days after buying the tickets. What do they get by with calling this pre-existing? The tickets cost my parents $1012.89 and over $50 for the insurance. My Mother is under enough stress with Dad having this cancer and now this lousy company will give her a stroke due to the stress.

They have ignored my claim $300 in damages and fees.

I called Access America for a change in my travel plan due to my son's doctor's appointment and changes in my wife's school resumption. They denied having me covered because of this. They insist they could not help because that is not enough reason to change travel plan. United Airline insists they will charge me additional $625 for the changes. Access America are [bad], liars, and will never cover you for basically anything. I travel all the time and I purchase this travel insurance. The first time I tried to use it is now and they told me that if you are not at the point of death, you are not covered.

I will advice you not to purchase these insurance because all they do is to pocket your money. Why waste money when nothing is covered. They are complete rip off. My son could not go for his 6 month doctor's appointment. My wife missed 4 classes in school. My daughter could not come back to resume school on time. Beware of Access America, fraudulent insurance and assistance company.

I purchased airline tickets through Orbitz only to find that they charged my credit card an additional fee for "travel insurance." I called to cancel this insurance and find out why I was charged this when I did not ask for it and it was not showing up on my travel itinerary anywhere. They informed me that it is "automatically" selected and I would have had to deselect it in order to not obtain the additional insurance and fee. I spent 45 min on the phone trying to deal with this before I simply had to call my credit card company and deny the charge. I would never use Orbitz again.

I just wanted to add my name to the list of people that Access American Travel Insurance got to. As a business owner I fly clients in from all over the country so that we can do business face to face. Because my business schedule changes ever so often, I always purchase travel insurance for cancellations and changes. Well, one of my clients called me to changed dates on one of our meetings so I obliged and booked him a new ticket for the next day. I then called Access America to file the claim and it was at this time I found out what I thought was trip cancellation insurance was really an only-if-you-die or get-subpoenaed policy. Not a true cancellation policy.

I guess I learned my lesson on this and will never purchase my flights through Orbitz or any of the other clearinghouse vendors. The only reason I did it this time was my client's schedule and I had to use two different airlines to make things happen. Here is how Orbitz has it advertised:

Travel delay coverage up to $200. 24/7 award-winning assistance (Global Call Center of the Year, ICMI)."

The monetary amount isn't my biggest concern with this. I lost around $350.00 because of this. The insurance itself was only $17.00. This company's obscured policy has to be ousted. The policy that I got was 20 pages of legalisms that they hope you do not read. And the fact that it took me over 5 clicks to get to this policy online also discourages someone from reading it.

It was a bad experience. The travel insurance my wife bought stated it covered cancellations due to bad weather. Great. She had bad weather on her way from NYC to Albuquerque, and was forced to spend the night in Denver airport. The next flight to New Mexico was not for more than 24 hours. However her insurance claim (worth $500) was denied because her carrier had some other flight going to some other destination within 24 hours.

Their policy small print required "complete cessation of service by the airline" defined as no flights leaving the airport for 24 hours. If there was complete cessation of service for 23 hours, then one flight on the airline left for Mexico City, her claim would be denied; making this insurance worth much less than she thought. We will never buy from this company again. Access America (AA) is offered in default by Orbitz, you just need to tick an option box.

The Romans knew it, and this blog entry is a testament: Caveat Emptor, buyer beware. $500 loss, loss of baggage for several days. Not as severe as some here, but another data point.

I just wanted to add to the numbers who have complained about this. Hotwire was fine but their trip insurance partner is not. It's called Access America. I had a ticket booked to Dayton, OH and had done so for attending a court hearing. However, the hearing was cancelled and I lost the special fare (since it was clearance, hotwire couldn't themselves refund).

I could not re-schedule the flight either as it was used. As such, forfeit is based on hotwire rules. However, these rules did not apply to Access America and they should have refunded part if not all of the lost ticket (it was over 600 dollars). Instead they claimed legal reasons weren't covered even though I could not have known at the time I booked the hearing would be cancelled within a day or two the flight.

I went back and forth with them multiple times and they wouldn't give me back even the cost of the insurance. But I am contacting the insurance commissioner in Illinois where they are. In my life I would say they are the most ugly and non-customer service -oriented company.

My husband is going for testing to confirm he can remain a kidney donor for his cousin. In case the schedule changed, we purchased the Access America insurance. He was notified by his coordinator for the surgeons and transplant team that they would have to postpone everything for two weeks. When we contacted Access America, we were told that changes done by the hospital were not covered under the insurance. I spoke with Delta and they kindly waived the reissue fee of $150. I am still out what I paid for the insurance and it, obviously, is not the point. The point is that this is a shady company and a scam all together.

I purchased the insurance for a business trip to Florida for which I used my miles and was originally booked through NWA's website. Suddenly, my tickets were through Delta and they charged me $100 (which NWA did not) as my seminar was cancelled (which I documented). Why buy travel cancellation insurance if it operates in such a manner? $100.00 as an unemployed person trying to start up in real estate for a seminar.

I would like to cancel my policy 2 months before our trip. But Access America Travel will not let me do so. I had another policy that was not honored when my mother unexpectedly passed away.

My husband and I were asked to become Godparents to his great nephew in Louisville, KY. We purchased US Airlines tickets for the weekend of January 09, 2010 to January 10, 2010. Knowing that our great nephew had been sick we decided to purchase air fare insurance in case the baptism was canceled or moved to another date as our airline tickets were non refundable. We did not see the little print explaining that you need a doctor's excuse as the insurance is a 26 page document and is not clearly advised to read every little exception. As it turned out one of the parents of the child became ill and the babyish was changed to later in the year.

When we called Access America, they sent us forms to fill out, we did, and then were told weeks later we needed a doctor's note for the parent. The flue does not always require someone to go to the doctor and in this case there is no doctor's note that we know of. Access America refuses to pay the claim which we only require the $300 in the change fee for the airline tickets, we are not requesting the entire amount. This insurance is virtually worthless and I will be sending a copy of this letter to the insurance commissioner of the state of Virgina.

As a consequence,we have had to pay for a change fee in the amount of $300 which brings our discounted tickets to more than $800 round trip which had we known, we could of just purchased changeable tickets that would allow us to make changes without the hassle and expense of the insurance. I would like to file a formal complaint against Access America to warn of travelers that the insurance company seems to be of no help unless you have very specific issues that they determine. Sincerely, Patricia **.

My husband and I were slated to leave for a trip on 2/7/2010, to return to Kansas City on 2/14/2010. On 2/5/2010, after being unable to reach my mom for 1& 1/2 days, I went to her house. I found her dead on her dining room floor. Obviously, it was a huge shock to all of us, as she was doing great, and no one is sure exactly what happened. We called Orbitz, which is where we purchased our airline tickets from. They directed us to call Access America. They told us to cancel our flight, and once I received the death certificate, etc to fill out the claim forms they emailed me, and they would process our claim within one week, no problem. I did as they directed me to do.

One week passed, and I called and talked to "Roy", who informed me that I needed to provide them with a physicians statement, and the coroners/medical examiners report! I was quite upset obviously. I did not feel like that was relevant, but I did as they directed me to do. I faxed the information to them 3 days later, and called them yesterday, 3/18/2010. They informed me that my claim was being denied, due to a pre-existing condition. This company is unscrupulous, unethical, and morally corrupt. However, unlike many here that may give up in frustration, I am not one of those people. If it takes an act of congress, or a class action lawsuit, I'm there. I am asking anyone out there who is interested in dedicating a webpage designed to bring attention to this ridiculous excuse of a company to post.

If this is not solved by Access America immediately, I will be re-posting next week, with my email address and information, to get a grassroots process started against this company. I will step up to the plate in my mom's memory, and make this company sorry for the additional pain and suffering they have caused me, and thousands of others for only one reason, greed. In addition to Access America, I have also located the CEO's name and phone number of Orbitz, and forwarded a letter to them as well. His name is Barney Harford in Chicago, Illinois. Any company of that size, that chooses to align themselves with a company, such as Access America, should have to answer to its loyal customer base, and step in and help resolve these issues. As far as I am concerned, this starts with Access America, but does not necessarily stop there.

The economic damage is $951.96. The physical/psychological damage is that I am already having a lot of issues finding my mom dead, and for this company to put me through this, make me get a coroner's report (which was very hard for me to read) etc, caused me additional mental stress. Someone needs to regulate this company. This is very unethical. I worked in the medical field as an operating scrub nurse, and office assistant for my husband for years (he is a physician/surgeon), so I dealt with insurance companies on a daily basis, and I am familiar with how they work, but this is the most unscrupulous company I have ever had an experience with.

Please contact me if there is a class action lawsuit! I had to cancel a plane flight in February because my 79-year-old mother got hepatitis. I very promptly called Access America, got all the forms, had her doctor fill out the physicians form, and packaged the entire claim in an e-mail. One month later, I have yet for anyone to recognize that my claim exists! I've called numerous times, re-sent the claim and called again. Kudos to those of you got as far as actually getting your freaking claim processed!

I purchased travel insurance with Access America for a vacation with my husband for February 4-11, 2010. My mother-in law died one week prior to departure and my brother died the day we were to leave. Both had had cancer but they were stable when we made plans to travel. Needless to say, we were unable to travel and were forced to cancel as they both suddenly became terminally ill almost simultaneously. I sent a claim form and death certificates to Access America after the funerals.

When I spoke to an agent she informed me that we needed a doctor's statement and that because our family members had "pre-existing" conditions, we were really not entitled to refunds. I did not trouble the various Doctors with the paperwork as it is apparent to me that this company has no intention of accepting the claim. Coincidentally, my deceased brother's wife had the same experience with Access America. The insurance and airfare cost over $1,000. Thankfully the hotel gave us credit towards a future stay.There was absolutely no point in buying insurance from Access America. They will not honor a claim for death unless it is totally accidental. But I am not certain of that.

My flight was canceled after the Dec. 19th snowstorm in the Washington D.C. area. I was supposed to fly out on the 20th and arrived at the airport that morning. The airline canceled the flight because they said they couldn't crew it adequately. We had to take a taxi home, unexpectedly. The airline said they couldn't get us out until 3 or 4 days later. I did not want to shorten my trip by that much, so instead I canceled the reservation and rescheduled several weeks later when I was able to get the time off.

I filed a claim for the taxi ride since my trip was interrupted and this was an expense I had not expected. Not only did AccessAmerica not reimburse me for this cost, they didn't even bother to tell me they were denying my claim. Finally I called them and the rep said my insurance didn't kick in until my trip commenced. But I had to cancel the trip because of the above circumstances, so what in the world is the trip insurance for? From others' comments I can see that nothing can be done, but this company does not deserve to be in this business and I am stating my complaint wherever possible so that hopefully others can see it before they are cheated, as I feel I was. Not only did I lose the $300 they charged me for the trip insurance but it cost me $100 to get home in the taxi, so I'm actually out $400.

(Copy of letter sent to Appeals Division of Access America)

Our family had planned a trip to Hawaii during my son's spring vacation in April of this year. We purchased what we thought was appropriate travel insurance from Access America in the event of an occurrence requiring cancellation. At the time of purchase, my father, diagnosed with lung cancer, was undergoing treatment and in fact doing quite well. He had planned to visit us in March just prior to our leaving for Hawaii. However, his cancer took a turn for the worse and the cancer ceased to respond to chemotherapy. He was recommended to initiate daily radiation therapy over several weeks, thus not allowing him to visit us. Because of his worsening condition, we canceled our trip and are instead spending spring recess with him at his home.

We supplied Access America with the reason for cancellation and the appropriate documentation from his Oncology physician that my father is dying. I am still astounded at your refusal to honor this policy. The reason given was that my father had a pre-existing condition. Just as millions of Americans have a history of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, dyslipidemia, asthma, the list could go on, hopefully I have made the point. Any one of these conditions could result in a complication requiring a change in their health therapy. Thus, those cases should be honored, as should ours.

I am certain, and believe you will agree, if this unfortunate case of a eldest son and grandson wishing to change their travel plans to spend their vacation time visiting family is reviewed by a non-biased arbitrator. Well, the outcome is obvious.

On November 3, I purchased a plane ticket from United along with travel insurance from Access America. On November 23, my father was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. I submitted my claims report along with a letter from his oncologist on official hospital letterhead stating the date of the diagnosis as well as a statement that reads verbatim "this is not a pre-existing condition". They continually deny my claim. Incidentally, all of my family members who did not purchase travel insurance were able to refund their tickets with the same information and letter that I had provided.

5. I was confused on what kicked in, if we needed medical care. We have insurance, so was our company, which was primary insurer in the AA policy that's supposed to come through, or would AA?

I had so many notes that I was getting annoyed, so I stopped reading and googled AA to look for complaints. I immediately found this excellent site. So due to you, I cancelled my AA policy immediately. If I don't get refunded properly, at least I know now exactly where to complain. That's for sure!

But anyway, I still think that--at least with foreign travel--maybe, it's a good idea to get medical emergency insurance, medical evacuation insurance, if you're not in a first-world country, and if the trip is expensive. Also, trip interruption/cancellation insurance. So I picked out a new company, checked it on the internet to see if it had many complaints, which it didn't, and bought that.

Now I just need to read it thoroughly, so that if I don't like it, I can cancel that one too. I do want to say I am certainly not writing this to be condescending, so I hope no one is offended at my suggestions. I'm writing it, because I'm amazed I followed through and found a bad product. That was not like me to actually read anything!

I cannot say how sorry I was at some of your stories. I hope there is a stronger method by which to regulate Access America's practices. Or at least to make them totally rewrite their language. Good luck with your issues, and I hope you get a just and speedy resolution!

Here's a copy of the letter I sent to Access America. I have heard nothing from them and have not received the $1000 trip interruption benefit, which we were told we were allowed. Travel dates: January 21, 2010 to February 5, 2010.

"I think it is time for you to stop and think of the lives you are playing with. My wife and I were booked on a Holland America Cruise to Hawaii. We planned to celebrate our 62nd wedding anniversary and our 82nd and 84th birthdays. We had saved for this trip for an entire year. We are on very limited income, only that of our Social Security. We have minimal savings thus necessitating the need for one year to save.

"And so, we left for the airport on that fateful morning when, within minutes of our arrival, we discovered all flights out of Fort Lauderdale to come into Las Vegas and connect to San Diego were cancelled for the entire day. And, to further complicate matters, all flights from Ontario,CA; Phoenix, AZ were cancelled for the entire day. Southwest Airlines were able to book us onto a flight into Los Angeles, but that flight was delayed and did not go out until 10 p.m., which of course would never have been able to connect us with our cruise.

"Naively, although my wife was suffering from severe stress-related discomfort, I was sure we would be all right because we had purchased travel insurance from you. Our travel agent called us while we were still at the gate hoping to depart to Los Angeles to tell us there was no way we would be able to make the cruise but assured us we did have insurance.

"It was not until today that we learned that you have a safety net so as not to be responsible for too much. All that you have to pay us is $500 each for trip interruption claim. Your safety net, in rather small letters? Airport must be closed for 24 hours before any payment! Really! When is an airport ever closed for 24 hours? Ridiculous!

"How you could have denied this claim is unbelievable. The weather storms were violent to say the least. What did you expect us to do? We could not rent a car and drive in the 405 Freeway leading into the San Diego airport was closed due to flooding. All freeways and roads in southern California were flooded. There was no way to get to the San Diego airport before the ship left. "Only one additional comment. I hope travel agents will discontinue writing travel insurance from Access America."

In April 2009, I purchased five round trip airfare tickets through Delta, for a trip to Mexico in November. I also purchased the regular travel insurance that Delta recommended, through Access America. We were going on a trip to Mexico with extended family, which included my parents,sisters and their families. My Mother (and travel companion) has had leukemia since 1996 and was in remission at the time of the ticket purchase, and had her oncologist's blessing to travel out of the country.

By November, the H1N1 flu was virulent, and we were unable to receive the H1N1 vaccine, as it was not available yet, due to shortages. My mother's oncologist forbade her to travel out of the country, and we all canceled our trips. I filed a claim with Access America, and my mother's oncologist filled out the required Physician Statement Form. After 2 months of waiting, they denied my claim, stating that my mother's condition was pre-existing. Yes, she has had leukemia for 14 years, but she was in remission. Are people with cancer not supposed to travel? Access America is a fraud.

Every time I would e-mail them, it would take 2-3 weeks just to receive a brief response that never even addressed the questions I was asking. The funny part of this story is, that my extended family did not purchase travel insurance. They appealed their situation to Delta Airline, and all received a full refunds on their non-refundable tickets within 2 weeks of canceling their flights. I think this says a lot about Delta, and I have now appealed our case to them, hoping we too will be reimbursed. Access America knew about this, and still denied our claim. Access America should be put out of business and should be ashamed of their fraudulent practices!

I bought an insurance policy through Orbitz. I didn't have time to review the coverage. As my travel date approached, I looked at the coverage and decided I don't need their coverage. I called to cancel it but they said I should have cancelled it within 10 days of purchase. I got scammed for a total of $131.88 for insurance that I don't need. I spoke with Orbitz and Access America but it was no help. I can't understand a reputable company like Orbitz associate themselves with such scam.

Access America: The Insurance coverage information confusing. My story is that I bought a plane ticket from Delta and bought insurance from Access America as my mother had lymphoma and I wanted to be covered in the event her symptoms got worse and I needed to take care of her and cancel my trip. At the time she was doing well and did not experience symptoms, this could have gone on for years. The policy clearly stated that I would be covered in the event of a death or severe illness did occur.

I did not bother to read the entire 26-page policy explanation of the policy that preexisting conditions were not covered. Granted it was in bold and under disclaimers, but that disclaimer did not come with the statement that death or illness would be covered. It came at another place. Frankly, I usually do not take the time to read 26 page policy explanations; I trusted that I would have been told in the initial policy explanation.

This is a lesson to be learned that there is the possibility that companies can be misleading in order to get more people to buy their insurance. It would not have made sense to me to buy this insurance if this were not the case. Secondly, I would have looked into buying a refundable ticket if possible. It so happened that about a month or so after purchasing my ticket, my mother's health declined from cooking and getting around to her cancer growing and us calling hospice and the hospice doctor stating that she had 2 weeks to a month to live.

My flight was just one month away, so I called Access America right away telling them the situation. I asked them if it would be better for me to call the airline and cancel my ticket instead of waiting it out and they suggested I cancel my ticket which I did (ticket was non-refundable). They sent me the forms to have her doctors fill out and gave me the impression it would be an easy operation and gave their sympathy. I gave the forms to hospice and sent them to Access America.

It took them a while to get back and they told me that the doctor did not fill out one of the forms. At that point, my mother died December 10th, on the day before my flight. I emailed them the obituary and asked if this would do since it would be a hassle for me to get back to two doctors and also told them it was the hospice doctor that did the forms and he just did an evaluation based on symptoms and probably from what her other doctor said. Furthermore, it would have been hard for me to contact the oncologists being that they are very busy and I thought it was unnecessary seeing that she died.

I got no response from my email, so I ended up calling them a week later. The initial person at Access America was kind and told me to hold on so I could speak to the person that handles claims. When I talked to her, it was like talking to a stone wall and here is when I first heard about preexisting conditions. My dad called after that and they told him that I should have the doctor fill out the form. I was starting to smell fish here, so I googled them and found many complaints that sounded a lot like mine plus more. After reading these complaints, I could see that getting the doctor to fill out the form would be just a waste of energy and Access America stating that "the disease was a preexisting condition."

Surprisingly, they had a clean bill of health from the BBB. When a person's loved one dies, many times like in my case, we do not have the energy to fight things like this. I wanted to put this in writing in hopes of the following: a. that Access America would possibly reimburse me and also consider that I called and canceled my plane a month ahead with their blessing (I could have gave the ticket to a friend or tried to sell it.) Additionally, I would like Access America to make their policy clear from the start, to have them change the wording on their policy to be clearer, when they state they cover illness and death of relations to put that they do not cover preexisting conditions in that same place not later, b. I will send this letter and attachments of other complaints and of policy to the BBB in hopes that people who call will be more cautioned.

I will send this with attachments to Michelle B. Chief, Fraud Division, Ohio Department of Insurance, Stella Court, Columbus OH 43215-1067. Lt. Verlan H., Jr. Coordinator, Insurance Fraud Program, Virginia State Police, P.O. Box Richmond VA 23261-7472. I will email Howard A's channel 12 trouble shooters with letter and attachments. I will also send this to Delta. I am a student with very little money. It cost over $300.00

We bought plane tickets in August to be used this coming January. We bought these through the Delta website. Within the purchase process there was a small check box with buy cancellation insurance. The short description basically told us that you could use this insurance to cancel any time or to change the dates of your flight without penalty. We thought this was great, so we bought it.

Now that it's time to take the trip, our daughter's passport will not make it here in time and we needed to cancel or change the dates. Easy enough, right? After all, we purchased convenience insurance from Delta with this ticket (so we thought). Seven frustrating phone calls later, we find out that the insurance policy is held by Access America who, of course, emailed us a list of "Special Conditions" which basically makes our "worry free convenience insurance" a piece of garbage. They will not reimburse us the cost of the tickets, nor will they change our dates (unless someone dies basically) and Delta wants to charge us $588 to change our flights.I am so incredibly disappointed and frustrated with this. This has ruined our vacation and I will lose $661.

Access America uses false advertising to sell their garbage insurance policies which they later on make impossible to use. I am disgusted that they would do this to us. They probably get away with this on a daily basis and make millions of dollars scamming Americans. We are basically out $661 and our family vacation is ruined and will have to wait till next year for us to be able to save up money to buy plane tickets again.

My family and my mother's family have purchased at least 5 policies with Access America Travel Insurance in the past 10 years. We have never submitted a claim till Aug 2009 when my uncle became terminally ill and died within 10 weeks of his diagnosis. I, along with several of my relatives, had plan to cruise in Greece in September. We purchased the airline tickets in June. Fortunately the cruise boat was through a friend that had not required a deposit.

When we notified Access America (shortly after my uncle was diagnosed) that we wanted to delay our trip, we were assured that this would not be a problem. The first agent at Access America explained that they would cover the cost of our new tickets, up to the price of the original tickets, up to a year from policy purchase date.

After numerous telephone conversations and completed forms, including a physician's letter, we were denied any coverage for delay or cancellation of our flights to Greece ($5500). We were not asking for reimbursement of airfare because we knew we would reschedule our cruise. We did not request refund for cruise or hotel deposits.

After four appeals, we gave up and agreed to never purchase travel insurance with Access America again. We contacted the travel agencies that had recommended this agency before (American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, AARP). We are working with US Air at this time to help us reschedule our flights to Greece in June with as little financial penalty as possible.

Moreover, I will not be using Orbitz again until they provide more than one company option for travel insurance.

I am a AAA Travel Agent and I sell this [expletive] insurance...but no more...too many client's complaints. My husband and I just had a flight from MSP to MEM delayed by 1 hour due to weather, so missed a connection to FLL for a cruise. There were no other flights on any airline from MEM to FLL that day, that would get us to FLL by 4:00pm, the time our ship left. So, I called Access America.

They looked for my policy, but couldn't find it for some reason, kept me on the line for a half an hour while they looked, gave me NO advice as to what to do, and then my cell phone died! We flew to ATL to try to catch a flight from there to FLL, so we could still catch the cruise. Got to ATL, but due to fog, weather again, the flight that would have gotten us to FLL for the cruise (just barely) was delayed and would not arrive in time to get to the ship.

I called Access America again and told them what had happened. Of course, I got another rep...who also looked for my policy, but couldn't find it! She gave me no advise of what we should do either. We finally got on a Delta flight and few back to MSP, where we had started. Delta was great...no complaints with them. Then I filed a cliam the next day, they still couldn't find my policy, and I faxed in ALL the info they wanted.

I called the next day to see if they received everything, they had, but said they were denying the claim because our flight had not been delayed over 3 hours, which is in their policy! I don't know what difference that makes, if you miss your flight and can't get to your cruise, you can't do the cruise! What airline (domestic) anymore has a 3 hour layover before your next flight?

I had originally booked a direct flight from MSP to FLL, but because of all the schedule changes from Delta since they joined with NWA, they cancelled that direct flight and put us on a flight with a connection!

Just keep in mond, first of all NEVER purchase this insurance...they find every way that they can to not pay anyone! Secondly, if you have already purchased it for a trip...read ALL the fine print! The Better Business Bureau should put them out of business. We were out $1400.00 due to them not paying us, besides the cost of the insurance. What a rip!

Now the death certificate clearly states "natural" as the cause of death. However, after months of phone calls, paper work faxed, hospitals, the merry-go-round of reps, and doctors contacted, they still refuse to pay the claim unless we can prove she DID NOT HAVE a pre existing condition!

However, unlike many here that that have given up in frustration, we will win this war of attrition if it takes an act of congress, or a class action lawsuit! We are even considering creating a stand alone web page designed to bring to the attention of insurance regulators the unscrupulous practices utilized by this company. This should have been a cut and dry case but instead it has now turned into quest for justice. I'm really mad and getting angrier by the day!

If this claim is not resolved quickly by Access America we are going to repost an e-mail address here and on other sites to rally the troops, collect interested parties info, and set into motion a class action lawsuit that will make Access America wished it had never insulted the memory of our loving grandmother by insisting we provide them with more then adequate proof of her "natural" and untimely death.

We are out more than $2500 for the tickets we purchased to attend the Chicago wedding and could not use. Furthermore, we had to buy tickets for the entire family to attend our grandmother's funeral!

I don't see any value for their service since they hope some major catastrophy upon me inorder to receive compensation for losses- anyway I won't be around to collect a penny from them in the event of such a disaster. They refused to cover the NOREASTERN WINTER STORM OF December 19-20 on the east coast that prevented me from making the international flight. I am out of over $160 for my folly. Never again!

Access America: WE DO NOT COVER UNLESS YOU HAVE WORKED FOR THE SAME COMPANY\PERSON FOR GREATER THAN THREE YEARS!!!

WHOS BUSINESS IS IT HOW LONG I HAVE WORKED FOR WHAT COMPANY? The point is that I paid for the ticket and paid for the insurance. I should not matter where and for how long I have worked. What if this would have been a gift from someone, would their employment record have been in question?

I will NEVER utilize this again. It is a SCAM plain and simple.

Continental Airlines has appologized to me and now is looking into assisting me. Not that I think it will go anywhere, but it was the LEAST they could do.

We had booked a cruise when we found out that my Mom was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Due to this and not knowing what might happen to her, before the 14 day period expired, we purchased trip insurance with Access America. I reviewed the policy and it appeared that our situation with my mother was covered. Over the next month, my Mom saw numerous doctors and tried to fight the cancer, but everyday, she got weaker. Approximately 1 month before our cruise, we decided to cancel so that I could care for my mother. We made a claim on our trip insurance for reimbursement of what was not refunded to us by the cruise company.

First they denied coverage due to the fact that our travel agent had not insured the full amount of the cruise. However, the travel agent argued that he had insured us for everything that may have been non-refundable, but didn't insure us for what was refundable. Access America did agree with that, but then denied coverage since this was an "existing condition". The reason they are denying coverage is that they are saying that when we took out the insurance, her eventual dying could have been reasonably foreseen or expected when I purchased the plan. They are stating this due to the fact that she was DIAGNOSED one day before we took out coverage. At that time, however, she was a very thriving person and she/we had NO expectation that she wouldn't lick the cancer. The doctor that signed the physician's statement, which was supplied by Access America as part of the claim, dated his statement 40 days AFTER she was diagnosed and at that time, yes, she was terminal.

There was NO way that we could have "reasonably foreseen or expected" her condition to be so grave and severe at the time we purchased the policy. Any purdent person, given our circumstances, would have also taken out the insurance relying on the fact that if anything did get worse with her condtion, that the insurance would protect us. How is this any different than a person who has a heart condition, takes out the insurance just to be safe, and then has a heart attack before they cruise? Is that any more "foreseeable or expected" than my situation? I feel that Access America is finding ANY excuse not to pay since they have denying for various bocus reasons. They now want me to supply medical records, and although I am doing my best to get that for them, I have my doubts that that will make any difference to them.

I bought travel insurance through Access America for a flight on US Air. I was ill with the swine flu on the day of travel and I didn't take the flight. I called my doctor and he said NOT to come in to the office but gave me a Rx and some tips over the phone. Later on, when filing the claim, I my doctor explained this on the form he had to fill out (which he charged me $20 for by the way) and this wasn't good enough for access america. I would never buy insurance through this company again.

We had a cruise planned with my parents and my father died before we could go. I had to fax our info three different times. They ended up sending us the amount we paid for the insurance and that was it. According to the plan they were to compinsate us for the price of the single accomidation for my mother. It appears they just don't want to pay. We have purchased this insurance three times, we will never pay for this insurance again.

I purchased airline tickets on line with American Airlines on 5aug on their website. The total charged on my receipt from then was for the price of the airline tickets only. That same day I rec'd a "policy" from Access America travel insurance?? I had no idea what that was about, but I advised them I did not authorize my credit card for any more than for the ticket price. Nevertheless they charged my card dispite submitting documentation that I was charged for something that was clearly not on my receipt, Access American insists it was a valid charge.

I purchased three airline tickets, including one for my mother, back in March for a flight in September and paid for travel insurance from Access America offered through Orbitz. My mom died one month prior to the travel date but it appeared that AA doesn't recognise death proved by the death certificate as a ligitimate excuse to cancel your flight. AA sent a three-page questionary to my mom. I called, explained she's dead and there's no way the stupid paperwork can be filled out. Well, two month later my mom receives another letter from AA. They write, Dear, my mom's name, since we have not received the supporting information to your claim. Your claim has been closed. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.... Well, that would be difficult to do for a person whose body was cremated three month ago. I feel like Access America pooped on my front porch and then knocked at the door to ask for toilet paper. Access America is cynical fraud! This name should be posted under the Scan Alert! title.

The trip protection insurance is misleading and disingenuine at best and more likely fraudulent in intent. These guys should be imprisoned.

If you read the fine print you will never buy it or know how hard it is for them to cover your losses. Will have to battle to see if i get $900 back from them.

They state in one of their forms "fraud warning" They ought to take heed to that word "fraud"

I had to call to find out we were being stiffed. They claim that it was stipulated somewhere aabout pre-conditions. Probably so small you couldn't see it without a microscope. I will register a complaint with the attorney general's office and better business bureau. If I my husband got sick the morning of the flight, they would have called it a pre-existing condition. I'd like to get an attorney in on this. These people are not honest.

I took out this travel insurance barring any problems. The trip was scheduled during my wife's six months of pregnancy intentionally. Plenty of pregnant women fly at this stage in their pregnancy. She really wanted to go on the trip to Fort Lauderdale (obviously). After interviewing with her doctor and telling her of lightheadedness and a lack of sugar count, her doctor recommended she shouldn't fly. I explained all of this to the claim's agent. They sent me the correct papers to fill out in which I did right away. I even had my doctor fill out her portion as well. They declined my reimbursement. They proceeded to tell me that my wife should have flew because a recommendation by her doctor is not good enough to go through with the claim. I argued with them until I was blue in the face. I feel that they do not expect people to follow through with all of the paperwork that is given to the insured. When somebody does fill out everything, they find a hole where they can rip you off. I am very upset. Times are rough right now and for me to pay for a plane ticket that nobody used really bothers me. They seemed very apathetic about the whole situation. Their final conclusion was that my wife was still having a normal pregnancy even though the doctor recommended her not to fly. I feel their insurance plan is extremely inaccurate, deceiving and unjustified.

My husband and I purchased regular travel insurance for a summer trip to Seattle. Then my dad died and we had to cancel the trip in order to travel to the UK for services and family support.

At a difficult time and being so far away with travel bills now to pay,this response is completely unacceptable and heartless.

Even the fine print is talking about illness and hospitalization and does not link the claim for sudden death clause to any exclusions.

I am deeply unhappy.

The claim has been denied under the guise of 'pre-existing condition.' If you have a heart attack, you should know this stupid insurance company calls that a pre-existing condition and your claim will be denied. This will cost a couple of thousand dollars.

I filed an insurance claim to Access America twice (August 3 and August 10, 2009) and was told that additional information was needed. My Doctor provided all information and dates regarding my surgery and condition. I beleive that Access America is fraudulent and should no longer be in business. I requested reimbursement of $ 562.80 from Access America via their claim forms and my claim has been denied. Please help me in resolving this matter. Thank you

My Son was a deployed Marine on the USS Boxer and Their last stop before coming home was in Hawaii. They have a program called the "TIGER CRUISE" where A family member can meet them in Hawaii and ride the ship from Hawii to California to welcome them home after being deployed. I purchased my tickets to welcome my Son Home and ride the ship back with him but knowing the Military and the possiblility of having to turn the ship around and go back to the Middle East i bought the insurance to protect the hard earned money for the air plane ticket to Hawaii. So that if for some unforeseen problem came up i could get the money back for the ticket.

Well I received notice from the Ship that the 3 ships that were hauling the Marines my Son was with, had been QURANTINED with flu like symptoms. That they had to cancel the "TIGER CRUISE" due to the QUARANTINE of the Ships.I have a letter from the SHIP'S COMMANDER stating such. i let the airline know and the Insurance company ACCESS AMERICA know and filed a claim- they denied the claim for the following reason: "As your insuring agreement indicated, this is a named perils travel insurance program, which means it covers only the specific situations, events and losses included in this document, and only under the conditions we describe. Unforfunately, the cancellation of your cruise onboard the USS BOXER due to an outbreak of flu onboard the ship is not included among those reasons."

In the policy which i have a copy of that i printed off covers illness of traveling companion- every member of the military that was on the USS BOXER was going to be my TRAVELING COMPANION and it also covers QURANTINE I have a letter from the commander of the ship being QURANTINED!SO why wasn't this covered? What about supporting the MILITARY??? Why am I seeing so many complaints about this company and nothing being done about it. Why is this company still in business? Has a class action suit been filed? IF NOT HOW DO I DO IT? With money being so hard to come by people can't afford to be scammed this way by companies like this.What about all the other Families of the MILITARY that lost out on their airlines tickets being refunded by this company because of the Ship being QUARANTINED?

This insurance isn't worth the paper its written on.

My wife; 20 Active Duty Military Member purchased me (civilian) an airline ticket to Dubai ($1151.) to meet with her while she attended a conference. We purchase travel insurance to cover an possible change in her schedule as military function change with little notice.

We were told at the time of purchase that the insurance would cover such an event.

I was informed five days after the ticket purchase that conference dates were changed and we need to reschedule.

I call Access America Travel to inform them of the change...

Then they informed me that the change was not covered due to the reason I was not the military member.

None of this was explained at the time of purchase.

It would appear we feel for the bait and switch. The gave me an option to refund my purchase of the insurance of $65.

This insurance isn't worth the paper its written on.

Access America is a fraud. Warning! It will do you no good to purchase this insurance option. I purchased it via Delta.com and am surprised a carrier like Delta is duped into offering it. I had to change my return date to the tune of $150.00, which I expected. I called Access America, and they said, "No problem. You're covered." Guess what? They lied. I'm out $150.00, but I've read stories of people out thousands due to unforeseen emergencies. If you take warnings well, you'll run, not walk, from Access America!

I purchased travel insurance through United's website because I am the caretaker for my grandfather. Two weeks before my trip, my grandfather's lung cancer came out of remission and he required 24-hour care. Even though the physician's form documented this fact, Access America denied my claim because of a pre-existing condition. When I called to inquire, the claims agent said that a cancer diagnosis "is never stable" and given that fact, that it was ** of me to plan a trip. She was incredibly cold and rude.

I purchased 3 airline tickets from JetBlue, plus insurance from Access America. My wife had surgery on her left breast. I cancelled the airline tickets. Access America will not return my money ($2,442.60).

Our travel agent set us up with Access American last October for a trip with Carnival. We had to cancel due to health problems. We had the necessary doctor's report. It was suppose to be no problem receiving our money in three months. We received our airfare back within two weeks! It's now seven months. We received $949 out of $2995. We did receive about $200 from Carnival right after cancellation. We've called the travel agent. Apparently, some mix up in how change of status was only for my husband (with health issue) and not me. Carnival was paid twice for the same room but say we gave away the room to friends because they show someone stayed in the room. How is that possible when Homeland Security, no one can go in your place on a cruise or airline ever? They have to have record of it. We paid insurance to cover health cancellation and we have to keep calling and fighting for our money. Is Carnival or Access America a charity case?

My airline cancelled that route and I had to buy tix with another carrier at an additional cost. A rep from Access America told me to file a claim. They denied the claim and cancelled my policy before the trip! I want to sue but I don't have an address, only a PO Box. Can anyone help?