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Back in March we heard from some customers of travel insurance company AXA who despite taking out travel insurance policies with the company, found themselves being chased for medical bills they didn’t owe, after needing to make a claim for medical treatment abroad.

At the time AXA told us it was undertaking a full review of its processes with its relevant providers to make sure incidents like this don’t happen again. However we’ve been contacted by some more Watchdog viewers with similar complaints.

This included Wendy whose mother, Norma, fell ill whilst on a cruise, as well as Marian, who whilst on holiday in Las Vegas, broke her leg.

AXA PARTNERS TOLD US:
We contacted AXA and it said it was sorry for the time it took to process Wendy’s claim on behalf of her mother Norma. To settle the claim AXA said it needed an invoice addressed to AXA Partners, with an itemised list of the medical treatment Norma received. AXA says that it has been requesting this information from the solicitors, acting on behalf of the cruise company, since December 2024. AXA says it then received this information on 16th May and the payment for this claim has now been processed. AXA is offering Wendy and Norma compensation in recognition of the avoidable delays they have experienced and the distress caused, by receiving medical bills directly.

With regards to Marian, it apologies for the delays she experienced with her claim and the distress caused by receiving medical bills directly. AXA will be offering compensation in recognition of this. It says that all of Marian’s medical bills were settled promptly, apart from one, which has now been paid. AXA says the main reason for the delay, with paying this one bill, was because the hospital incorrectly sent the invoice directly to AXA Partners, rather than through the US health insurance partner, as is the standard process for travel insurance claims in the US.

You can watch the full item here for 28 days - /iplayer/episode/m002cgr6/the-one-show-21052025