Here’s a little secret about travel insurance: We want to pay your claim.

Every year, more than 55 million American travelers count on us to protect their trips, both large and small. They trust us to treat them fairly and reimburse them quickly for covered losses they experience while traveling — so we do.

The approximately 150 people on our Claims team process thousands and thousands of claims from travelers every week. We spoke with the manager of Claims Support, USA, to get some insight how the claims process works and advice for getting yours approved faster.

Remember, you can check the status of your claim anytime, either online or with the free Allyz® TravelSmart app.

> File a claim

> View step-by-step details on the claims process

1. Tell the whole story (but you can keep it short).

When you’re filing a claim, we’ll ask you to explain what happened. Some customers write a story so long it could be published in paperback. Others type a single sentence. Which is the best approach?

Neither. The processor handling your claim definitely needs more than, “I canceled my trip.” On the other hand, overexplaining isn’t necessary (but it won’t adversely affect your claim). Aim for a concise summary of the events that caused the covered loss during your trip. Try to include these elements:

• Who: Who were the affected insured persons, and who else was involved?
• What: What actually happened?
• When: Provide dates and times, to the best of your ability.
• Where: Where did the events occur?
• How: How did the event affect you/cause your losses?

Here’s a short-and-sweet example: “My wife and I embarked on our Alaskan cruise August 10. On August 12, I began feeling unwell. The ship’s doctor diagnosed norovirus and placed me in quarantine in our cabin for the remainder of the cruise. As a result, I was not able to participate in our planned vacation activities from August 12 through August 16, and I’m filing a trip interruption claim for the unused portion of our cruise.”

2. Documentation is everything (and we can help).

We can’t simply accept your word that you experienced a covered loss; we need support for the claim, in the form of documentation. Here, you can see a list of all the required documentation that may be required for each type of claim.

The number-one rule to help you get the full benefits of your travel insurance plan: Save your receipts! Your cell-phone camera is your best ally when you’re collecting documentation for a travel insurance claim. Snap a quick photo of each receipt or invoice as you receive it, as well as any other evidence: medical reports, police reports, itineraries, notices of travel delay or severe weather, etc.

We do understand that if you’re taking a taxi in Lagos, Nigeria, you may not get a receipt. We also understand that sometimes, certain documents get lost or damaged, or are hard to obtain. Our claims processors may, in some cases, be able to ask a travel agent or travel supplier to send a particular invoice. We can’t ask your doctor for medical records, however, because of privacy concerns. You’ll have to get those yourself.

Read more: 7 Receipts You May Need to File a Travel Insurance Claim

3. Make it easy for our claims processors to find and review your information.

You can file a claim online, by fax at (804) 673-1469, or by mail:

Allianz Global Assistance
Attn: Travel Claims Dept.
P.O.Box 72031
Richmond, VA 23255-2031

Every week, we process thousands and thousands of claims from travelers. We receive huge carts of mail every day, and each piece is sorted and scanned by our staff. As you can imagine, it’s a huge undertaking to make sure every scrap of paper is sorted and linked to the correct customer’s claim.

There are a few things you can do to make things easier for our claims team, and potentially speed up your claim processing too:

• Submit your claim electronically, which automatically links all submitted documents to your account.
• Don’t compile all your supporting evidence into one huge file; the maximum size per uploaded document is 7 MB. We can accept many kinds of files, but not shared files, such as Google Docs.
• If you use fax or mail, please make sure your policy number is on each document you send us.
• Submit all your documentation at once. If that’s not possible, that’s OK. You can also add more documentation later.

We ask customers to please allow 10 business days for us to review their documentation. However, if we have everything well-organized and in hand, we try to review a claim in 3 business days. If you select direct deposit or debit-card disbursement, then you may receive your payment within a week.

4. If your claim is denied, you may be able to try again.

If you filed a claim for a loss in a situation that’s not covered by your travel insurance plan, or is specifically excluded from coverage, then it’ll be denied. End of story. However, some claims are more nuanced. If you hear that your claim was denied, and you believe that the claims processor misunderstood or misinterpreted the situation, then you can ask for the claim to be reopened and reviewed.

The simplest way to do this is to submit any new information/documentation that you believe proves you had a covered loss. Include a note that explains why you’re asking for your claim to be reconsidered. If you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you can contact our Customer Support team.

Read more: 4 Mistakes to Avoid When Filing a Travel Insurance Claim

Related Articles

• Trip Cancellation Claim Checklist
• Video: How Allianz Makes Filing a Travel Insurance Claim Easy
• 5 Reasons Your Trip Cancellation Insurance Won't Cover You