Travel Insurance Reviews John Hancock Insurance Agency, Inc. Silver

My friend and I selected John Hancock Silver for a three week trip to Ireland in May 2024. Approximately 20 minutes after dropping off our luggage at the B&B, I stepped wrong on the uneven sidewalk and broke my ankle. I called the medical emergency number and had a response almost immediately. The rep was very pleasant and talked me through what documents to obtain from the injury clinic before I left. She also opened the medical claim ticket at that time.

After another five days of traveling, my ankle (and hands from crutches) had had enough. Although accommodations could be cancelled with no penalty, we were out the unused car rental days and the airfare re-booking fees, along with my medical expenses.

On the positive side
Responsive Customer Support - Before filing my claim, I had several questions and needed to reach out to the claims dept. Every time I called I rarely had to wait longer than five minutes in the phone queue and each rep was very informative. Once I had submitted the documentation, I heard back within three days from the Claims Associate regarding additional documentation requested for my travel companion. I responded with some clarifying questions, and again, heard back within roughly three days.

Easy Claim Process - Because the rep opened a claim for me when I first called, I received reminder messages every so often listing the documentation I needed to submit. It was beneficial because I could easily upload all the relevant documents as a reply to that email rather than use the online claims submission form which is more tedious. Note, John Hancock uses Sedgwick Claims Management to process the insurance claims.

Quick Reimbursement - I submitted my documents on July 17 and received full reimbursement for all claimed expenses on August 13!

Two Blips
Travel Companion - Because my travel companion needed reimbursement for her re-booking fee, I asked twice if I could add her to my claim or if she needed to submit separately. The first rep told me I could add her, but the second rep said no because the claim had already been opened in just my name and they couldn't add her. Once the documentation was filed, the Claims Associate decided to add her to my claim and process everything together. That was only possible because she had bought a John Hancock policy as well.

Medical insurance - The Silver plan offers primary medical coverage. Due to my misunderstanding the documentation John Hancock required, I submitted my medical expenses through my health insurance company. John Hancock did reimburse me for my co-pay. The documentation is for either Explanation of Benefits or for you to sign an affidavit stating you don't have insurance. The latter is misleading because it's really stating you don't have insurance that will cover the claim you are making. The claims rep did not explain it that way, otherwise I would have submitted the medical expenses thru travel insurance.

Highly recommend the John Hancock Silver policy

This plan is not designed to pay for a reasonable claim. It is not worth the time or money.

Presenting the claim was complicated, with having to submit multiple layers of "proof" documents to the claims agent, even though the original information submitted was quite complete. Additionally, the process was very time consuming.

Filing a claim for my delayed baggage was an ordeal. I was not able to do it online, because of "system problem." When I called the phone number provided on my insurance card, I was transferred four times, before reaching the person who could help me. Then, this person put me on hold multiple times to "check policy details." Overall, I spent over 1.5 hours before finally getting assigned a claim number. Vary frustrating experience.