Travel insurance claim guide

It depends on your insurer, and the windows are shorter than most people expect. Allianz Travel (US) and Travel Guard (AIG) both require notice within 90 days of the date of loss — the same 90 days even for an accidental-death claim. World Nomads (US) wants written notice within 20 days and proof of loss within 90 days. SafetyWing counts 60 days from the END of your coverage period, not the incident. If your certificate sets a different number, the certificate wins — these are the modal mid-tier wordings, not a guarantee for every plan.

Almost every claim needs proof the covered event happened and proof of what it cost. For baggage that means a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) from the airline, proof of ownership or receipts for the items, and the carrier's final non-recovery letter. For trip cancellation it means proof of trip payment, documentation of the covered reason (medical note, death certificate, employer letter), and the supplier's cancellation and refund statement. For a medical claim: itemized bills with diagnosis codes, the treating physician's statement, and proof of payment. Missing one of these is the single most common reason claims stall at intake.

The most common denials are not about bad luck — they are documentation and timing. The recurring reasons are: the cancellation or interruption reason is not on the policy's covered list; a pre-existing medical condition with no waiver; missing receipts or a missing carrier confirmation; filing after the submission window closed; and, for secondary policies, no supplier determination letter showing the airline or credit card already declined to pay. Fix the timing and the paperwork before you submit and most of these never happen.

Many travel policies (Allianz US among them) are secondary coverage — they only pay after the airline, hotel, or credit-card benefit has paid or formally declined. The supplier determination letter is that formal decline (or partial payment) statement. Without it, a secondary insurer denies the claim at intake because it cannot tell what is left to cover. Request it from the airline or supplier the moment you know you will claim; it is the slowest piece to obtain and the most common one missing.

Yes, and the airline's deadline comes first. Under the Montreal Convention (Art. 31) you must complain to the carrier in writing within 7 days for a damaged bag and 21 days for a delayed bag; a bag is deemed lost after 21 days. That written notice is what produces the PIR and, eventually, the non-recovery letter your insurer requires. If you miss the airline's window you usually cannot get those documents, and the insurer claim fails for that reason alone — even if the insurer's own 90-day window is still open.

The per-incident cap depends on the insurer, the claim type, and your specific plan. The figures shown here are modal mid-tier ceilings — for example, Allianz US lists roughly $2,000 for lost baggage and $50,000 for a medical emergency on a typical mid-tier policy. The cap is a maximum, not a guaranteed payout: the insurer reimburses your documented, proven loss up to that limit, minus any deductible. Sub-limits for electronics, jewelry, or a single article are usually much lower, so a $1,500 laptop in a lost bag is rarely paid in full.

Review windows vary widely by insurer. Allianz US is the fastest of the verified carriers at roughly 3–5 business days once the file is complete; Travel Guard and World Nomads run about 10–15 business days; SafetyWing and IMG Global can take 2–4 weeks. The clock effectively starts when your file is complete, not when you first submit, so a claim missing one document can sit far longer than the headline window. Track your claim number from day one and respond to document requests the same day.

For the verified US carriers, yes — and that surprises people. Allianz US and Travel Guard apply the same 90-day notice window to accidental death as to a lost bag. An earlier version of this guide carried a 365-day figure for accidental death; that was wrong and dangerously lax, because a beneficiary relying on it would have missed the real 90-day deadline. Always confirm the exact figure against the certificate of insurance before relying on it, especially for a high-stakes claim.