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
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
The trip included a
tour
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
I will use Insure my Trip/Nationwide Insurance from now on! I paid for an expensive trip to Thailand in February. I already had some reservations due to the corona virus but decided to push through anyway. The day before I was to leave, my daughter injured herself. I promptly canceled trip and contacted Nationwide. The customer service rep was a little “snarly” with me but They emailed me the paperwork. It was easy to read and fill out by the doctor and myself. I promptly submitted and they promptly paid the claim.
Anitra M. would
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
2 of
3 people found this review helpful
The trip included a
cruise
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
If anyone thinks that "Nationwide is on your side", think again. I bought a travel insurance policy for a cruise in February. It was the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company Essential plan. There were 5 of us on the policy. We traveled to Montreal International Airport in two cars from Plattsburgh N.Y. There was a terrible accident and one of our cars was caught behind the wreck. My family members helped comfort the victims at the accident scene until the ambulances arrived. They ended up missing the flight. They went back to Plattsburgh and caught a flight the following night to make the cruise. When we returned from the trip I called the company who handles the claims for Nationwide. I explained what happened and right from the start, the agent tried to talk his way out of paying any of the benefits. First he said that I would need a copy of the accident report. I told him that the accident was in Canada and that our party was not involved. After going back and forth with the agent over the phone, he agreed that the flight booked the next day to get to the ship was covered under the plan. I sent him all of the paper work he needed. About three weeks later, I received an e-mail stating that I would need an accident report or an article from a Canadian newspaper. I called and explained again the the accident was in another country and we had no idea where to get one. The agent said that he would try to "Google it" to see if he could find it. On March 24th, I received three $150.00 checks with the notation that the total flight cost exceeds the maximum benefit allowed for a trip delay per person. The policy clearly states that the cost of a flight to get to to the desired location is covered. I have a family member who is a lawyer and is going to assist me in filing a complaint with the New York State Department of Financial Services. He said the policy is ambiguous and misleading. The flight cost was a total of $920.00 for the three passengers. I will continue to provide updates when they happen. With all of the problems that everyone is facing right now, you would think that a company of this size would do the right thing. ATTENTION, I called Insuremytrip to see if their Anytime Advocates program could help me out. Their customer care representative stated that Nationwide is one company that they can not help me because of an agreement with them,.
Scott G. would not
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
2 of
3 people found this review helpful
-
Zac
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to learn of the difficulties you experienced during the trip.
All travelers that purchase a policy through InsureMyTrip have access to our Anytime Advocates® program. This unique program is designed to save our travelers time and money by contacting the travel insurance provider directly to smooth out any kinks in the claims process. The InsureMyTrip Anytime Advocates® will help any customer with:
Claims assistance
Receive expert advice on how to navigate the claims process and file a claim properly with your travel insurance provider.
Dispute resolution
Anytime Advocates® will check the status of a claim. If a claim is denied, an advocate will work on behalf of the customer to learn why or to help with the appeal process.Jul 29,2020
The trip included a
cruise
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
We got insurance to help cover issues, which luckily didn't come up. But it was good to have peace of mind in case we needed to use it!
Thomas G. would
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
1 of
2 people found this review helpful
The trip included a
cruise
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
I want to thank Nationwide and Oncall for the excellent service in getting me home from out of the country as well as the coverage and (as promised) responded to my claim in just under 15 business days. All of the staff that my wife and I spoke with during this difficult time were friendly, efficient and provided answers to all of our questions. I received an additional invoice from the ambulance company after I filed the original claim and you had approved. I called to ask how I should submit this additional claim and you gave an answer and a simple process on how to send it.
Thank you to all and we will certainly use your insurance again in the future and have already recommended you to family and friends.
Thank you to all and we will certainly use your insurance again in the future and have already recommended you to family and friends.
Glenn H. would
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
1 of
3 people found this review helpful
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
Happy to have the coverage and even happier I didn’t need it.
David H. would
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
The trip included a
tour
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Essential
Didn't use the insurance but was glad I had it with the possibility of trip interruption.
Larry B. would
recommend this plan to a friend or relative.
We are happy to hear that Nationwide is able to hold the policy for use on future travel.