AXA Travel Insurance by Etimad Reviews & Complaints
By: Sajjad
Contact information:
AXA Travel Insurance by Etimad
I wanted to bring to your attention the worthless insurance that Etimad is forcing every visitor visa applicant to Saudi to buy from AXA.
I was also forced to buy AXA insurance for my parents for visit visa to Saudi from Lahore office of Etimad. They only handed us 2 pages of photo copy that they said was the coverage.
Unfortunately my father, who is 95 years old, had a medical emergency in Jeddah on 25th March 2017 and had to be rushed to the emergency by ambulance to United Doctors Hospital (UDH). He was then transferred to ICU. He was discharged after 2 days. The total charges were more than SAR 15,776.75.
Please note, the AXA coverage clearly said that they cover 100% of charges for emergency cases, and this was an emergency, as almost all invoices from UDH clearly said “emergency” or “ICU” in bold letters on top.
While in the hospital I called the number given for AXA and after many attempts reached their agent who told me that we can file it by email later.
On 2nd April 2017 I filed the claim by email. And they told me that I need to file by mail instead.
So I sent the claim by courier on 19th May 2017 to the address they had given, which turned out not to be the correct address. In the claim I had clearly mentioned that this was an emergency case and that after the visit they came back to Lahore and also I took final exit and was also in Lahore. So no one could come to Saudi to pursue it in person. And also that we did not know anyone in Saudi who could pursue for us either. They agreed in email that they will send the CHK to Pakistan. For about a month they kept telling the courier service to go to different addresses and at those addresses they refused and sent the courier to a different address.
After they finally took delivery they sent me an email which said they rejected the claim because they were copies. This was not true. These were the originals that the UDH gave to us at discharge with stamps and signatures. So I complained. Then after 15 working days of wait, I sent them a reminder and they replied that the CHK is ready for about SAR 4,695 only and that someone needs to pick it up from Riyadh. Please note that according to the AXA coverage document 100% is covered. They did not even read the invoices which clearly said “emergency” and “ICU”. Also they kept saying X-ray report is not attached, also not true.
So it does not make any sense why they should cover partially. They also claimed that some tests were repeated so they cannot be covered. I countered with that the Doctors were monitoring his progress in ICU so some tests had to be repeated, and as such should be covered. Now they were also saying that they do not send CHKs overseas and someone had to come to Riyadh to pick up the CHK. PLEASE NOTE AXA ARE SLEEING AN INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE IN PAKISTAN, AND THEN THEY ARE SAYING THEY DO NOT SEND CHKS OVERSEAS. THAT IS ABSURD AND JUST AN EXCUSE TO NOT PAY. If they are selling it in Pakistan and they can’t send a CHK there then they are no qualified to sell these insurances either.
I refused their finding and sent them an email on 27 August 2017 that included the following basic arguments:
1. They are selling an international insurance so they should be able to send CHKs overseas, especially in the country they sold it in, Pakistan. Otherwise they are committing fraud as they are not capable. Just got an email today from them that said that they will wire the money to my father’s account, but they are still stuck at SAR 4,695 which is less than 30%.
2. The only policy in force is the 2 pages of coverage they hand out at the time of purchase at Etimad in Lahore. They cannot legally change, add or subtract any rules afterwards.
3. The AXA coverage clearly says that 100% of charges will be covered for emergency cases, so they should cover everything.
4. If the Doctor requires a test to be take multiple times in order to monitor the progress fo the patient then the repeated tests should also be covered.
AXA has not responded after the August 2017 email, except for one email on which said “I will let you know when they respond”.
It is time we take then to task in Pakistan and urge the Saudi authorities to cancel their contract with Etimad so they stop defrauding Pakistan citizens. I will be glad to provide you with all documents and emails.
Thank you.
Sajjad
(Son of Insured)
Mobile 0331-437-5800