Travel insurance on cards

[VPS]

Does anyone know if you pay via PayPal does that activate the card's travel insurance?

Anybody any thoughts on whether Westpac Black or Citibank Signature has the best travel insurance and would you just use this for a four week trip to the US?

 

[Buzzard]

Why not ring the bank or underwriter and ask their advice?

Just an opinion, but the insurer might argue that you paid paypal?

 

[breakNegg]

Just another opinion, I would not rely on Card Insurance only if travelling overseas

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just another opinion, I would not rely on Card Insurance only if travelling overseas

There has been extensive discussion on this issue in another thread here on AFF. While the key factor is to read the policy to make sure (a) the policy is activated and (b) any pre-existing conditions are covered... in many other cases, the free card insurance is equal or better than those you may purchase.

There is little point being double insured.

On the OP's question I agree with buzzard - best to contact the insurance provider to check about paypal. Various providers have different requirements to activate cover.

 

[opusman]

Just another opinion, I would not rely on Card Insurance only if travelling overseas

Why not? The PDS is available and reads much like any other travel policy. I've claimed successfully twice on card insurance with no problems at all (and a friend has also claimed over $30K on one).

 

[mark4217]

There are small tricks to look out for which differ in the small print. Some to look out for:
If you don't pay for complete hire car before leaving, no cover
Limited cover ($500) for excess on hire car where other insurance cover 4k excess, and that's what some rentals charge.
All flights not paid for on said card, no cover.
Scuba covered to 10mtr if at all.
Those are my experiences.
I would never use CC insurance. Especially travel to USA. Especially snow ski/scuba. But good luck. Basic accident cover is ok with CC insurance for regular stuff I guess. Took me 5 months to squeeze $12k legitimate claim from ACE. There is my two bobs worth

 

[TheRealTMA]

TA on CCs is the same as normal TA with some exceptions in our experience.

Used complementary TA on Earth Black via Zurich on Xmas trip. They paid put a $32,000 claim without complaint and promptly in about three weeks. Excellent service. Much better than response from TravelMore some years ago.

 

[mark4217]

Pre-paying for everything and extras on said card before you leave is the key with premium card insurance.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Pre-paying for everything and extras on said card before you leave is the key with premium card insurance.

Depends on the card you use. ANZ platinum is just $250 spend... on anything related to your trip. That can be the taxes on an award booking, or a connecting flight BNE-SYD to pick up an award. Some cards are better than others, and the fine print is important.

 

[jxv]

Pre-paying for everything and extras on said card before you leave is the key with premium card insurance.

Each card has its own "activation" rules. Some require you to buy the airfares on the card, others need you to spend a certain amount on travel arrangements.

The really important part is that you need to be able to prove that you have met the qualifying criteria before the insurance company will give you any emergency assistance while overseas!

For every trip I gather the receipts for the qualifying purchases and the relevant card statement pages. I put all of this in a single file on my phone, ready to be emailed and I also carry a print-out in case it needs to be faxed.

It is a bit of a hassle, but if I ever need to prove that I am covered, I can!

 

[Renato1]

Does anyone know if you pay via PayPal does that activate the card's travel insurance?

I don't know for certain, but after reading quite a few terms and conditions after the generous people here proved to me that Card Travel Insurance is as good as the purchased Travel Insurance, I have so far always seen that the card must be used to purchase either some of the trip or all of the flight. I wouldn't risk using Paypal without the bank's expressed approval in writing.

Make sure you check the pre-existing medical conditions, which may rule you out from coverage on card travel insurance.

Regards,
Renato

 

[ftm]

The key 'gotcha' that I see is the activation clause. If you satisfy that, then the variations in policy benefits between CC policies is generally less than the variation between paid policies.

Claims are another thing, but anecdotally, CC claims are managed well.

 

[serfty]

It really depends on your needs and situation.

With the 5 or more overseas trips I take every year and a suite of 5 cards to choose from, I find it easier to have one annual policy to cover all.

It simply takes the time and effort for compliance/activation out of it.

I have relied upon CC based insurance in the past.

 

[jxv]

Make sure you check the pre-existing medical conditions, which may rule you out from coverage on card travel insurance.

Most CC insurance has a list of common pre-existing medical conditions which are covered, but anything not on the list cannot be added. I changed to a BankWest card last year specifically because their insurance (with Zurich) can cover other pre-existing conditions for a reasonable fee per trip, currently $45 for on-line registration.

Earlier I made two small claims on the Jetstar MC insurance. Both were sorted within a few days. The first was $700 for rental car excess, the second $600 ($850 minus $250 excess) for non-refundable airfares Amsterdam-Kiev vv, when our Ukraine cruise was cancelled. I was surprised they paid that at all, because of the usual fine print exclusions about war, uprisings and riots.

 

[Limewood]

We have the ANZ Plat travel insurance, reading through it, most items are covered well.

 

[Renato1]

Most CC insurance has a list of common pre-existing medical conditions which are covered, but anything not on the list cannot be added. I changed to a BankWest card last year specifically because their insurance (with Zurich) can cover other pre-existing conditions for a reasonable fee per trip, currently $45 for on-line registration.

Earlier I made two small claims on the Jetstar MC insurance. Both were sorted within a few days. The first was $700 for rental car excess, the second $600 ($850 minus $250 excess) for non-refundable airfares Amsterdam-Kiev vv, when our Ukraine cruise was cancelled. I was surprised they paid that at all, because of the usual fine print exclusions about war, uprisings and riots.

The pre-existing conditions can be considered differently among companies, and in some cases they can be somewhat severe. For example, for a moderate extra payment Allianz insured me. But I cannot get Amex purchased Travel Insurance no matter what I am willing to pay for the same fairly common pre-existing conditions (Diabetes Type 11 and Hypertension).

The odd thing is that there isn't any provision for variation in those conditions. For example, three months ago my mild high blood pressure suddenly and mysteriously dropped lower to well within the normal range. I suspect I'd be playing with fire if I ticked the box saying I didn't have it.
Regards,
Renato

 

[Jurahn]

The pre-existing conditions can be considered differently among companies, and in some cases they can be somewhat severe. For example, for a moderate extra payment Allianz insured me. But I cannot get Amex purchased Travel Insurance no matter what I am willing to pay for the same fairly common pre-existing conditions (Diabetes Type 11 and Hypertension).

The odd thing is that there isn't any provision for variation in those conditions. For example, three months ago my mild high blood pressure suddenly and mysteriously dropped lower to well within the normal range. I suspect I'd be playing with fire if I ticked the box saying I didn't have it.
Regards,
Renato

And Commonwealth Bank, regardless of which card you're using, doesn't automatically cover ANY pre-existing conditions with their complimentary international travel insurance, you have to get approval from Zurich (and pay any applicable extra fees or premiums). From their insurance PDS:

The International Travel Insurance cover does not cover any event caused by, or arising as a result of, any pre-existing medical condition(s) of any person.
However, a cardholder, their spouse and/or their dependent child/children (and no-one else), who are aged 79 or younger when they became eligible for the International Travel Insurance, can before they leave Australia apply to have their pre-existing medical condition(s) covered by theInternational Travel Insurance.

If Zurich Assist agrees to cover a pre-existing medical condition, you will need to pay a non-refundable administration fee for each approval given and confirmation of coverage of the pre-existing medical condition will be sent to you.