Trip Mate Reviews 1.172

I had to cancel our trip because I could not get a VISA. Viking did not tell me before I booked and paid for the trip. I paid for my son and myself. After canceling I received two vouchers but, no monies. One of the vouchers was made out to my son, even though I paid for his trip. So, I am now out of $5000. If I did not buy the insurance, I would only be out of $2500

I booked a Viking Expedition Cruise with June 2025 departure. My Mom passed away on May 30th so we were unable to travel. I quickly reached out to Viking and got the directions to make a claim and proceeded with the process as soon as I had the death certificate. That was mid June and here I am in September and still don’t have a check. Called a few times to check on status and the claim was approved quickly but getting to payment is taking an inordinate amount of time. I was told on August 4 that the check had been mailed. And was worried so called later thinking possibly the check was stolen and was told I have to wait 21 business days before they can stop payment. So I reached out to Viking customer relations and they found out the check was never sent, so I’m still waiting. Great initial processing but then they clearly have some process and reliability issues.

Trip Mate's Kansas City office may have an employee stealing checks from the 'outgoing payments' mail pile. (Or, maybe the employee moved on, or maybe that wasn't really what happened).

In February or March Trip Mate told me and my wife it mailed us each a check....that we never received.

Trip Mate later send us images showing that the back of each check had been fraudulently endorsed to 3rd parties. Two separate checks, with different fake names on the back, both mailed the same date in April from Trip Mate's Kansas City office.

Trip Mate said "Go sign an affidavit and get it notarized, and send it to us, that you didn't get the money." that was really stupid, because the backs of the checks made it pretty obvious the money didn't go to us.

We did what they asked.
My wife emailed trip mate hi-resolution pdfs of the affidavits, and asked 'Will these work, or do you need us to mail you the originals?'

Trip Mate never replied.

A month later she asked again.

Again, Trip Mate never replied.

Two or three days ago, she called and explained it all to them.

Trip Mate said "oh, sorry, the supervisors are all in an emergency meeting right now", and promised her, "Someone will definitely call you back later today."

That was on Wednesday or Thursday.

It's Saturday, Trip Mate never contacted us back.

I'm going to file a Police Report with the Kansas City police department, because Trip Mate told us it was their Kansas City office that supposedly mailed out the two separate checks, to us - and 'somehow' BOTH were stolen and endorsed fraudulently to other people.

TripMate provided easy on line claim documents and instructions. It took about two weeks for the claim to be approved. We were satisfied with the refund we received from our trip purchase.

Great Online Service
I was apprehensive about using the online claim filing. It turned out to be pretty easy to use - especially with the well written instructions.
I would also add that the staff appeared able to translate the various Turkish receipts and I received my check in a very reasonable time.

It was the first time I used Tri Mate and as I was out of the Country I needed medical assistance. Trip Mate made it easy for me. I was able to get back the money I spent on doctors bill and it was easy to get through the claim process

I was truly impressed by how fast and easy TripMate made planning my trip - it instantly created a detalied itinerary with tailored recommendations based on just a location and travel dates. It saved me so much time and mental energy!

I hesitated to book again after a previous negative experience, but TripMate surprised me. Booking was smooth, and my reservation was confirmed promptly. I did encounter a small issue with payment, but customer support resolved it immediately. Overall, a reliable and stress-free experience.

The claim form was easy. It had plenty of suggestions which were easy to follow. I actually waited until I had some medical records in hand which I submitted. The approval process was fast. This is the company to use.

Unfortunately, I had a medical incident on a recent cruise in Eastern Europe that necessitated my visiting a hospital/clinic while abroad. The medical attention I received was excellent and both the crew and my Travel Leader from Overseas Travel were excellent in assisting me with my needs. The really surprising part of this whole experience was the claim experience once we returned home. I had paid all of the incurred expenses which totaled over $4000.00, and after submitting the appropriate paperwork, my claim was paid and I was fully reimbursed within a week! That's truly outstanding service and a testimonial to Trip Mate and their staff. Well done- especially in this day and age when service is so often a missing part of the equation for so many organizations! I'll never travel witout their coverage in the future.

Claim filing was easy.

Need a breakdown of what was paid as it is not amount I filed!

Left a review last week about how horribly my claim process has been regarding trip insurance. They responded to my negative review saying my claim was completed and a customer rep would reach out. I can't reply to their fake response so have to write another review.

This is a lie. No one has reached out and their website shows claim process isn't completed even though I made my claim over three months ago, gave them all the information they needed. Saddest part, all I am trying to get is less than $100 for the cost of two train tickets for me and my 87 year mom due to missing a connecting flight. Pay us our 82 euros you thieves. We spent almost $1k for Trip insurance and you won't pay claim even though I have given you all the information you need.

DO NOT PURCHASE TRIP INSURANCE. COMPANY IS THIEVES AND NOW LIARS.

They don't deserve one star. AVOID!!!

When we booked our trip, we were both in great health. Then, shortly before our departure, we needed a trip to the ER, for a condition for which we had no history. Everything was in a tizzy. But Trip Mate allowed us to catch our breath, and know our trip was covered. We are both seniors, and glad we can still travel, but we won’t go without Trip Mate!

No issues regarding supplying information for our claim. Worth the cost. Would have been out of a trip and owed a lot for nothing in return. Going on an expensive trip, you need tripmate!

My wife and I were scheduled for a Viking Ocean cruise in early June. Two weeks before our trip I experienced severe lightheadedness, dizziness and heart palpitations. Went to ER, thinking possible heart attack. No heart attack, but high load of PVCs. Cardiologist recommended a Holter Monitor for a week. Results would not be back before our trip started. Cardiologist recommended that I not travel until my heart problem was diagnosed, so we had our travel agent call Viking and cancel our trip 7 days before it was scheduled. We had bought the Trip Insurance that Viking recommended (Trip Mate) at the time of booking. After looking up reviews of Trip Mate, I was quite concerned to see so many negative reviews, especially since this was an expensive trip. However, our experience with Trip Mate and Viking has been incredibly positive. Viking sent us a detailed summary of all our payments. Viking IMMEDIATELY credited our credit card for the excursions that had been pre-paid. Trip Mate immediately set up a claim number for us and emailed us the necessary forms for submitting a claim. After filling out the forms and submitting the physicians report, we snail-mailed the claim to Trip Mate. We received notification from Trip Mate that they had received our claim. Exactly 20 days later we received a text that our claim had been approved and we could expect an e-check in 7-10 business days. Three days later, we received the e-checks for around $25,000. Printed the checks and deposited them with no problem. My wife and I had an extremely positive experience with Viking and Trip Mate.
Some things I learned during this experience:
1. Insurance policies can be different for each sponsor: the policy that Viking customers purchase may be different than a policy purchased by another sponsor.
2. If you are taking a Viking cruise, I would strongly urge buying trip insurance at the time of booking. You get a pre-existing condition waiver when you do so.
3. If you are taking a Viking trip, you know that you pay for the trip well in advance of the actual trip date. Start a "trip folder" and keep copies of all payments made to Viking and the dates of the payments. The hardest part of filing our claim involved tracking down payment records over several years, It would have been so much easier if we had just kept copies as we paid!
4. If you purchase trip insurance, download the policy that you have purchased. If you have to file a claim, it helps to know what is included and excluded.

I’m very disappointed in my experience with Explorica and Trip Mate. My daughter had to transfer schools, and because of that, her former school informed us that she was no longer eligible to go on the trip. It wasn’t our decision—she was simply no longer allowed to participate because she wasn’t a student there anymore.

Even though I purchased the insurance, I was told I’d only be refunded 75% of what I paid. That’s unacceptable for a situation completely out of our control. On top of that, it’s been over a month and I still haven’t received any refund at all.

This has been incredibly frustrating. I followed all their procedures and did everything I was supposed to, but I’m left feeling like Explorica just keeps the money whether your child goes or not. I would never recommend them based on this experience.

Trip Mate has one of the worst customer service departments I've ever experienced. I filed my claim online for trip cancellation before my trip date, the online process seemed simple until I received a confirmation email saying I needed to print and mail my claim in. I called customer services to verify if that was correct, I was told no because everything I filed online was fine. I waited for the allotted processing time and my claim was approved. After, I received an email with EOB saying to allow an additional 7-10 days to receive payment. I was actually given a date by customer service for when I should receive my checks. That date came and went, still no payment so I called customer service back and was told that 7-10 days was only for accountant to approve the checks that had so called been created and they didn't know when I would receive my payment or that they couldn't escalate the situation to anyone further I would just have to wait until they decide to approve the checks and then wait even longer to receive the checks after approval. None of which was stated in any documents, previous calls or emails and I was only told this information when I asked to speak with a supervisor who also was not helpful. If you have the option for a different company for trip insurance please go with them, Trip Mate is not worth the hassle.

Bought the insurance just in case something happened. Woke up one morning with back pain and could hardly walk. Went to the doctor with the paperwork the insurance needed me to get filled out. Sent it in and within two weeks the insurance company sent me an e check for reimbursement. Great service.

The woman who helped me sort this out, Ethel Sweeny, was excellent - thorough, thoughtful and responsive

Had to cancel trip because of serious illness. Claim form requiring attending physician’s statement is prepared to cover medical care received during a cruise; not to allow cancellation for medical reasons. Only with guidance on telephone from TripMate colleague Kimberly Frame was I able to explain to attending physician how to properly prepare the required statement. Inconvenient. TripMate needs to amend this form.

Even so, 5 stars because of people like Kimberly and then later in the claim submitted process, help over the phone from other TripMate colleagues Jessica Bellamy and Jeff Nelson. They made a somewhat daunting claim submittal to be achievable.