Travel Insurance Reviews Nationwide Essential
The Essential plan from Nationwide Mutual Insurance is for travelers planning trips on a budget who don't want to sacrifice coverage. Coverages include Trip Cancellation and Interruption, Medical, Emergency Medical Evacuation, and Assistance Services.
To learn more, see the Nationwide Essential trip insurance product page.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
Claim: 59572
My plan was purchased in 10/27/2019, months before COVID. This company looks hard to find an excuse to not honor trip cancellation, despite claims of "standard in the industry" or that they "regret" not fulfilling their moral obligations to honor the contract. It is my strong opinion that they have small print used to deny payments for legitimate claims, that this company does not deserve your trust or business. Nationwide certainly will never have my business.
The natural disaster is COVID. Travel to Europe from the U.S. is not allowed, as the entire U.S. is being quarantined from the EU. The hotel accommodations in Italy are not habitable by any U.S. citizen.
Additionally, I am a hospital worker potentially exposed to COVID patients daily. I must quarantine 14 days before allowing myself come in close contact to unsuspecting travelers, because it is morally correct. It is not possible to actually travel.
I do not think that I would be allowed to stay at my hotel if I were possibly contagious, if I were allowed to travel to Europe! Regardless,
I was reimbursed for most of my travel (airfare) by the airlines, so I was not even expecting to be reimbursed for the entire amount of my coverage, only a portion of the coverage for which I paid. Unlike other reputable businesses, this company does not warrant your business, in my opinion.
My plan was purchased in 10/27/2019, months before COVID. This company looks hard to find an excuse to not honor trip cancellation, despite claims of "standard in the industry" or that they "regret" not fulfilling their moral obligations to honor the contract. It is my strong opinion that they have small print used to deny payments for legitimate claims, that this company does not deserve your trust or business. Nationwide certainly will never have my business.
The natural disaster is COVID. Travel to Europe from the U.S. is not allowed, as the entire U.S. is being quarantined from the EU. The hotel accommodations in Italy are not habitable by any U.S. citizen.
Additionally, I am a hospital worker potentially exposed to COVID patients daily. I must quarantine 14 days before allowing myself come in close contact to unsuspecting travelers, because it is morally correct. It is not possible to actually travel.
I do not think that I would be allowed to stay at my hotel if I were possibly contagious, if I were allowed to travel to Europe! Regardless,
I was reimbursed for most of my travel (airfare) by the airlines, so I was not even expecting to be reimbursed for the entire amount of my coverage, only a portion of the coverage for which I paid. Unlike other reputable businesses, this company does not warrant your business, in my opinion.
Marc S. would not
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
5 of
7 people found this review helpful
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
We booked a trip to London on at the end of January for travel in mid-June. We purchased this policy on January 31, when covid-19 had yet to be named or determined to be a pandemic . Due to the UK's continued shutdown through the spring and the UK's 14 day mandatory quarantine policy, Delta cancelled our flight in late May. We filed a claim with Delta, who fully refunded our air travel. We filed a claim with Nationwide to recover our non-fundable deposit on the London flat that we made in January. The claim was denied since covid-19 was not a named peril in the policy (well it was January 2020 with less than a handful of cases in the US) and the policy supposedly did not cover cancellation by the airline. If we couldn't fly to London, how were we going to get there!? We had a Travelex travel insurance policy 10 years ago that completely reimbursed us for a cruise that we were unable to get to because Delta cancelled our flight due to a massive east coast Christmas snow storm. I don't believe a snow storm was a peril listed in the policy. I will never buy another Nationwide travel insurance policy and would not recommend to others. They are definitely NOT on you side.
Jefferey L. would not
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
7 of
8 people found this review helpful
-
Megan
Thank you for your feedback.
We are sorry your claim did not go as you had hoped. In the future, please consider calling us prior to purchase at 800-487-4722 so that our licensed representatives can review plan benefits and exclusions with you.Sep 29,2020
The trip included a
cruise
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
Agents suggest you take out the policy several months in advance. Cruise and flight cancelled, but rebooked at a cheaper cost. Insure my trip Nationwide refused any refund saying I only had 10 days to cancel or change Poilicy. Cruise line and air carrier gave refunds for price difference, not Nationwide! They took advantage of the situation! Will NEVER use Insure my Trip Nationwide again!
Debra G. would not
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
2 of
4 people found this review helpful
-
Megan
Thank you for your feedback.
We are sorry to learn that your trip was postponed. Fortunately, Nationwide Mutual Insurance was able to transfer your policy to the new travel dates at no additional cost. You are correct in that most comprehensive travel insurance policies have a review period, typically 10-15 days from the date you purchase the plan, depending on the state you live in. The Nationwide Essential plan in your state of residence has a 10 day review period in which insureds are able to cancel the policy or make any changes that would result in a premium refund. There are no refunds outside of the review period. For information about how travel insurance can accommodate a rescheduled or cancelled trip, please call us at 800-487-4722.Oct 06,2020
The trip included a
cruise
tour
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
They state on their website they are refunding for canceled trips without claims due to Covid. It is been 10 weeks and I have not received anything except excuses. I will not purchase from them again.
Jocelyn S. would not
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
2 of
4 people found this review helpful
-
Megan
Thank you for your feedback.
I am happy to see that Nationwide did refund your premium. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and current climate of traveling this request did take much longer than usual.
We hope you will reach out to us at InsureMyTrip for future travel insurance needs.Sep 21,2020
The trip included a
cruise
tour
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
After looking at many travel insurance providers, we chose Nationwide. Unfortunately, my wife got sick and had to go to the medical center on the Carnival Breeze. We filed with our primary insurance and with Nationwide. My primary applied the entire amount to our deductible. Nationwide paid the entire amount. Yes you have to provide ALL the documents needed and it does take a while. Our cruise was in January and we got the check the 1st week of April. It took longer for my primary to process the claim. Once they received the necessary documents, Nationwide paid in about 15 or so days. We’re very happy with the process. Thank you Nationwide
Robert W. would
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
2 of
5 people found this review helpful
The trip included a
tour
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
Nationwide does not consider the quarantine of an entire country due COVID-19 a valid claim. W were half into our trip when Norway closed all borders to entry to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Now Nationwide wants proof I was denied entry. Do I need a picture of me trying to cross the border? Forget appealing the ruling unless you in a select 12 few states where you can appeal to the Insurance commission. In the other 38 states it seems Nationwide is judge and jury. I certainly do not understand the great reviews of this terrible coverage.
James L. would not
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
5 of
6 people found this review helpful
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
My claim was denied during the COVID-19 global pandemic during the height of government lock downs and a time that was literally impossible to travel.
I filed a claim on April 22, 2020 for our honeymoon travel to the U.K. between May 9th- May 23. I took nearly a month to get back to me May 21st (which is some what reasonable because I am sure they have been swamped with claims). I booked the travel myself which made it a pain to file the claim.
In the end I was denied because the policy didn't mention "pandemic" specifically but it does mention natural disasters and quarantines. In their review they stated that a travel embargo is not a quarantine but that seems like lawyer speak to me. To be honest, I would not have even known to look for specific pandemic text when I planned the trip last September.
I feel like my claim got "lawyer-ed" which I guess is what happens in the insurance world but I will never use any service of Nationwide's again and I would not recommend their service to any one.
I filed a claim on April 22, 2020 for our honeymoon travel to the U.K. between May 9th- May 23. I took nearly a month to get back to me May 21st (which is some what reasonable because I am sure they have been swamped with claims). I booked the travel myself which made it a pain to file the claim.
In the end I was denied because the policy didn't mention "pandemic" specifically but it does mention natural disasters and quarantines. In their review they stated that a travel embargo is not a quarantine but that seems like lawyer speak to me. To be honest, I would not have even known to look for specific pandemic text when I planned the trip last September.
I feel like my claim got "lawyer-ed" which I guess is what happens in the insurance world but I will never use any service of Nationwide's again and I would not recommend their service to any one.
Edwin B. would not
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
2 of
3 people found this review helpful
The trip included a
cruise
tour
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
I waited until I submitted my claim on trip interruption part to see how it went. They came through and I received the amount claimed, after filing the proper information. I will also say I needed to contact them at least twice to make sure I understood what was needed for my claim and the agents I emailed and/called on phone were very helpful in aiding me to file properly. I appreciate all that was done, as I have never had to submit any claims on my many past trip coverages. Naturally I would recommend them after this proven positive experience.
Oh by the way, I needed to file this claim after I returned home around March 9-12 2020. Note that date - around the time the worldwide coved 19 just started to become an issue!!
So I was a bit stressed as I had returned home immediately after all this corona panademic began unfolding in the US.
NOTE: ALWAYS KEEP all records and receipts from the moment you plan an insure your trip until you arrive home, as you will need such records to submit along with your claim. Without proof you cannot expect reimbursement (obviously)
Oh by the way, I needed to file this claim after I returned home around March 9-12 2020. Note that date - around the time the worldwide coved 19 just started to become an issue!!
So I was a bit stressed as I had returned home immediately after all this corona panademic began unfolding in the US.
NOTE: ALWAYS KEEP all records and receipts from the moment you plan an insure your trip until you arrive home, as you will need such records to submit along with your claim. Without proof you cannot expect reimbursement (obviously)
Ralph M. would
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
1 of
2 people found this review helpful
The trip included a
tour
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
Due to my father's death we had to cancel a trip to Sweden and Denmark. Once we submitted all the paperwork (electronically), the claim was processed quickly and the payment sent. The amount we requested and substantiated was sent. We did take the time to provide a lot of documentation which probably helped make our claim an easy one to process. I would use Nationwide again for trip insurance.
Cynthia J. would
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
1 of
3 people found this review helpful
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
This travel insurance thing is a pretty good scam. If you look at all of the glowing reviews you see comments like “I didn’t need to use the plan” “...but it gave me piece of mind.” LOL. Seriously? How can you give glowing reviews to something you never used? Folks wake up and look at the ratings for people who DID TRY to use the plan. We purchased this plan months before the Coronavirus even existed. Our vacation to Jamaica had to be canceled because they were quarantining arrivals for 14 days. Fortunately our flight was with airline miles that were given back to us. We got a travel bank credit for tax money that was extended well beyond the normal time frame. The resort also offered a full credit for use until the end of 2021 AND a resort credit of $200 for goodwill even though none of this was their fault. And then we have Nationwide Travel Insurance. We asked for a refund of this unused policy due to a once in a lifetime event so that we could repurchase a plan when we rescheduled our trip. We got “you are outside the 10 day review and cancel window”. Really? Almost every other business in America is bending over backwards to help out customers. Nationwide? Not happening at Nationwide. If you ever need to file a claim with Nationwide, we wish you luck. We will have a hard time EVER purchasing another plan from Nationwide. We look forward to another legalese response just like all of the other ones provided when someone posts a less than stellar review.
James J. would not
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
1 of
2 people found this review helpful
-
Megan
Thank you for your feedback.
We are happy to hear that Nationwide is able to hold the policy for use on future travel.
Sep 22,2020
Nationwide Mutual Insurance is making exceptions for cancellations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow you to transfer your policy to a new trip or cancel the policy as long as you meet certain requirements.
Please reach out to us at InsureMyTrip 800-487-4722, so we may further assist you in this process.