Generali Travel Insurance Reviews

Two weeks ago we won a 3 1/2 month battle with our travel insurance company, Generali Global Insurance, to be reimbursed fully for my accident in Egypt during a tour on November 20, 2025.

At 1:45 am,while dragging luggage down an outside staircase to an awaiting tour bus at the Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi, I missed a step and crashed onto the pavement. The crazy hour was designated as part of our Odyssey 'Treasures of Egypt' tour itinerary. The bus was supposed to take us to Cairo International Airport for a scheduled 5am flight to Aswan, in Egypt's south.

What followed was an ankle fracture and sprain so severe that we ended up missing the flight. I was accompanied by an Odyssey rep to as Salam International Hospital in Cairo. I couldn't walk, was examined, X-rayed, tested for an arterial clot (negative), then placed in a cast. The local docs told to keep my leg up and go home immediately for further treatment.

Because of the injury, we missed 9 1/2 days of the Upper Egypt Nile tour. My husband and I had purchased a standard travel insurance policy of $1150+ from Generali Global Insurance. We thought we were covered for trip interruption, medical and emergency transport if anything happened.

Ha ha! The battle had just begun.

After returning home, my husband got on the Generali website claims portal and meticulously documented my injury, submitting the medical records from Cairo and my orthopedist in the US, the added hotel expenses, and the upgrade ($3300) fees and air tickets on Lufthansa we required for emergency transport to elevate my foot.

One by one more requests for documents dribbled in...for months. A Generali representative, Enrique, declined to answer repeated inquiries about our claim from December 20 to January 22nd. Almost five weeks! I had to write to the Generali Director of Operations to get our client representative to answer.

We were then informed that our claim, which should have been open and shut, was now referred to a "Special Investigations Unit." At several points Generali claimed they needed confirmation from the Cairo physicians that they had instructed me to elevate my foot on the 14+ hour flights home. Generali apparently wouldn't honor my US orthopedist's direct letter to them stating elevation of my casted leg was absolutely necessary to avoid further swelling and necrosis.

Finally, after two months, the insurance coughed up the trip interruption fees calculated for the missed days by Odyssey. Per their policy, the company would not reimburse for follow-up medical care in the States.

Then Generali denied our $3300 claim for a "medically appropriate" Business Class flight upgrade to return home on Lufthansa. (We had already paid the tour company for Coach Select return seats). The $3300 was extra to get seats that would maintain foot elevation.

Then the insurance company claimed we had not consulted them for emergency "authorization" for the flight upgrade. Their policy, however, stated we could make medically appropriate upgrades through an authorized agent. Since Odyssey Unlimited was our travel agent for the tour, and we were spending hundreds extra each night waiting around after the injury in a Cairo hotel, Odyssey reps stepped in, found the last two seats on Lufthansa and arranged for us to depart at 5 am, November 21, the next day.

Generali wouldn't budge. I had other ideas.

Thanks to a colleague at the American Society of Journalists and Authors, I learned about {{Redacted}} a consumer news site that goes after recalcitrant airlines, insurers, and other organizations that refuse to reimburse consumers facing injuries and property damage while insured.

I wrote to the Elliott Report, sending all documentation, got an immediate reply, and was told to first report to the NC Department of Insurance to initiate an investigation.

Sure enough, after my repeated "fang letters" to Generali Operations documenting my injuries, along with a claim to the NC Department of Insurance, I received a call yesterday. Thanks to our letters, and the work of the NC Department of Insurancea very kind representative, Jade, responded immediately with a phone call to my original letter and followed up assiduously Generali gave in! We were finally promised reimbursement for the upgraded emergency flight home.

It took several weeks and repeated follow-up phone calls to Enrique (who denied he could help us with a bounced ACH transaction thanks to a routing number error). Finally reaching a Generali Supervisor, we just received that $3300 check.

Bottom line advice: This process was way too hard! Don't pay attention to random internet "ratings" of travel insurance companies online. We did -- big mistake. The optimal choice is to get recommendations either from a legitimate tour company or from other travelers who've actually had to make an insurance claim.

No matter what, expects a hassle and a long drawn-out claims process in most cases, but don't give up. Read your policy even if it's 35 pages long. Note wiggle points. Argue relentlessly. Generali did everything it could to delay or deny prompt reimbursement despite our meticulous and accurate follow-up. The insurer even 'forgot' to send the medical reimbursement specified in our standard policy. I had to dun the company again to get it!

Remember: Insurers are great at taking your money. They're quite reluctant to pay out. Caveat emptor, and be careful!

Horrible. This is total theft on the part of Generali, to collect money way way ahead of time for trip insurance, yet you can get full refunds from airlines, hotels, Air Bnb, etc.

I cancelled my trip 4 months ahead of time, with no penalties and full refunds from everyone. Only Generali collects the FREE money (not earned at all, whatsoever- no paperwork involved, nothing) and doesn't give you anything back in return. Do not use them. Use Allianz trip insurance, because if you have to cancel way ahead of time, then they give you like 180 days to use the trip insurance on any other trip.

Which is very fair. This needs to change with Congress, as it is 100% theft, and us idiots give our money away without thinking.