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
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Have used Columbus for years
Have used Columbus for years - never had to make a claim but application process is simple.
October 12, 2022
Spot on!
Simplicity, accessibility and timely. What more is there to say.
Would recommend to anyone.
September 16, 2022
May use AI-assist with repliesRead more
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You haven’t delt with my complaint I’ve…
You haven’t delt with my complaint I’ve herd nothing
September 5, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
Hi Paul. We're sorry to hear that you have a complaint but we are unable to find anything relating to this. We see that you have had a Columbus Direct travel insurance policy with us for a number of years, with the latest policy being purchased in August.
Update: We now understand that this relates to issues with registering flights for the free Lounge Access programme. We are sorry you had any difficulties with this additional service. Our customer service team will reach out to you to discuss the matter further.
Very Good efficient service.
September 26, 2022
Great value on the flights
Great value on the flights, everything went smoothly, and we received what we paid for. Would definitely use Columbus Direct again.
August 10, 2022
A name you can trust
Easy to buy online with a really competitive rate, a name you can trust to rely on for all things travel insurance.
October 1, 2022
I always use Colombus for my travel…
I always use Colombus for my travel insurance. Their website is easy to use and cover is quickly arranged even with my health conditions.
October 6, 2022
Web site easy to use and understand
Web site easy to use and understand. No drama with medical conditions and reasonable cost. Remains to be seen how they respond to a claim, let's hope I don't need to find out!
October 9, 2022
We are always happy with our insurance…
We are always happy with our insurance from Columbus and would always recommend to friends and family.
October 8, 2022
Absolutely fantastic
We bought the travel insurance because it was relatively cheap, but what really matters is when you need to use it. These guys were there for us when we needed it, talked to us when when we needed help, they tried to pay the hospital bills in advance - but I'd already put the credit card across to sort the little one out, they simply said "send us the receipts". We did just that when we got home & got the payment within hours. I will go nowhere else.
August 29, 2022
Very positive experience
Very positive experience. Smooth purchase with clear options and user experience.
August 20, 2022
Applying for the insurance on line was…
Applying for the insurance on line was quick and easy. It was a reasonable price compared to some others.
September 13, 2022
It was very easy to book our travel…
It was very easy to book our travel insurance.
September 15, 2022
5 Stars
5 Stars!
Definitely 5 stars. And not because of the easiness of getting insurance but, but for the fact that they actually helped me out when I needed to cover my medical emergency bills in my trip to Egypt.
No hassles or making hard, they paid the hospital bills straight away.
June 26, 2022
Holiday insurance
Used Easy jet link to obtain product. Not the cheapest but is recommended. Policy is very long winded but main point briefed well.
Update to policy handled very quickly and efficiently.
September 25, 2022
I don't know what this is for so can't…
I don't know what this is for so can't grade higher than a 1 star.
October 7, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
Hi Ian. You received this request for feedback following a travel insurance purchase with us in July.
We accept any feedback about our product so if you are unhappy with the travel insurance for any reason, please feel free to adjust your comment to reflect any concerns you have, or change the rating if you were actually delighted with the insurance.
Claim avoidance
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. Presumably this is to reduce the number of people calling, and therefore reduce the number of claims.
August 18, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
Hi Matt. It is not uncommon for the 24 hour medical emergency service on travel insurance policies to be linked to a UK only number. It's been operating like this for many years and there is no intention to make it difficult for customers to call in. We allow customer to claim back the telephone charges incurred when they first contact us, this is on the basis that our assistance service should then be proactively updating customers so there should be no need to incur further costs.
It would be fair to say that companies haven't necessarily moved with the times quickly enough as technology has developed.
Dreadful Customer Service
No emails and no post.
Website is absolutely awful and so is the customer service.
Eventually I was able to email to you that after more than a week after ordering my insurance I was still awaiting an email from you together with the posted documents as requested. Absolutely dreadful experience.
October 5, 2022
Reply from Columbus Direct
Hi Anthony. We appreciate you taking the time to comment. It's not clear from your review what concerns you have with the website, we would welcome any further information around this.
Our records show that your policy was posted within 24 hours of your policy being purchased. When customers select an option for postal document we do not automatically email the document as well. We note that we have now emailed the document to you 2 days ago and have again posted the documents to you. As you are indicating you have not received the email, could you please check your spam folder to make sure it isn't in there.
We note that you have purchased from us many times before so hopefully this is the first and only time you have had a negative experience and that we can get these issues resolved for you.
Reply from Columbus Direct
Hi Fred... Not sure if this was meant to be a review of our service but the insurance policy you purchased from us was emailed on 21st September. We've just sent this again. If you hadn't previously had this, please check your spam folder as our emails occasionally go there.
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