Sainsbury's Bank Travel Insurance Avis 

Further to me last review after 8 weeks of stress they finally paid me some of what was stolen or had to be replaced. Just so you know, they charge depreciation on lost passports and driving licences!!! To be paid for trip cancellation I think you have to die first. Excess is charged per person at every turn that makes it not worth claiming. All of this is not made clear at the start, unless you read 10 pages of small print on why they won't pay you. Simply robbery.

Just reading the reviews and cant believe it, i am currently away, my mum had a fall and I called up and spoke to Lee. Not sure what I would have done without him he advised me what to do and was amazing on the phone, I cant thank him enough I really cant.

I took this insurance out just before traveling, and got the premium one for peace of mind, I had an incident one week into the trip and tried to inform them (as is requested in the documentation) after one week of sending me round in circles they still couldn't tell me how to proceed so i paid for the treatment myself and cancelled this useless insurance, luckily I was still within my 14 day cooling off period, the money was refunded the next day, its a shame they couldn't have been that efficient when it comes to covering you for an incident, you get what you pay for, so i advise to get a proper travel insurance and/or read these types of reviews first, like i wish i had :)

Sainsbury's Home Insurance: Avoid like plague! Lies upon lies. You can not cancel the policy! They do not pick up the phone! If they accidently pick up, they will put you on hold straight away in case you want to cancel or opt out the renewal! There is no email to complain or opt out or cancel the renewal!
You Must Go to Your Bank and Tell this to Them well ahead of time of renewal and they will stop any payment in the future. You must block Sainsbury's Home Insurance call centre because they will harrass and threaten you with bad credit score and sorts of crap. Do not let them talk as they do not let you talk to them when you needed. Same Rule Applies to All!!!

Poor choice for Sainsburys to use Gallagher Bassett as their travel insurance provider. Poor, poor customer service - lack of communication, lies about trying to contact me regarding my claim. Making us jump through hoops to prove items in our bag. Totally ridiculous. Don't answer emails for a week (and then they are out of date), can't speak with anyone but bland call centre staff who are obviously reading a script. Will be asking for compensation off Sainsburys for this shocking service by Gallagher Bassett.

91% of reviews are 1 Star... financial ombudsman investigation needed. Sainsburys referred me to Gallagher Basset / CSA for my claim. I've submitted all my details, and after 8 weeks have recieved nothing, no option to log into an account on the insurer to see my details or anything, they have just completely ignored me. I'll be seeking a refund and compensation from Sainsbury's directly for mis-selling me a service.

Never, ever, go to Sainsbury's for anything money related.

I am beyond disappointed with the appalling service I received from Sainsbury's Travel Insurance. I can’t believe the absolute incompetence and indifference displayed by their claims handling company. From the moment I tried to file a claim, it was as if I didn’t exist. No responses to emails, endless time on hold, and when I finally got through, the so-called "help" I received was laughable at best.

How foolish was I to think that buying travel insurance from such an inferior business was a good idea? The sheer audacity of Sainsbury's to offer such subpar services is mind-boggling. It is crystal clear that customer care is not a priority for them. I shudder to think of the countless others who have been left in the lurch by this shoddy excuse for an insurance provider.

I will never, in any way, shape, or form, entertain the thought of purchasing anything from Sainsbury's ever again. Whether it’s travel insurance, groceries, or any other product they dare to offer, they have lost a customer for life. My experience has been nothing short of a nightmare, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Sainsbury's, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

I agree with all these reviews. Sainsbury’s travel insurance is the worst ever. I had phone, purse and sunglasses stolen in Barcelona. I completed a claim form. Got some money back with excess of £50 taken off, but the email said that I needed to claim separately for my iPhone. At this point it was after 3 weeks after submitting a claim so I brought a new phone as I needed one. The claim with Taurus was a painful process for the iPhone, so much paperwork required, the worst company I have ever dealt with. 4 weeks later my claim is approved. However, I have to pay £50 to Taurus and then they will send me a refurbished replacement phone. At no point in the Sainsbury’s policy schedule does it say they use 2 different insurers which means you pay excess twice. Neither does it say gadget claims are not cash settled. I don’t need a phone! I brought one because it was taking so long. This policy has been incorrectly advertised. I have registered a complaint and am waiting to hear back from Sainsbury’s management.

Please DON'T BUY SAINSBURY'S travel insurance. They are fraud. I bought Gold cover. They told me that I am not covered. Fraud.

DON'T BUY SAINSBURY'S TRAVEL INSURANCE.

In March I booked my holiday. My flight was cancelled without any notice. I contacted insurance. They are still asking millions of questions.Then ask me to send document.I send 2 time all document and photo.they send me email and hi told me your traveling insurance not showing in system and while refund your money. This company is fraud don't buy Sainsbury's traveling insurance.

Bad, inhumane and robotic service at Sainsbury's Home Insurance

It is a shame that I cannot give half a star. The only service they provided was picking up the phone after multiple attempts and persistent request to pay for a penalty for a direct-debit debacle. The only excellent service came when I decided to cancel my insurance. It appears that the workers are happy for the clients to go elsewhere, so they only reiterate words on the website about the insurance. There is no room for any humane exchange and attempts to understand the policy holders. Note, I was not making a claim. I was only attempting to resolve an issue with the direct debit from by bank which resulted in an unsuccessful direct debit to sainsbury's insurance. In this same month, the same thing happened with other companies, including EE and none of them automatically applied a penalty. The other companies only attempted again at a later date and it worked. Sainsbury's should focus on selling groceries, which is what they are good at. The worst service ever to a policy holder who has never made a claim in 5 years.

Please do not use Sainsbury’s Bank Travel insurance. My son had a terrible accident whilst abroad and the hospital he was taken to by ambulance would not touch his insurance as they say that the insurance company currently apparently owe them over £300,000. I really don’t want anyone else to go through a similar experience. There are 3 UK companies they will not touch for this reason. I had to fly out and took out insurance with Avanti. The hospital said that if anything happened to me whilst there, I would be covered as Avanti are good.

Please avoid using 'Sainsbury's' travel insurance (actually Great Lakes). 8 months since we put in our claim, after having all our luggage stolen on a train in France, we have finally received our payment... but only after a very long, time consuming and upsetting fight! Following months of completely hopeless communication with Great Lakes, and their complaints department, who tried to suggest that we were irresponsible to leave our luggage in the designated luggage compartment (the only place we were allowed to keep large suitcases!) whilst sat in our allocated train seats, we took our case to the Financial Ombudsman. They did a thorough investigation and fully backed and supported us, saying that Great Lakes had been completely unfair and unreasonable in refusing our claim - so I very much recommend going down this route if you find yourself in similar circumstances! Great Lakes will do anything and everything to fob you off, but can be forced into paying up what you are owed if you persevere - it's a total scam and they hope and rely on people giving up!!

Sainsburys travel insurance was taken out for our holiday to Amsterdam last September, we had to cancel this as both went down with Covid. These are underwritten and claims handlers are Great Lakes and CSA We were refused a claim twice, they said the first time we weren’t covered for covid. The second time they told us we didn’t provide a certificate to say we couldn’t travel. Even though we’d passed on details of our gp to the insurance co. as they said they didn’t give out certificates for covid anymore. They said they could write to them. We’d provided photos of our positive covid tests in front of the time and date on our computer. Anyway, wanted to give people a heads up that we took our plight to the Financial Ombudsman and we’ve just found out we’ve won our case. So the insurance company has to pay us plus interest. So don’t give up!

It should be zero stars, but it won't offer that choice!
I only wish i had read some of the reviews here before purchasing Sainsburys annual travel insurance. They say you can only judge an insurance company when you have to make a claim, well that’s where the zero stars come in!
To get any regular reliable correspondence from these is at best impossible. I got asked to send three sets of information, once sent then I got asked for another batch of information [different from the first email]. These two emails took about a month to get through to me, since then “nothing”! I have sent numerous emails and have yet to have a reply, I have now given up and will never use or recommend Sainsburys travel insurance to anyone.
This is the shortened version as I can’t be bothered to write everything down as it would take up too much time and space.

Complete shambles of a renewal process...

Didn't send out renewal reminder or price.

I phoned and automated message said long wait and go to live chat.45 mins later they answered and sent the renewal but WITHOUT pre-existing conditions included.

45 min wait again for live chat only to be told you need to speak on the phone and RE_ENTER the pre existing....but I already gave you that last year. AND WHAT USE IS A RENEWAL QUOTE WITHOUT PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

Wasted 45 mins x 2 of my life and their staff time....and I still have not got a renewal quote !

LAUGHABLY BAD.

Customer service line is just a joke! Tried to speak to someone on the telephone today. Waited 1 hour and 20mins on the line. When it was my turn they put me to an answer phone!! They asked me to leave my details and they will get back to me! 7 hours later no phone call!! I have 4 annual polices with them!! Will never use again!!

Non-existent Insurance & Abysmal Customer Service! I waited nearly two months for a response to my claim.

After weeks of relentless follow-ups, I received nothing but false promises. It turns out the travel insurance offered by this company is nothing more than a waste of money and time.

My flight was abruptly cancelled by the airline just a few hours before departure at 2am on a bank holiday. This left us stranded in a foreign country. Shockingly, the so-called 'cancelled flight' and 'delayed flight' policies were nothing but smoke and mirrors.

Avoid this company at all costs! The combination of non-existent insurance coverage and terrible customer service is utterly unacceptable.

Exchange Bureau Milton Keynes. Good exchange rates and really friendly staff. Unlike many places, greeted with a smile and they are more than happy to give smaller denominations unlike John Lewis, Waitrose etc. Will definitely use again.

Non existing customer services!
Only wanted to amend travel details and after an hours wait they still spelt my daughters 3 letter name incorrectly after spelling it out 3 times.
Won't use again.