Many of those in the insurance profession will be quick to tell you that the best part of their job is the reassurance and joy they can bring to customers during their time of need when claims are approved. However, when some claims are denied the situation for customers left behind can often be dire.
Few cases however, have consequences quite like this.
Travel Insurance Facilities, the firm behind Boots travel insurance, is now facing a probe relating to claims that customers died as a result of being denied emergency flights home.
Two doctors that work for the firm are being investigated for alleged medical negligence and fraud by the General Medical Council, according to a report in The Times. The company, which trades under the brands Alpha and Holiday Safe, is additionally subject to a separate investigation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over suggestions that policyholders were misled.
“I remember patients needing life-saving or life-changing operations and [the doctor] just wouldn’t pick up the phone for weeks,” a whistleblower said, as reported by the publication.
“Patients were left without contact and I was the one stuck in the middle. It was horrendous.
“Patients would say, and I agree, practice was to frustrate the patient’s family so much that they would either give up or pay for the treatment themselves.”
Travel Insurance Facilities has hit back against the claims telling the publication that it “strongly refuted” the accusations.
“When people fall ill abroad, naturally their first instinct is to want to come home,” it reportedly said. “However, this may not be best for them in medical terms.”
