Citibank Signature Travel Insurance - No Coverage for Hatchback Rentals?

[J-G]

Hi All,

I was reading through the Citibank Signature Travel Insurance PDS prior to booking a rental car and noticed very particular wording around what constitutes a 'rental vehicle':

‘rental vehicle’ means a rented sedan and/or station wagon but not any other style of vehicle,rented from a licenced motor vehicle rental agency.

This is particularly annoying given that Hatchbacks are common in many European countries and are often the most practical choice.

Has anyone had experience claiming against the Citi (Zurich) insurance in a rental car other than the types specified?

I'm probably not going to chance it. Either I'll end up booking a sedan, or using alternative insurance where a sedan is not available.

Interested to hear your thoughts on this.


Cheers,

JG

 

[mooingchicken]

I would think hatches would be fine, and this would be more to cover scooters, bikes, trucks, vans and the likes, but with that wording it means they could get out of covering it. I would at least email off a question to them, that way you have it in writting

 

[Cynicor]

That's bizarre, and probably down to language usage?

Any chance you can be bothered emailing them, would be great to have it clarified on the forum!

 

[Dr Ralph]

That's bizarre,

If you've had any dealings with CitiBank before then you'd know everything they do is bizarre!

 

[Dr Ralph]

I would at least email off a question to them, that way you have it in writting

Good luck getting a response.

 

[J-G]

Done some further research into this and it appears that the wording is deliberate, especially given that there is another (corporate) Zurich policy wording in circulation that states the following:

'rental vehicle' means a rented sedan, station wagon,hatchback or four–wheel–drive (4WD) and other noncommercial vehicle rented or hired from a licensed motorvehicle rental/hire company for the sole purpose ofcarrying an insured person on public roadways and doesnot include any other vehicle or use.

https://www.zurich.com.au/content/d..._insurance/corporate_travel_insurance_pds.pdf

I will attempt to enquire with Zurich today to see if Hatchbacks are indeed excluded in the Citi policy.

 

[J-G]

Spoke with Zurich just then. Turns out that they will go off whatever the car rental company classifies the vehicle as. So if you book a Focus and AVIS classifies it as a wagon, you're covered. If there's no explicit mention of the vehicle type in the rental agreement and it is somewhat ambiguous, it is not covered.

Might be best to use an alternative insurance for this booking!

Cheers,

JG

 

[Cynicor]

Interesting. Yeah, Citi are odd but this is Zurich. Are hatchbacks inherently less safe?

Thanks for calling them and great pickup.

 

[anchew]

That's interesting. I have both a signature and anz qff plat and recently made a claim for a minivan rental through anz/qbe. Luckily I didn't use the signature

 

[avante]

Citibank's travel insurance isn't great for what they're marketing as a premium product such as the Signature and Prestige to be honest. Capped total transport accident payout regardless of the number of unrelated cardholders, plus the requirement for the entire fare to be paid before insurance kicks in, are quite disappointing. Wouldn't be surprised if you weren't covered for a hatch.