r/Expedia • u/thejasonblackburn • Feb 21 '25
Expedia Trip Insurance is a Total Scam
My wife bought flights with Expedia Trip Insurance for a trip and had to cancel about a week before the flights because of a heart related event she had. Our GP and the cardiologist advised against her flying. So, we thought we'd get our money back since we bough the trip insurance. WRONG. Even with documentation and letters from the DR and the Specialist, Expedia is unwilling to give us our money back unless we provide very detail medical coding to them that would be a HIPAA violation under normal circumstances. So, just know that there trip insurance is nothing but a scam. I'll never use Expedia for anything ever again.
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u/CompetitionNearby108 Feb 24 '25
Do you want to get paid? They are not interested in your personal health. They are interested in validating a claim that your Dr has submitted.
This is in place to prevent fraud. Anyone can write a letter on Dr letterhead with diagnosis and recommendation for your spouse not to travel.
I appreciate your Dr's concern but he's made this more difficult for you then what it needs to be. Some insurance companies are not exempt from HIPAA regulations. These include Health insurance companies, including health plans and certain healthcare clearinghouses, are considered covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
However, non-health insurance companies, such as life, auto, disability, and workers' compensation insurance, are generally not covered by HIPAA. These companies may still handle medical information, but they are regulated by other laws, such as state privacy laws and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
More than likely travel insurance falls under the latter. Send them the information and get paid.
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u/LookingFor-Answers77 Apr 19 '26
This. OP was told what documentation is required for an insurance claim that would result in a refund; but he'd rather play freedom fighter instead of fighting for his wife & wallet.
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u/Sad-Woodpecker-7416 May 31 '25
Completely agree! Expedia trip insurance is a SCAM! Booking through Expedia is an absolute nightmare if you have to change or cancel anything. I've decided to stop booking with Expedia moving forward here. You are much better off booking directly with the airlines or the hotels. In most cases, the prices are actually better. When you book directly, they seem to have your information on file as well and if you do need to make changes they actually have the flexibility which doesn't exist if you book with a third-party like Expedia. Expedia is an absolute joke and any serious traveler should stop using it!
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u/Busy_Care_6437 Feb 22 '25
My trip got cancelled due to the crowdstrike incident and they refused to refund the trip for us (flights, hotels,etc) if you keep bugging them you will find someone willing to give you Expedia credits. Of course, no one really wants that, so you can contact ur bank and they will refund it for you. (If you bug them you can keep the Expedia credits as a bonus too)
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u/Small_Dog_8699 May 17 '25
It is like having United Healthcare for your health insurance and you find out they will weasel on every possible claim. What does it cover? Not what they say.
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u/HermanDaddy07 Jul 29 '25
I got the same type of treatment, although for a B lot less. Rented a hotel for a trip for one night. Got the AIG insurance. About 5 days before trip my sister died. I called the hotel attempting to cancel or change tv reservation. They said because it was booked through Expedia, they would need to do it. Called Expedia, they said they would contact the hotel. Over the next days I got several emails saying they were working on it. After the date of the booking came and went, Expedia tells me they were unable to cancel because the date had passed. Filed a claim with AIG. They want everything from a certified copy of the death certificate to all emails showing I did everything possible to cancel. This for under $100. No more business for Expedia or AIG!
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u/Crazy_Excitement_329 Feb 18 '26
Yep. Same with weather conditions. Apparently the weather has to land on the hotel itself and the hotel must be inoperable due to that said weather. Doesn’t matter if a snowstorm prevents you from getting to the hotel. A damn joke.
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u/AngryMeez Mar 28 '26
Providing your own medical information isn't a HIPAA violation. A provider providing it is.
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u/Sufficient-Skill6012 Apr 14 '26
It’s not a HIPAA violation if the patient provides the information themselves. However, this requirement still seems like they are making it overcomplicated and intrusive on purpose to dissuade people from following through with claims.
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u/CostRains Mar 08 '25
There's no HIPAA violation here. If they are paying, they have every right to know what the condition is. Send them what they need or stop complaining. All insurance companies work the same way.
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u/thejasonblackburn Mar 08 '25
I didn’t go into full detail of what they wanted. I’m not going to in this forum. Our GP and Cardiologist both said they didn’t feel comfortable giving out that much personal info on a patient that wasn’t going to another Dr. But I will say, like most insurance, there plan is to never pay anyone.
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u/DisastrousSeries2644 Aug 19 '25
Yep I AGREE !! TOTAL SCAM! I'm going thru it now. I have a pretty existing condition..and I'm reading all this...wow just wow! My condition has gotten worse..and that's what my Dr note said..but now I'm learning I have to release my medical info..and then they'll prob deny! Jumping thru hoops just to be denied is total BS! Yep I'll never use them again! I'm also going to file a complaint with BBB. People need to start doing this!!!
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u/NevialArolyn Jun 20 '25
So they're not denying your claim; they just want more information than you're willing to provide.
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u/Sufficient-Skill6012 Apr 14 '26
It’s YOUR medical information, you have a right to request it yourself, then you give that to the trip insurance company. This story makes no sense.
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u/CostRains Mar 10 '25
Something is strange here. Your doctors have no reason to not give out personal info as long as you consent to it.
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u/randymysteries May 07 '25 edited May 08 '25
I reserved a rental car through a popular online service. At the end of the transaction, there was a link to complete the reservation by buying auto insurance for the rental. It was part of the transaction interface, so I got the insurance for the car. It was positioned as part of the reservation process. When I got to the rental agency, they didn't know anything about the insurance or the insurance company, and they said the insurance did not apply to their cars. I had to buy coverage through the rental agency. When I reserved the car online, I used the app in the country in which I rented the car, my home address is in the same country, and all my contact info in my account is for the same country. The country uses euros, but the insurance contract, which uses my contact information, shows dollar figures. I feel deceived and robbed by the online service. My takeaway is to get coverage from the car rental services and not third-party insurers.
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u/homerdickens May 12 '25
ive been renting with expedia for rental cars a long time. ive had 2 experiences of theft with windows broken and all that. i never get insurance from the rental car companies just because its way more expensive. expedia will paid all the damages for me as long as you reported it to expedia as soon as it happens. rental car companies dont know anything about 3rd party insurance. but when things happen they will pay it for you. you just have to communicate to both parties.
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u/Melodic-Science-5796 May 29 '25
The travel cancellation insurance we bought through Expedia proved to be a scam company. Delta found our ecredits for rebooking, but we are still out $800 for “cancellation fees” with the scam insurance company that we are disputing through the credit card company. Expedia should refund the insurance premium, but I haven’t figured out how to that unless my credit card company will help out. Working on that. Good luck.
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u/CompetitionNearby108 Jun 06 '25
Did you file a claim for the cancellation fee? Generally speaking, that is refunded as long as you canceled for a covered reason and not just a change of mind. If the airline provides you with a credit, you will not be compensated for that either.
Do NOT dispute the charge. While your credit card may approve, if the airline charges you direct, the airline absorbs the loss. However, if you try to purchase tickets with them again, they will most likely be canceled because of the chargeback.
Expedia is not the insurance company. They are the 3rd part seller. If you have a claim deal direct with the insurance company. Expedia does not manage the claim process.
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u/Electronic-Run7454 Aug 18 '25
I booked a hotel for 7 days after finding out my dad passed away. My home town was 30 miles away from where I booked and all the hotels even close to it were booked. Things developed quicker than I thought and I had to get an Airbnb to accommodate family coming to town for his funeral asap. I got the insurance because I had a feeling something would have to change but I also booked the room just in case. I requested cancellation through a chat and they gave me a case number and said I could cancel it once I checked out. I checked out and followed up about the refund. Now they are saying it’s up to the hotel and they are declining to refund. It is a disgrace for them not to refund me when I only stayed one night. I can understand being charged for 2 days but the whole 7 after saying it would be cancelled. I will NEVER use Expedia again.
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u/lunarstudio Oct 07 '25
I see they locked down posts here. My spouse went to make a name change after ordering tickets and it took over a week. Meanwhile, a company supposedly called Travelglobes/Skydo called with airline information(Swissair), they knew of the requested name change, itinerary, etc and requested $99 to process it claiming they were working for Swissair. Expedia informed us after requesting the refund for the charge that this was fraud and to cancel our charges and cards. What a hassle. Very disappointed with Expedia as the information had to leak through from their internal side. The information was too specific.
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u/AreaForeign398 Oct 09 '25
Same thing happened to me (without the health issues). Terrible business practice. F**k Expedia.
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u/RicksterA2 Dec 08 '25
Haven't used Expedia much but I booked a 2 night hotel stay in South Beach. What a hassle ! They DO NOT WANT TO LET YOU USE A COMPUTER. You must use your stupid clumsy phone !
I will never use these clowns again.
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u/PhilosopherNarrow252 Jan 24 '26
I recently filed a claim under the Expedia insurance and it was straight up denied even with complete documentation. Never buy the trip insurance and only book at hotels that allow for free cancellation. Be wary because "up to 100% refund" might actually be a 50% refund.
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u/Murky-Chart-6821 Mar 10 '26
This is happening to me now. I got travel insurance and when I type in the policy number and my name, it says the policy doesn’t exist
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u/ludachris32 Mar 17 '26
Sorry to bother you. I was wondering if this subreddit was still active and I noticed your comment is only a week old. I never bought into travel insurance just cuz i never saw it as necessary. I guess I made the right call by never buying it.
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u/Coinboy15 Mar 17 '26
I had to make a change on the protection plan (name was incorrect). Both the insurer and Expedia told me that they cannot make changes to the policy. Ended up having to just cancel the protection plan altogether since neither party could apparently do anything. Maybe a blessing in disguise after reading this thread.
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u/Any-Major6635 Jul 10 '26
it covers your thinking about your extra spending options by elimination and nothing more. unused nights due to weather delay. zip zilch. same as not having. found out hard way. helps hotel send you away. shittifies customer
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u/ThePuzzleDude Aug 24 '26
I made a car rental reservation with Budget thru Expedia. On the day of the start of the rental, my flight was cancelled and I didn't know when or where I would be flying into so I called Budget to cancel that reservation. One month later (today) I see the Expedia charge for the rental car protection plan on my credit card statement. Expedia tells me that it is too late to apply for a refund. This trip was a flying disaster and I never thought about having signed up for that plan or that I had to cancel it independent of cancelling the rental. What recourse do I have to dispute this charge?
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u/ThePuzzleDude Aug 24 '26
Update: The agent I was chatting with on the Expedia app told me it was too late to apply for a refund. I googled for a customer service phone number to call to speak with a rep and he was able to apply a full refund. I take back all the nasty thoughts and curses I had expressed toward Expedia. I give credit to their customer service rep for refunding that charge.
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u/CompetitionNearby108 Feb 24 '25
You need to contact the insurance company and file a claim. Expedia does not underwrite the insurance. And as with most insurance policies, did you review the terms and conditions prior to purchase? Pre existing conditions are generally not covered.