In June this year I was travelling to Japan. On the way, I suffered a herniated disc and was hospitalised for three weeks. I contacted my travel insurer – Axa – which, cutting a very long story short, agreed to cover treatment and repatriation. For some unclear reason, Axa was unable to organise payment of the hospital bill prior to my discharge and asked me to cover the bill in full, somewhat negating the point of travel insurance in the process.
When I explained that I did not have several thousands of pounds on me, I was pressurised to ask my uncle (currently resident in Japan) to pay the hospital instead. I was assured he would be refunded in full, including the associated costs of sending the money.
Despite this, I am currently £600 out of pocket, due to differences in exchange rates from when the firm processed my claim and when the money was sent. Axa has now reneged on this, claiming that it is a “consequential loss”. I have spent hours on the phone trying to get this money. I now wish I had just let them find a way to pay the hospital direct. TM, by email
Axa blamed the problem on the fact that you happened to end up in a hospital that had little experience in dealing with insurers. It has apologised for wrongly telling you that it would not pay this sum, and is sending you a cheque to cover the missing £600. It has added an extra £150 in compensation.
“We usually handle the payment of medical bills for our customers but, on this occasion, the hospital insisted on immediate payment and, by the time we reviewed the claim, the bill had been paid,” it says.
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