Visa signature travel insurance- False sense of security

My wife Travelled alone to Greece in September this year, Like many times before we logged into the visa Signature https://cardholderbenefitsonline.com/ like so many times before ( in the last year we have travelled to Austria, Mauritius, Zambia and now Greece. Completed the online certificate and travelled to Greece.

My wife was staying in an Apartment in Athens- the apartment was in a secure building ( buzzer entry system) at the entrance, and the apartment itself had an automatic lock system- by just closing the door one was unable to open it without the Key form the outside. We are unsure how but burglars got into her apartment while she was out for 3 hours to explore and eat something, they stole her personal belongings that included money/wallet, a watch and her passports. This happened two days before her planned departure back to South Africa.

My wife notified me immediately and I phoned the online number +27 115411068 listed on the Visa insurance website. I informed the operator what just happened and he informed me that he cannot assist me as he only assists with medical emergencies but I should go onto the website and read what I need to do, he did tell me to that we need to report the incident to the Police and we should keep all applicable receipts to enable us to claim form the insurance.

We enquired the website and as best interpreted what needed to be done for the claim- found that we needed to report the incident to the police within 24 hours, My wife went immediately to the police station (11pm at night) and was informed that the local police station only assist locals and that she needs to go to the international police station ( It was close and will reopen the following morning). My wife went to the international police station and reported the crime to the officer. The officer on duty was not interested in opening a case ( 4 new cases of ****** property and passport came in during her 1 hour visit- this is a very common occurrence in Athens) , the police officer gave her a declaration to complete, he signed and stamped the declaration and sent them on her way.

My wife went to the South African Embassy for an emergency passport, unfortunately they had difficulty verifying her finger prints on the South African side (she had to red her finger prints 5 times), this meant that she was not going to make her departure flight- we cancelled the flight and had to rebook it the following day when she got her emergency documentation allowing her to fly back to SA. According to the Insurance certificate we had a cover of personal losses- up to $1000 the Cancelation and Curtailment up to $5000.

There is no assistance on the phone and the only way to communicate is via e-mail- creditcardclaims@crawco.me. We reported and submitted the document that was required , this was the start of a long e-mail back and forth every time they asked for more documentation- ranging from bank statement when we purchased the original flight tickets and the rebooking ticket, asking the police report and more proof.

After long e-mails back and forth we were informed that we had no claim for personal loss due to the fact that we only have a declaration and not a full police report/case number, and that there was no force entrance to the apartment, that was also verified by the police ( I argued that this is an apartment that gets leased on a regular basis- someone could have duplicated the key during a visit in the past, the locksmith came in the following day and showed the owner of the apartment that this lock can be lock picked- both scenarios are not negligence on our side), also if the local authority do not want to open a case how can we force them to?

We accepted the fact that the personal income will not be covered for personal loss and enquired on how we can claim for the Cancelation and curtailment. We received a prompt e-mail informing us that “any additional travel expenses incurred towards flight and/or hotel due loss of passport is not covered under the policy” and they wil not assist us.

The T & C this company hides behind is impossible and unrealistic!!! Loss /****** passport is not listed as an exclusion under the T&C in the covered documentation. How can they decide now that this is not covered?

The person items and cash ****** amounted to $900 and the additional travel expenses is $2000. This is a massive loss to us and within the budged covered as per the certificate!!!

The insurance company is unwilling and refused to talk to our private banker!!

We have a valid claim and all of this was not under our control/negligence !! The wording in the insurance policy states- “ we will pay up to the amount shown in table……. Any reasonable travel expenses incurred if A- cancelation or rebooking of the journey is necessary and unavoidable or B-the journey is curtailed before completion”

Please explain to me how our cancelation was not unavoidable or reasonable !!!