Travel Insurance (including free credit card insurance) - Novice Questions

bluesky on 05/05/2015 - 18:48
Last edited 05/05/2015 - 18:50

Hi all,

I am a complete novice when it comes to travel insurance. Hope for some help from the community.
My husband and I are planning an overseas trip.

Each of us are making some bookings - for accommodation, airfares, theatre tickets etc

Suppose we get a travel insurance policy.
Will a policy cover expenses/payments made by either of us, since both of us are travellers. Or should the person taking out the policy pay for everything (to be eligible for claims).

(Or would it not matter who pays, so long as it pertains to the same trip being covered by the policy?)

Now, suppose I rely solely on the free travel insurance offered by Citibank Credit Card. I make airfare bookings with it, but not accommodation. In the event of a claim, the airfares will be covered. But will the accommodation losses be covered too, since they are booked with a different credit card?

Many thanks for your help :-)

Travel

Comments

  • mcsere on 05/05/2015 - 20:15
    +2

    I'm no expert but the policy will cover all the people you have paid for it to cover. So if you get cover for you and your husband it will cover both regardless which one paid for them. As for the credit card I imagine the insurance policy is separate and there wouldn't (shouldn't) be any clauses stating you have to pay for travel expenses eg. accomadation with the same card. Always just read your policy before you go and be clear on what it does and does not cover. That way you can make sure you are always going to be covered (or can alter your story to make it so)…

    • inherentchoice on 05/05/2015 - 22:05
      +2

      As for the credit card I imagine the insurance policy is separate and there wouldn't (shouldn't) be any clauses stating you have to pay for travel expenses eg. accomadation with the same card.

      I have two cards with insurance and they both require that I pay for a portion of the trip with the card in order to be covered by their insurance.

      Each of my cards vary in their requirements and coverage so OP make sure that you refer to the policy/fine print for your card. You probably received it as a booklet with the card or can find it on the bank's website.

      My AMEX platinum edge requires that I buy the flights with the card.

      For my Westpac card I must use it for at least $500 of pre paid travel expenses for the trip and have a return overseas ticket.

      It seems that both cards cover family members but there are some conditions.

      • bluesky on 06/05/2015 - 00:43

        Thanks for the caution, so every card is different :-)

    • bluesky on 06/05/2015 - 00:40

      Thanks, good to know that either of us can pay the expenses.
      And you are correct, the citibank credit card does not have clauses requiring travel expenses (e.g. accommodation) to be paid with the card. The only requirement is that airfares be paid using it.

  • CacheHunter on 05/05/2015 - 22:26
    +2

    The most important thing to check is any cover for pre-existing medical conditions as medical treatment can be extremely expensive in some countries and there may be no public cover for tourists. In others, there are reciprocal arrangements with Medicare and it matters less (though not all public hospital systems are up to the same, generally high, standard as here in Australia).

    One other simple thing I like to check if I will be renting a car is whether the insurance covers the excess, which with most of the large companies is at least $3000. Discount car rental companies tend to have lower excesses, but it is worth checking. Many policies cap the excess cover at A$3000 (or sometimes less for cheap policies), but an upcoming rental I have with Europcar has a $4000 excess. I am in the process of trading off whether to pay an extra few dollars for a policy with an insurer offering higher cover or to save the few dollars and roll the, which all depends on how much risk you are comfortable with.

    If you will have any high value items with you, it is also worth checking any limits on your baggage and valuable items.

    • bluesky on 06/05/2015 - 01:04

      Good points. Thank you!

  • Me88 on 05/05/2015 - 22:52
    +3

    You will have to check with your credit card provider - all cards are different. Some have incredibly poor coverage, with so many clauses they will almost never pay out (basically offer it so they can compete with other cards) and some have very good comprehensive polices.

    Some important questions to ask:

    1 - What is the 'activation amount' - essentially what you just asked, how much do you need to spend to be covered. Check if you are covered for everything - there have been stories of people getting food poisoning from a meal, and not being covered as they didn't pay for the meal on credit.

    2 - Who is covered? - If you or your partner is a 'secondary cardholder' you may not be covered, or may need to do something extra to be covered. Also, will you be covered if you have to cancel/change plans due to the illness of a non card holder (eg parents/sibling/children gravely ill).

    3 - Contact hours for claims - if your bank can only be contacted 9-5 Mon - Fri, and you get injured/sick in another country (particularly USA) they will not treat you until they have word from insurance that you will be covered.

    4 - Pre-existing illness - if relevant, are you covered? They WILL ask your doctor if you had any condition previously if you make a claim.

    5 - Doing any sports/activities? Check if covered.

    6 - Is the country/ies your visiting covered? Some policies wont cover any country that has a travel warning eg. Bali/Thailand/Turkey/Mexico. They wont tell you unless you ask or go to claim.

    With travel insurance you really do get what you pay for in most instances. I personally use Covermore, they pay out more claims than most if not all other Australian insurance providers (eg covered 9/11 when most others claimed 'terrorism is excluded' covered the Ash Cloud when others claimed 'act of god' were the only company to cover the Costa Concordia when others claimed 'Criminal Negligence of the Captain'). Their staff are KPI'd on how many claims they pay out.

    Yes they will be considerably more expensive than other policies, but worth it if you need it. Otherwise ask all the questions above of any travel insurance provider you decide to use, and read the PDS - no point paying if you're not covered due to 'hidden' clauses.

    • bluesky on 06/05/2015 - 01:00

      Great checklist. And thanks, will check out Covermore.

  • bluesky on 06/05/2015 - 00:50

    Many thanks to all of you who replied. Your tips are much appreciated. A great education for this novice :-)

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