Truly awful. I have been trying to renew my annual travel insurance policy online. The Portal is not fit for purpose and kicked me out over a dozen times whilst trying to renew the policy. Phoned cust... See more
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5weeks and still waiting an answer on a simple claim re bereavement cancellation. Issue appears to be with their "agent" Collisons. Wont be buying from them again.
I've been a customer of Columbus for many years. This year, for the first time I had to make a claim due to a travel delay and missed flights out of my control. The claims process did require th... See more
Communication quite poor. Any queries while overseas must be made to a UK phone number. There is no option to make contact through WhatsApp or email, despite the info pack saying email is an option.... See more
Company replied
Company details
Information provided by various external sources
Columbus is one of the UK's leading Travel Insurance providers. Established in 1988, we were the first company to sell travel insurance direct to the consumer, cutting out the middle man and saving our customers up to 60% in the process. Over 20 years on we have covered over 15 million travellers all around the world. We put our customers first and have won multiple awards for our cover and customer service including the ITIJ Travel Insurance Intermediary of the year award and also the Best Travel Insurance Provider from the Personal Finance Awards.
Why choose Columbus Direct?
Written by the company
- Great value travel insurance
- Columbus provides great value travel insurance and award winning customer service. With single trip cover starting at just £2.69 and annual policies from £22.
- Flexible cover
- With 3 levels of cover to choose from; Bronze, Silver or Gold - you are bound to find a policy to suit your needs.
- Excellent Benefits
- Columbus policies offer a wide range of benefits including up to £15 million emergency medical expenses, 24hr English speaking assistance service, cancellation cover up to £5,000, cover for lost, stolen or damaged baggage up to £2,500. Plus kids go free on all family annual policies.
14 day money back guarantee
Not happy with your policy? It's not a problem with our money back guarantee...
If, having examined your policy documentation, you decide the insurance does not meet your needs, you can cancel the insurance within 14 days from the date you receive the policy documentation, and we will refund the premium provided you have not taken a trip to which the insurance applies, and you have not made a claim.
Contact info
Cutlers Exchange, 123 Houndsditch, EC3A 7BU , London
- 0800 068 0060
- customer.service@columbusdirect.com
- www.columbusdirect.com
2.3
Poor
11K reviews
No recent history of asking for reviews
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Nearly 10 Years a customer
I have used Columbus Direct for nearly 10 years now and the ease of using their website to get the relevant level of Insurance cover for me is easy, simple and quick.
November 10, 2022
Always use Columbus Direct for my holiday Insurance
Always use Columbus Direct for my holidays. Great insurance cover, flexible and good prices. I had to claim with them once and it was no problem and that is an important point when you pick holiday cover. This time I went for yearly insurance and again a quick look at the competition Columbus were still the best.
Would not go anywhere else.
November 1, 2022
Good company
I always use Columbus travel. Great service and hassle free website.The delayed flight service for airport lounges is amazing!!
June 21, 2022
Premium much cheaper than with airline
November 8, 2022
May use AI-assist with repliesRead more
At Trustpilot, it's all about human content. This business can also access our AI-assisted response tool which helps them draft replies.
Reduce price!
October 24, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
We're sorry that you are unhappy with the price of the cover available, our prices are driven by the cover we provide and the rates provided by the insurer. We have never tried to be the cheapest in the market, instead we have tried to focus on quality of product and service.
Fortunately, you as the consumer can choose who to buy from. We note you have been a customer with us for a number of years and we are very grateful for that, especially as we understand that you have the choice to buy from lots of different suppliers. We hope you buy policies from us again in the future, but we appreciate that you may be able to pay less elsewhere.
The comprehensive web site and the ease of completion and obtaining cover.
The comprehensive web site and the ease of obtaining cover .
Also the quick turn round of receiving the confirmation and documentation. Easier than I imagined. Thank you.
November 9, 2022
No problems arranging travel insurance…
No problems arranging travel insurance online. Simple and straightforward.
November 6, 2022
Many mistakes on document that wew not…
Many mistakes on document that wew not my fault. Overpriced product. Contacting company difficult. Cancelled whole product and went elsewhere.
November 1, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
Very confused by this comment Malcolm. You purchased the policy online, emailed us to make a change to the policy. We tried to call you and when we didn't get to speak to you we left a voicemail and emailed you to arrange a convenient time to discuss the policy. The next contact from you was to cancel the policy. We have not managed to speak to you to be responsible for any errors on your policy.
This was the first time that you had purchased from us so it's unclear why you did if you were unhappy with the price. We're glad to hear that you've found alternative cover that is better suited to you.
Many mistakes on documents that weren't…
Many mistakes on documents that weren't entered by me. Ended up cancelling completely. A complete waste of time and overly priced.
November 1, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
Very confused by this comment Janine. You purchased the policy online so any errors would have been made at the time of application. There is information all through the sales journey showing you what you have applied for. We can see that you asked for a quote for just 1 day of cover and then contacted us to increase that to your actual trip length.
We're sorry if there was anything in the sales journey that led to the confusion.
Straight-forward and easy to get a vfm…
Straight-forward and easy to get a vfm quote when giving medical constraints.
November 2, 2022
Generally a good experience and a very responsive customer service
Generally a good experience and efficient transaction. Only minor glitch was that I had to chase up the text confirmation. However my call was answered quickly and promptly dealt with. Paper work received promptly.
November 8, 2022
Easy to do and good selection of rates…
Easy to do and good selection of rates and cover will use again
November 17, 2022
usual good service
November 17, 2022
CUSTOMER SERVICE APPALLING AVOID
As an ex overseas representative I know the importance of travel insurance but this bunch of cowboys are rude unhelpful taking months don't answer emails it's daylight robbery they state 5 days laughable!!!!!! Left stranded for 3 days with two disabled children AVOID these robbing gits!! Read the rest of claim complaints, 100% of claims say avoid
November 17, 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Columbus Direct
Thank you for sharing your experience. We are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with this matter since you first logged your claim online on the 29th October.
We note your claim was auto-declined based on the information supplied at the time of creating the claim. Given the subsequent correspondence provided by you our claims team had already reopened the case and asked for additional information which is under review now. Given your previous expression of dissatisfaction over the handling of the matter, a complaint had also been set up for us to conduct a review of what has happened on this case and will provide relevant feedback to you.
We didn’t have to use the insurance so…
We didn’t have to use the insurance so very happy and peaceful to know that you are covered.
October 21, 2022
Great insurance company plenty of…
Great insurance company plenty of features and good prices. Easy website to use.
November 1, 2022
I received no documents or confirmation…
I received no documents or confirmation even though you took my money. I emaid and got no response
November 1, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
Thank you for bring this matter to our attention. We note from our records that the policy was emailed to you around 10 minutes after it was purchased online. The policy was sent to the same email address that was used to invite you to review us. Despite our best efforts, we do find that the policy document pack can be sent to our customer's spam folder so would always recommend that people check this if a policy doesn't come through.
We have asked our contact centre to reach out to you to resolve this.
Quick and easy to set up was…
Quick and easy to set up was recommended to use this company through easy jet. Thankfully didn't need to use it so can't say how good they would have been only issue was I received the email and policy certificate in my junk emails and didn't really check so emailed them and got a reply in Spanish or French so always check your junk email if you didn't receive any emails
November 1, 2022
Our flight was cancelled, No compansation
Our flight was cancelled. I made a claim. Was not compansated at all.
October 23, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
Thanks for sharing your experience. It would appear that you managed your claim online and received an automated decision. Based on the information you provided at the time, it appears that we may be able to assist but just need to change the selected category of claim type and get a bit more info from you. Depending on the circumstances around the delay, you may be entitled to small amount of compensation.
The claims team should also explain to you the EU261 Passenger Rights, some of the specific costs incurred may be covered by the airline, so if you have not already made enquiries with them, you should be entitled to some reimbursement from the airline.
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