Southdownsinsurance Avis 

My daughter got ill whilst on our holiday - we did everything asked for by the insurance company- receipts from the hospital, Dr notes, receipts of medicines, they asked for proof that we were actually where we said we were - we supplies all boardingpasses and tickets, then they asked for NHS records - the records on the NHS app is not enough- they requested full medical history which proved difficult as my daughter is at Uni and have changed Dr.. in the end we gave up - it feels like a scam - this was a completely legitimate claim, we wasted time calling them, emailing all the documents but the insurance company it to complicated with the full medical history being so difficult to get.
If you want to feel like you are safely insured when on holiday - stay away from this company.

Very helpful phone call for annual renewal with a really pleasant adviser. Premium was much cheaper than I expected

I've used Southdowns Insurance several times over the past few years, and they always provide no- nonsense, easily arranged travel insurance at a good price. Highly recommended.

Easy website to use with very competitive premiums.

So far so good... hopefully I won't need it

Very competitive prices with a great selection of types of cover. This is my second year with this company

I GAVE 4**** AS I DONT GENERALLY LIKE GIVING 5 AS IT IS RESERVED FOR BEYOND EXCELLENT.
SOUTHDOWNS ARE A REPUTABLE COMPANY AND OFFER A COMPETITIVE PRODUCT, THEY ARE GENERALLY FAIR AND RELIABLE AND I INSURE WITH THEM SINCE A COUPLE OF YEARS! WOULD RECCOMEND.

Vert easy to navigate website & easy to obtain insurance & very competitive price.
First class experience

Rudest customer service I've ever spoken to, and a claims portal that doesn't work. Had to claim for a trip to that was affected by natural disaster. After submitting a claim online, the portal said there was an error and we needed to call the team. Spoke to one of the rudest men (Bernardo) I've ever dealt with who repeatedly spoke over me. Responded to an email as instructed with claim details which was ignored for weeks. Spoke to someone else on the phone (Xavier he said his name was) who also interrupted me and kept telling me I couldn't make a claim; openly admitted they ignored my email; and blamed me for their portal not working. Never dealt with such rude people and doubt I'll get any money back despite being told to evacuate a natural disaster. Spent £70 on the policy and lost £700 for a claim I won't get back.

Always helpful, always a great price, clear and understandable communication, very efgicient

Very quick and easy. I needed horse riding cover and it was very clear that this was included, unlike with some other insurers.

Great service when I called with a question, there was no waiting in a queue for my call was answered straight away and query dealt with quickly

10/10 Customer Service
The agent I spoke with (Nikki) was polite, knowledgeable, helpful and very personable. Who knew renewing travel insurance would be a fun and pleasant experience!

Great service

Brilliant service over the phone today. Would highly recommend Southdowns, they are competitive price wise but most importantly they are very helpful over the phone

Booking travel insurance with Southdown insurance was a quick and easy process. Also the price was good.

Always get my holiday insurance through South Downs - best prices!

Extremely helpful
Given good advice
Took time to understand & process my claim - was a delicate situation. Received claim, thank you

Writing on behalf of my poor wife: Let me tell you what Southdowns (part of the AXA Group) thinks “emergency dental treatment for immediate relief of pain” means: paracetamol. That’s it. Swallow some tablets while an active infection eats through your jaw, and pray you make it home before sepsis sets in.

I was in Iran when two molars became acutely infected. Severe, unrelenting pain. Facial swelling. Unable to sleep or eat. A dentist confirmed I needed immediate root canal treatment to remove the infected tissue and prevent serious complications. This wasn’t a check-up. This wasn’t cosmetic whitening. This was a genuine dental emergency requiring the exact treatment any competent dentist anywhere in the world would provide.

Southdowns’ response? Claim declined. Their breathtaking logic: root canal treatment isn’t covered because it’s not “immediate relief of pain.” Apparently, actually fixing the problem doesn’t count. Only masking it with painkillers while the infection spreads counts as “relief.”

Let that sink in. They’re arguing that a procedure which removes the source of pain isn’t pain relief, but tablets that temporarily dull the agony while your condition deteriorates is pain relief.

This isn’t a grey area. This isn’t a technicality. This is an insurance company that has taken your premium and is now contorting basic dental medicine into pretzels to avoid paying out on a completely legitimate claim. Southdowns’ policy doesn’t exclude root canal treatment. It doesn’t say “medication only.” It doesn’t limit cover to “palliative” measures. They’ve invented a restriction from thin air because paying claims apparently isn’t in the business model.

I paid £67 for this policy. I experienced exactly the emergency it claims to cover. I received exactly the treatment that medical science prescribes for that emergency. And Southdowns looked at this and decided that what I should have done was pop pills and suffer until I got home — at which point, presumably, I’d need the exact same root canal treatment anyway, just with a worse infection and a nice story about how my travel insurance was worthless.

The Financial Ombudsman will be hearing from me. The FCA will be hearing from me. And now you’re hearing from me: Southdowns will take your money and then argue with a straight face that treating a dental emergency isn’t treating a dental emergency.

Absolutely shameless. Avoid.