Nationwide Ukitravel Reviews 37

Lost confidence in Nationwide. Had to pay for age upgrade and took out travel insurance for single trip next year because I had just booked the holiday which even though it is over a year's time because expert advice is that it should be taken out as soon as possible after booking a holiday. I waited for an email confirmation from Nationwide who I thought I was dealing with but it did not arrive. I then noticed an email from Aviva which turned out to be their insurer. When I examined the details I discovered the age extension for which I'd paid for would need to be renewed and paid for again prior to my travel date. By then I was just outside the 14 day cooling off period because I was unable to contact them at the weekend. When I was able to speak to someone they said I couldn't cancel and get a refund. I did indeed get a refund because as I said, in my opinion I had been deceived because I had stated my single trip travel date when I purchased the policy. I will be shopping elsewhere now. I did not expect this when dealing with Nationwide and have lost confidence and respect for them. Trust these days is hard to gain and very easily lost.

Date of experience: June 05, 2025

Previously with Nationwide’s Flex Plus insurance with UKInsurance we have added additional days up to 5 days this cost was approximately £15 for the year for all additional trips not just one trip
Now with Aviva insurance have enquired for an additional 5 days for a single trip in FRANCE on a leisure break ie 31 + 5 days total 36 days informed this would cost an additional £65 pounds on top os the £18 per month for 31 days & is only for one trip additional trips costed separately ie for 5 additional days
Why have Nationwide transferred us the clientele of the building society to what appears a total inferior insurance society without informing us of the expected differnces we would encounter

Date of experience: May 12, 2025

Not worth paper it's written on.
Burst pipe in attic. Called ins, sent plumber, said mouse had chewed thru pipe, but wudn fix it till rodents gone. Despite it leaking. Spoke again, second plumber said the same. Said cudn turn water off as obviously needed, said they wudn, but on arrival, said they were told to?? Complained about still leaking, said they'd turn water off for 6 wks!!! Said we cudn do that as no water. Told cud go in hotel, said cudn as father in law who is 90 and early dementia. So quite happy to have leaking pipe for 6 Weeks! Cos plumber won't go in the loft. They sent pest control, so I asked why he cud go in loft but plumber cudn? Told he'd wear full ppe - I called bs as I'm a qualified pest controller. He turned up, guess what, no ppe. Second visit pest guy didn't even turn up, despite my wife waiting in all day. In the end I've fixed it - £2.15 part, plastic push fit elbow, and 2 mins to fix. We'll dry and paint it ourselves, as they want £500 excess for this!
So to summarize, he's been paying ins for years, and the first time he needs it, it was absolutely useless, clueless telephone ops, worthless plumbers, unreliable pest controllers, and staff who are quite prepared to send a 90 Yr old male with dementia to a hotel for 6 wks, for a 2 min job, £2 part, after pest control had finished.
Needless to say we're canceling and moving to lloyds ins.
Believe me, this was the most useless insurance and service I've ever encountered, take your trade somewhere else, trust me

Date of experience: April 30, 2025

Our flights were cancelled, Nationwide flex account travel insurance would not pay for concert tickets etc that we had booked but could not attend. phoned them twice, same answer NO CLAIM

Date of experience: March 10, 2025

I'm cycling through Europe and don't have a return flight booked, as I don't know how long my journey will take or quite where it might go. Nationwide's Aviva backed insurance will not cover more than 31 days unless a return flight is booked and this can't be book whilst abroad. So anyone thinking of this open trip arrangement will have to consider this point.

Date of experience: March 13, 2025

Called Nationwide Travel Insurance today to enquire about pre-existing conditions, prior to a holiday. Spoke to a guy called Daniel ( Scottish accent ). I'm a Scot.
I don't know if he is employed by Nationwide or Aviva, but his attitude and demeanour stinks ! I only required advice, but it was if it was too much trouble for him ( I swear I could hear him laughing in the background ). He made me feel stupid. - We are not all experts on travel insurance ! I've been a customer of Nationwide BS for over fifty years, and have never felt like this. If I was his boss, he'd be out the door !

Date of experience: February 28, 2025

Absolutely atrocious Aviva add on ,
I was very happy with UK insurance that nationwide used to use ,
Unfortunately I had to make a claim a week or so ago with Aviva , I sent them xrays and plane tickets , enough information to do everything they needed to process the claim ,
I am very injured currently and have received an absolute nonsense email asking for information that was not really needed or possible to provide considering I had already sent them everything plus more that was needed , I was very honest and did not even claim for loss of accommodation but I am now reconsidering this as I should of claimed the claim extra £800 on top
I have found these to be ignorant , rude and immoral, if I had not been with nationwide for so long I would be leaving for a new account elsewhere. I shall have to check my options now I am not at all happy what so ever

Date of experience: February 25, 2025

Excellent service from Nationwide UKI Travel. Our policy runs out and is being transferred to Aviva from March the 1st. Our policy for an extension has gone up to over £600.

Date of experience: February 21, 2025

Submitted an online claim, easy and straightforward.
email received shortly afterwards requesting copy of medical bills and travel invoice.
Submitted by return email.
Claim paid in full less £50 excess in less than one hour.
Wow!

Date of experience: February 07, 2025

I vow, when this year is up, I will be cancelling my Flexi acc upgrade. Aviva are charging much more for upgrades than the previous provider.
Last year I paid £67 for a medical upgrade, this year it shot up to £130 before I informed them of a polyp in-between my tooth, which is being removed and it shot up by another plus £180, as they class a polyp in-between a tooth as a benign tumour. This is tiny and is no more than a swollen gum and only hurts if I floss. Absolutely ridiculous.
I'm seriously considering changing my bank after this policy runs out. I was forced to use them as I recieved no notification of Aviva being new insurer and I was due to travel.

With my monthly fee, I feel that my insurance is over £500..

Date of experience: December 27, 2024

I was unfortunately unwell on a cruise and you hear of insurance not paying up for the slightest thing I uploaded all the documents on a Thursday afternoon got a text on the Sunday saying the money would be in the account in 3-5 days I honestly can’t fault them and they were so lovely also on the phone

Date of experience: January 09, 2025

Having had bad experiences with travel insurance companies in the past wriggling out of meeting claims and using unfair terms and conditions I turned to Nationwide. So I'd only just taken out the policy when I needed to claim while in Florida in October for a fully disclosed pre-existing medical condition. The claims process was a little slow and I was all geared up for the inevitable fight when to my surprise they met my £1500 claim in full. Definitely recommend Nationwide.

Date of experience: January 07, 2025

I previously have had a somewhat jaundiced view of insurance companies but now I have first hand experience of how they try to wriggle out of meeting claims. The reason I switched to a Nationwide FlexPlus account was the travel insurance included in with the £13 monthly charges. The insurance is supposed to cover delays. We took the car ferry to the Outer Hebrides and on the return journey the sailing was delayed by more than 24 hours due to Storm Ashley. The ferry company, CalMac, updated us by text and the ferry port was closed to travellers on the day we were due to sail. We had booked a hotel on the mainland who said they would not refund the money we had paid as it was too close to our expected arrival. Also, we had to book a hotel on the island. Claim on you travel insurance. UKI say the claim is void because we “were not checked in”. It’s not like a flight. We were expected on the Sunday crossing which is why CalMac were sending text updates. We went to the port in case things had changed but it was closed, no one there that you could “check in” with. They don’t issue boarding passes, you show your booking confirmation and drive in. They had told all their booked in customers that there would be no service that day and you had to go the next day. So I think UKI are pulling a fast one and not honouring the insurance that I have paid for over a number of years. Nationwide have now moved to Aviva as the provider but that’s no help as I had paid my annual premiums before that change.

Date of experience: November 05, 2024

Disgraceful. After opening a Nationwide Flexplus account in July, we were then notified a couple of months later of the price hike from £13- £18 due to the cost of insurance. One of the reasons we chose it was for the travel insurance so we stuck with it. However, after going on holiday to Gibraltar recently, within 24 hours of our stay, an overhead mains pipe burst flooding the quiet ocean/beach view apartment, bringing the ceiling down and requiring us to call emergency services. Alternative accommodation was found but it was to a high rise building overlooking the airstrip with construction noise from two nearby sites (the opposite to what we had booked). Due to this and the traumatic event we returned home after 72 hours. We were refunded the money for the apartment as the landlord was an absolute gentleman but we made a claim to Aviva for the £650 we spent on flights. As this was not a ‘natural disaster’, they refused our claim. Consequently, we will be leaving Nationwide and will never again have anything to do with Aviva. Also, have heard other terrible stories of Aviva refusing claims from friends/family and indiscriminately raising car insurance premiums with no explanation… urge all to avoid Aviva.

Date of experience: November 01, 2024

Interesting to note the range of feedback. Generally it’s 5* or 1*. I must admit I am not always a fan of insurance companies!

On this occasion I made a claim and with 12-hours it was settled. There was a problem up loading supporting documents, but upon telephoning them I actually got to speak to a human. They could not solve the technical issue so agreed I could email their personal email account and would upload the documents for me.

As I said, within 12-hours the claim was settled.

Date of experience: October 01, 2024

I applied for a claim to cancel my holiday, but only for half the cost (just the flight) due to medical reasons. I was asked to provide a letter from my GP, which I did, yet my claim was still rejected. The reason given was that the GP should have explicitly stated I was "not fit for travel," even though the letter detailed my illness and its cause. If a doctor confirms the illness, there should be no need for further confirmation regarding fitness to travel.

I paid for the GP letter, but my case was still denied. This is extremely disappointing and feels unfair coming from Nationwide Travel Insurance. I have been paying monthly fees for years without making a claim, and now, when I need assistance, my claim is being rejected. Additionally, as Nationwide uses Aviva as a third-party insurer, it seems they are not handling claims fairly. I'm very unhappy with the way this has been managed.

Date of experience: September 10, 2024

Upgraded policy due to health condition, unfortunately had to contact them from Bulgaria, the insurance company were so helpful and understanding, the support we received was fantastic, couldn't be faulted.

Date of experience: August 17, 2024

I have this insurance company with my nationwide account. I pay £156 per year for this to access the holiday insurance. I spoke to a lady who was extremely helpful but informed me that I have to exhaust every other possibility of insurance before their holiday insurance will pay out. I did this.

My other policy cannot supply a replacement of the same specification. We urgently need a replacement as it is needed daily.

UK insurance have a clause that if you can get cover from anywhere else even if it is lesser specification and doesn’t replace the stolen item you have to accept this. So I travel thinking I have the insurance peace of mind advertised but in reality my items are not fully covered. Only partially.

I phoned and spoke to Marlon and I was disappointed with his customer service skills which I was surprised about after having so much support in my previous call.

He was not as keen to support us in our loss and reported differing views on over eligibility for cover.

So be aware if you are travelling abroad and you experience theft or loss UK insurance will try to avoid covering your claim.

I’ve had to accept cover for an item from a different insurance policy that is a replacement with a different specification and of less value with a larger excess. I will only receive half the value of the item stolen.

UK insurance has refused to cover my claim. I will no longer pay for my Nationwide account to receive travel insurance when it avoids paying out.

Be aware you should make sure you have travel insurance that actually covers your items.

Date of experience: June 19, 2024

Our flight was cancelled by the airline whilst we were in Bali and leaving us stranded following the issues in Dubai on 16th April as we were travelling via Dubai on our return on 19th April. NW have refused our claim for reimbursement of the extra costs to get home. Absolutely no point in having insurance if it’s not going to pay up when needed. Have complained and also intend to write to Ombudsman. The screenshot on NW literally says you are covered for such disruptions. The lady on the phone when I complained told me ‘we don’t need to say what we don’t cover’! Absolutely fuming and over 2K down in extra flight costs and additional accommodation whilst trying to get home.

Date of experience: April 24, 2024

I have been with Nationwide/FlexDirect/ukitravel for a couple of years and am considering going with a competitor. This is due to the fact that I find it impossible to email them (I never get a reply) or by Chat (someone is supposed to come and help but they don't). I suffer from social anxiety and prefer to write my queries as I have trouble on the phone. I can't understand why such a big company doesn't offer a way to contact them other than by phone or by post. I'm fed up with them.

Date of experience: March 07, 2024