Pitfalls of Free Travel Insurance Offered With Cards
Posted on | December 21, 2009 | 9 Comments
Financial institutions today offer many extra’s to entice customers to apply for their credit cards and/or charge cards; one of the extras commonly offered is free travel insurance. This extra can lead to confusion for many potential travelers. Although some high end cards such as Platinum and Gold Cards offer reasonable cover many of the standard cards have very restricted insurance and therefore should not replace standard travel insurance.
Listed below are some of the common pitfalls:
– Possible restrictions on medical coverage
It is important to check that the medical coverage is adequate for the destination that you are traveling too. For example, it is recommended that travelers have unlimited medical cover for US travel as medical expenses can be massive.
– Possible restrictions on coverage
E.g Some cards only offer ‘travel inconvenience which occurs in the case of flight delay, missed connections and delayed or lost luggage or for ‘travel accident insurance for example loss of life or limb in an accident during transport such as a flight but not during the trip.
– Your travel insurance my be void if you pay for your trip with cash
E.g This is very important to check as the Insurance Ombudsman Service in Australia recently saw a claim refused because the consumer paid for the trip deposit in cash and not with their card.
– Most policies have an excess that needs to be paid if you make a claim.
– No option to pay a slightly higher premium to ‘buy-out’ the excess as with normal travel insurance.
– Pre-existing medical conditions are covered only if the customer specifically applies to the insurer and they approve.
– Pre-existing medical conditions may only cover the main cardholder and may not be available for your spouse or children.
As shown by these pitfalls not all travel insurance will be adequate for your trip. It is therefore important to understand the conditions and restrictions found in the product disclosure statement before you travel. It is essential for you to check all the small print on your policy before you make a decision. So even though travel insurance may be a ‘free’ extra the consequences of not being properly covered will cost you in the long run.
Australia Travel Insurance wishes you a wonderful and safe journey.
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9 Responses to “Pitfalls of Free Travel Insurance Offered With Cards”
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December 21st, 2009 @ 10:41 am
I think that you will find a great deal on Moneysupermarket.com thats where I got my travel insurance, and they actually had to pay out on my policy as I ended up in a French hospital.
My insurance was about 40pounds, and it was for annual insurance! I think from memory you could go away for up to 94 days at a time, or 17days at a time if you included winter sports.
Hope this helps – just remember to read the small print about how many consecutive days away from the UK you are covered for! Happy Travels!
December 21st, 2009 @ 11:41 am
Try this site for a quick quote on travel medical insurance. TravelEx allows for pre-existing conditions. —> http://www.travelex-insurance.com/index.asp?location=07-0018
December 22nd, 2009 @ 1:18 am
It could very well be true. Although they are different countries to where you are, we are in the UK and when we book to go to Ireland the company we book with insists on having our insurance details. Besides, as the first answerer says…they would be daft to travel without it as the cost of treatment is far more than the cost of the insurance. Accidents do happen…believe me, I broke an elbow last year, and a few weeks after that was healed I broke my foot…if I had been abroad I would have been in sh*t street without insurance!
December 22nd, 2009 @ 5:27 am
There are some good travel insurance companies. Get ones that pay your expenses or pay you in cash. Dont get ones that make you take another trip or give you a voucher to travel again with them.
I only buy insurance if the trip is WAY more than I can afford to lose.
Read the fine print of the policies before you purchase.
December 22nd, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
You can get a refund if your insurance covers illness as a reason for cancellation. Different policies cover different contingencies. The way you would prove illness is by a note from your physician.
InsureMyTrip.com is one site that has comparisons among policies. I'm sure there are others.
December 22nd, 2009 @ 11:29 pm
December 23rd, 2009 @ 8:14 am
Checkout their theft rider, and the link for a free quote. http://www.travelex-insurance.com/index.asp?location=07-0018
December 23rd, 2009 @ 8:32 am
Here are some links-
I had a similar situation- I was living in the Caymans Islands, no longer a Canadian resident, and wanted to travel for the summer. But every policy required that Canadian citizens be insured in their home privince, which I no longer have as non-resident. IMG was the only one I found, but as you DO have Canadian insurance, this will be easy for you. There are lots of short-term plans.
https://www.imglobal.com/travelinsurance/index.cfm?show=&&CFID=1718830&CFTOKEN=d9392e2d0226f2d2-EC75C061-1143-EBE5-76B31862584AA777
http://www.internationalsos.com,
http://www.travelexinsurance.com,
http://www.ijet.com,
http://www.travelassistance.com,
http://www.wallach.com,
http://www.travelguard.com,
http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=48&category=8,
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/insurance.htm.
December 24th, 2009 @ 6:25 pm
healthquotes.awardspace.info – here is my health insurance plan. As I remember they can provide such a service.