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What Does “Proof of Payment” Mean on My Claim Form?

Hi Steve, Thanks for the help you are giving with Max’s claim, very much appreciated. It’s been very difficult to say the least. Their strategy seems to be to make it as difficult as possible to avoid paying a claim. We put together very specific and detailed information for Max’s medical claim and it’s like they are finding other things they need to see just to delay it longer. Things like not accepting a payment confirmation receipt from a provider as proof of payment but making us go back and find the corresponding credit card charge on the statement, or asking the hospital to provide a “current” bill which hasn’t changed since they issued the original bill when Max was discharged back in April. All they should have to do is loop in the Hospital biller for confirmation that the balance is still outstanding and to confirm the amount. Scott

Hi Scott, Thanks for send me this regarding Max’s claim.

I’m not the Insurance Company and I cannot predetermine claims. However, hopefully, I’ll be able to help you understand why they are asking for these items.

Insurance companies are regulated by the States they do business in. Part of the many rules that they have to follow is how they process claims. When a company is asking for specific information, one reason they are doing this to meet their reporting requirements.

Before God gave me the idea to start TripInsuranceStore.com, I was a Certified Financial Planner with a lot more Securities and Insurance licenses.

One day I was touring an insurance company I worked with and there were stacks of files everywhere in their admin area. They told me they were getting their multi-day annual audit of Disability and Health Insurance claims from their State’s Insurance Dept. The auditors picked out 350 claim files and for each claim they examine every document for this information:

• Were all the procedures followed?
• Were the correct State-approved forms completed and signed by the Insured?
• Did the Insured submit all the supporting documentation?
• Was the claim underpaid, overpaid or correctly paid?

You stated: “Things like not accepting a payment confirmation receipt from a provider as proof of payment but making us go back and find the corresponding credit card charge on the statement”.

The reason they want to see the charge on your credit card statement is because a payment confirmation receipt does not show who paid the money and in what form the money was paid. For example, if you had a $500 courtesy credit from your travel supplier that was applied to your payment, that $500 credit isn’t insurable. Without seeing your credit card statement, the insurance company has no idea how much you actually paid out of pocket.

As for “asking the hospital to provide a current bill”, many times costs are added on later as the providers submit their invoices. The insurance company wants to be sure that you aren’t being underpaid.

As you know, we help our customers with their claims. Its common for previously unknown important information to show up weeks or months after a claim was started because of various delays.

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I hope this makes sense. If you want the right travel insurance advice, call us at 1-888-407-3854 and we'll help you figure it all out.

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Hi Steve, I’m glad I called you. I wasn’t expecting any advice beyond learning how Trip Cancellation Travel Insurance could help me. Your tip saved me more than $1,310 which almost paid for the insurance I got from you and it will continue to save me money in the future. Thanks for mentioning this to me. Tom F. in Delaware

Even though TripInsuranceStore.com sells Trip Cancellation Travel Insurance, Deanna, Kim and I also know how to save you money and grief when you’re planning a trip.

Here’s why Tom’s happy:
Tom achieved a high Marriott Elite status (I don’t know which one). They know him, so whenever he needs to book a stay, he calls and they give him their best refundable rate.

So I asked him “What’s the non-refundable rate? He said he already knew he was getting their best rate, but I pushed back with “every time someone books a non-refundable hotel, the money they save versus the refundable rate pays all or a substantial part of their travel insurance premium”.

I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about contacting Marriott, but I convinced him to do it. Not long after, I received this email:

“Hi Steve, I switched my Marriott Amsterdam booking from the refundable to the non-refundable rate. Before the change it was 2,743.23 Euros. After getting the non-refundable pre-pay rate it went down to 1,551.64 Euros. I saved 1,191.59 Euros which is more than $1,310 !!!! Thanks for mentioning this to me. Tom”

I hope this tip helps you, too.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

I hope this makes sense. If you want the right travel insurance advice, call us at 1-888-407-3854 and we'll help you figure it all out.

Now, a word from our sponsor: TripInsuranceStore.com (Travel Forums' Most Recommended Travel Insurance Website)

• Save your time & money with 9 pre-screened companies (you don't need 100+ travel or cruise insurance plans).
• You get personalized service at 1-888-407-3854. Or email us.
• Do you want a relationship with your travel insurance supplier? If so, you'll fit right in. If you'd rather not get to know us, you'll still find everything you need to get the right travel insurance plan.
• Get side-by-side plan & price comparisons
• You get our exclusive Smile of Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee

• TripInsuranceStore.com is easy to use

PS - If you liked what you read, please Subscribe to my Blog.

Everyone who buys travel insurance from us gets a copy of “The Consumer’s Guide to Having a Successful Travel Insurance Claim With These 9 Travel Insurance Claim Tips” about a month before you leave. Tip #9 is about Baggage coverage.

Have you ever had your baggage lost or stolen? If so, it’s nearly impossible to remember what you packed. Especially when you are under stress.

Tip #9 says: “Before you close your suitcases, take photos of the contents so you have an accurate list for a claim.”

Do this for both checked and carry-on baggage.

I’ve travelled a lot and always checked a bag. However, in November 2023, we took a 12 day repositioning cruise on the Azamara Onward from Lisbon, Portugal to Fort Lauderdale and as an experiment we only took carry-ons.

It worked so well, we did the same thing for a trip to Florida earlier in the summer. From now on, I’ll only do carry-ons. I encourage you to try it.

If you can’t make the leap to carry-ons right away, do this that I did for years: Pack your clothes and get rid of one-third of them before leaving home.

By the way, if you are going to Lisbon, here’s a very nice restaurant that we found called “39 Degrees”. Their website is in Portuguese: https://39degraus.pt/, but if you go to their online Menu (https://39degraus.pt/menu/) you can see pictures of the food. Plus, all their staff speak English. Here’s their Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/39Degraus.pt/.

And, if you like Egg Custard, you’ll like these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel_de_nata.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

I hope this makes sense. If you want the right travel insurance advice, call us at 1-888-407-3854 and we'll help you figure it all out.

Now, a word from our sponsor: TripInsuranceStore.com (Travel Forums' Most Recommended Travel Insurance Website)

• Save your time & money with 9 pre-screened companies (you don't need 100+ travel or cruise insurance plans).
• You get personalized service at 1-888-407-3854. Or email us.
• Do you want a relationship with your travel insurance supplier? If so, you'll fit right in. If you'd rather not get to know us, you'll still find everything you need to get the right travel insurance plan.
• Get side-by-side plan & price comparisons
• You get our exclusive Smile of Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee

• TripInsuranceStore.com is easy to use

PS - If you liked what you read, please Subscribe to my Blog.

Hi Steve, My husband and I booked a Celebrity cruise for about $8,000. How much is a good Trip Cancellation plan?

This sounds like a simple request, right? It isn’t, but not for obvious reasons. In fact, because of the apparent simplicity, had they not called us, they probably would have lost $2,405 on a covered trip cancellation claim.

Me: What’s the per person cost for each of you?
Them: it’s $4,000 per person.
Me: Since it’s a Celebrity cruise, does Guest #2 have a 75% discount?
Them: I don’t know. My travel agent told me that’s our per person trip cost.
Me: Since November 2023, almost every Celebrity invoice we’ve seen shows Guest #2 with a 75% discount. In order to be sure, you’ll need to see your Celebrity invoice.
Them: I don’t know if it’s worth the hassle.
Me: I think it is, because you don’t want to discover at claim time that you’re not getting all your money back.
Them: What do you mean?
Me: If Guest #1 paid the full price and Guest #2 got 75% off, then insuring $4,000 per person means that a trip cancellation for a covered reason could result in Guest #1 losing at least $2,000 on their claim, while Guest #2 ends up being overinsured.

I told them this story:

In November 2023, a couple called me about insuring a $1,000 per person April 2024 Celebrity cruise. I asked if they were sure they had the same cost, because I’d seen Celebrity invoices where Guest #1 has a higher trip cost than Guest #2. They called their travel agent to clarify and called me back and saying their travel agent confirmed the trip cost was split equally at $1,000 per person which they insured.

In April they cancelled their cruise for a covered reason. We helped with their claim. They called in May unhappy with its outcome: Guest #1 received only $1,000 and Guest #2 received $520. I reminded them (I have a good memory) that in November their travel agent said their trip cost was $1,000 each. Unfortunately, Celebrity’s cancellation invoice showed Guest #1’s trip cost as $1,480 and Guest #2’s trip cost as $520. The total was still $2,000, but the split wasn’t equal because Guest #2 had a 75% discount on their trip cost. Sadly, their travel agent wouldn’t take responsibility for misleading them so they are out $480.

Those people called me back a few hours later after they got a copy of their invoice. Look at what it showed:

As you can see, Guest #1’s total charge is $6,496.98 and Guest #2’s total charge is $1,767.98. They were very happy they got the invoice and didn’t take their travel agent’s advice. They also told me that the other websites they visited advised them to do exactly what their travel agent said.

This is why I said “they probably would have lost $2,405 on a trip cancellation claim” if they insured a $4,000 per person trip cost.

PS – They said they have been insuring their cruises incorrectly for years, but they won’t be making this mistake again.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

I hope this makes sense. If you want the right travel insurance advice, call us at 1-888-407-3854 and we'll help you figure it all out.

Now, a word from our sponsor: TripInsuranceStore.com (Travel Forums' Most Recommended Travel Insurance Website)

• Save your time & money with 9 pre-screened companies (you don't need 100+ travel or cruise insurance plans).
• You get personalized service at 1-888-407-3854. Or email us.
• Do you want a relationship with your travel insurance supplier? If so, you'll fit right in. If you'd rather not get to know us, you'll still find everything you need to get the right travel insurance plan.
• Get side-by-side plan & price comparisons
• You get our exclusive Smile of Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee

• TripInsuranceStore.com is easy to use

PS - If you liked what you read, please Subscribe to my Blog.