Ridiculous policy wording from ACE insurance, writes consumer

By Andrew Chia

Shame on you Ace Travel Insurance! I am never buying your travel insurance ever again. It is the most ridiculous policy wording that punishes buyers who fall sick on the last day of their trip, and taxes the already overwhelmed healthcare system in Singapore. You completely disregard the fact that most sickness have an incubation period before symptoms manifest itself. It doesn't happen instantly!

I was in Taiwan and on the last day at the airport, I ate something wrong and had food poisoning upon reaching Singapore. Food poisoning is usually resolved within a day after purging all the "dirty stuff". However, this was a serious case that caused me to vomit twice on the first day and still having watery stools after 48 hours. Your policy states that I have to see a doctor in Taiwan to be able to claim medical expenses that are subsequently that are incurred in Singapore. Firstly, I was never I'll until the last day in Taiwan. Why, then, should I visit a doctor just to be able to claim subsequently in Singapore? Furthermore, the incubation period for food poisoning is about 4-6 hours, not instantly. There is no way to know that I would come down with food poisoning on the last day.

Your second policy is that I have to be immediately hospitalized upon touching down in Singapore. Seriously, is there a need to be hospitalized just for food poisoning? We all know how congested the emergency room is in the hospitals in Singapore. Even if you got to see a doctor at the ER, do you think you would be hospitalized just for food poisoning? God knows how much the bill would come up to be in the private hospital and if it’s too large an amount, I dread to think you would reject it too by some policy wording you have.

Take a look at the policy wording below if you need to see to believe:-

SECTION 9 – POST JOURNEY MEDICAL EXPENSES

If, during the Period of Insurance, whilst the Insured Person is on a Journey, the Insured Person sustains Bodily Injury or Sickness, which has resulted in a valid claim under:-
(i) Section 3 – Overseas Medical and Accidental Dental Expenses, and necessarily incurs Medical Expenses in Singapore within thirty-one (31) days after the end of the Journey, or
(ii) Section 10 – Post Journey Hospital Confinement Benefit, and is immediately Confined to a Hospital upon returning to Singapore and immediately incurs Medical Expenses thereafter. the Company will reimburse the Insured Person in respect of such expenses up to a maximum of the relevant Benefit amount specified in the Certificate of Insurance subject to the terms and conditions of this Policy and the following additional conditions.

SECTION 3 – OVERSEAS MEDICAL AND ACCIDENTAL DENTAL EXPENSES

If, during the Period of Insurance, whilst the Insured Person is on a Journey, the Insured Person incurs Medical Expenses as a direct result of Bodily Injury or Sickness, or Dental Expenses as a direct result of Bodily Injury, the Company will indemnify the Insured Person in respect of such expenses up to the relevant Benefit amount specified in the Certificate of Insurance subject to the terms and conditions of this Policy.

SECTION 10 – POST JOURNEY HOSPITAL CONFINEMENT BENEFIT

If, during the Period of Insurance, whilst the Insured Person is on a Journey, and as a result of Bodily Injury or Sickness, is immediately hospitalized upon return to Singapore, the Company will pay the Insured Person the relevant Benefit amount as specified in the Certificate of Insurance subject to the terms and conditions of this Policy.
Return Journey means a return trip made by the Insured Person from Singapore to a destination outside Singapore and back, and shall commence on the later of the following:

(i) 12.00 a.m. on the Effective Date of the Period of Insurance specified in the Certificate of Insurance;
(ii) the time the Insured Person leaves his home or usual place of employment in Singapore to commence the trip;

and shall terminate on the earlier of the following:

(iii) 11.59 p.m. on the expiry date of the Period of Insurance specified in the Certificate of Insurance;
(iv) the time the Insured Person returns to his home or usual place of employment in Singapore.

Upon reading reviews on the Internet, I'm not the only one who has faced such ridiculous policy wording. Check this out:- "My insurance nightmare - How my broken hand was trampled on."

There is absolutely no exception for special cases.

On the other hand, I bought travel insurance from GE and so long as you see a doctor 7 days post journey, you are able to claim. Such unpleasant experience from a travel insurance touting for you to travel without a worry, this is an absolute lie. "Is your experience of a lifetime worth protecting? We think so." *not from you Ace Travel Insurance!*

Please do not commit the same mistake as I did. Never ever buy their travel insurance. I can't say for the rest of their insurances, but based on this experience, I believe they employ the same tactic to delay and deny your claims. My experience with their customer service was also awful. He was not helpful at all by just reading off from the policy wording. I hope this serves as a lesson to everyone. I end off with this saying:-
The wise man learns from someone else’s mistakes, the smart man learns from his own, and the stupid one never learns.

Response from ACE Insurance

We refer to the letter by Mr. Andrew Chia on 3 March 2016. We regret to note that Mr. Chia’s experience with our customer service team and product has fallen short of his expectations.

As we are committed to improving our product offerings and customer service standards, periodic prodcut reviews are conducted and enhancements are carried out from time to time. This is to ensure our travel insurance coverages meet our policyholders’ needs.

ACE’s travel insurance policies provide a wide range of cover for unforeseen travel mishaps. On an annual basis, we settle claims for over 40,000 customers who have experienced a range of travel mishpas that include minor medical problems to those requiring urgent medical intervention.

We will carefuly consider Mr. Chia’s feedback and will be contacting him separately to resolve this matter.

Sincerely,
Greg Dodds
Country President ACE Insurance Limited, a Chubb Company