4 years ago
I regularly buy health insurance for prior interna...
I regularly buy health insurance for prior international trips, and I did the same for my honeymoon in Thailand to protect against a worst case scenario. After getting some quotes I chose Seven Corners because they came recommended by a friend and the benefits were good for the price However, I regret I did for this particular case. My wife came down with an illness that required an ambulance transfer from a local doctor and eventual hospitalization. They were easy to get a hold of for pre-authorization of the hospitalization, provided excellent assist support while we were in Thailand, and the claim submission was relatively easy. However, it went down hill from there. They approved the claims pretty quickly, however when I received my EOB, I saw that their exchange rate was no where near the market rate during our time there, which would shortchange my reimbursement by approx. 350 dollars (what irks me is that they lacked transparency around whether they used the buy, sell or mid-market exchange rate and failed to provide me with the source of their exchange rate until I was finally fully reimbursed). I appealed to get full reimbursement, and it took over 3 months from the date of service for them to fully reimburse me (in full disclosure I did receive a check for one of my 3 claims, however it took 3 months for them to process payment for my other 2 claims and the ForEx difference). I should note that part of the issue was that they apparently saw that payments were returned by my bank due to them entering the wrong account information yet failed to follow up with me to correct this issue. I was working with a great customer service rep named Angee, however I feel that unless I regularly called and followed up my case would never have progressed until an eventual resolution. Also of note, it was such a hassle working with the claims hotline (due to dropped calls during transfer or long hold times), that to get a hold of folks I ended up calling the number listed in the white pages and had the receptionist direct transfer me to Angee's direct line whenever I called in. To help facilitate my case I also left two voicemails with the claims concierge, Kathy Haught, however they were never returned. Thankfully I have finally been fully reimbursed (they waived the deductible as a courtesy as well which was a nice touch).
Update 2/16: Seven Corners reached out to me after thoroughly reviewing my case. I received a sincere apology which I appreciate, and believe my experience was due to a breakdown in multiple internal processes that they are actively working to address. I will consider purchasing travel health insurance from them in the future as their service while in Thailand and during the initial claims process was excellent. However, I recommend that they both continue to adapt their protocols to prevent my experience from occurring again and provide more transparency around their exchange rate use in their policy materials as their current disclosure does not provide adequate information.