Hollard and Hepstar ****

I took a 12 month travel insurance policy through Hepstar (which is underwritten by Hollard and processed by Oojah Travel Protection.) Since leaving South Africa, I have had to make two claims in the last 11 months. Both have been rejected with feeble reasoning and poor service.

Claim 1. I was in Thailand. My bungalow was broken into and I was ****** of a substantial amount of cash, a mobile phone and an iPod. I filed the police report, filled out the claims form and sent the required documents. The response at first was that I had to provide a return air ticket. The question is, who travels for 12 months with an exact return ticket? The entire point of taking a 12 month break to travel is that one has freedom to move from country to country. Once they had accepted this they then moved onto strategy B. Apparently, I now required a letter from the landlord explaining that the theft had indeed taken place. Clearly, they did not believe the police report nor the authority of the Thai police (who are pretty intense and not open to ******* claims about theft in their country.) The service I received in this claim meant that it took around 6 weeks for them to let me know that I needed a letter from the landlord. By this stage, I had left the country and was unable to contact my Thai speaking landlord to ask for an English letter. Excellent way to avoid paying out!

Claim 2. I am currently in Mexico and was unfortunate enough to get dengue fever and an amoeba, all in the space of three weeks! I went to the doctor and got some tests done as well as some vitamins to boost my immune system and help me recover. The claim was very small. No procedures, no anti-biotics and no hospitalization. Again, the claim was rejected. The reasoning, I have no return air ticket and I am intending on emigrating! This last bit fascinates me. How does Hollard/Hepstar/Oojah know that I am intending on emigrating? It's a remarkable conclusion. If they make this assumption on the basis that I have been out of the country for 11 months, then why sell a 12 month travel policy? Or do they make this assumption because they feel anyone who doesn't have a return ticket must be leaving for good? Smells like another great excuse to me!

If you are intending on travelling, avoid Hepstar and Hollard like the plague. It's not legitimate travel insurance. It's a company who specializes in finding ways to not pay you out. I'm an upstanding human who is currently serving at an ashram in mexico. I have no intention of **********ly claiming anything. It appears, however, that Hollard and it's associates have every intention of de*****ing me and others who may be unfortunate enough to put their faith in this business.