Free credit card holiday insurance
One third of British holidaymakers pay for some part of their holiday using a credit card, and with 75% of card providers offering travel insurance, many choose to use these policies rather than looking for separate, proper cover. However, there is a growing rate of people in the UK, going on holiday without correct holiday insurance. Many of these instances are due to misunderstandings over their free credit card cover.
When considering using travel insurance provided by your credit card company, it is important to pay close attention to the small print and minor details of the policy – this will prevent you from falling into any traps or clauses in the cover provided.
- Depending on the card and their policy, they will usually only offer a sum of between £25,000 and £350,000 if you are injured whilst travelling to or from your destination.
- Credit card travel insurance typically only covers accidents that occur whilst travelling. This usually only covers a journey that was paid using the credit card.
- These policies generally don't cover illnesses, unless they are a direct result of an accident that occurred whilst travelling.
- Credit card travel insurance policies will probably not provide cover for cancellations, missed departure or delays.
- Few cards offer lost luggage or delay compensation, although this is usually not as thorough as the cover offered by proper travel insurers.
- Some platinum cards and bank accounts only offer free travel insurance if you pay both the deposit, and full holiday cost, with the card.
These deals often only offer a minimum cover, so it is advisable to fully check the conditions of the policy.
It is not uncommon for accidents to occur whilst abroad, and when they do, it can be expensive to fix. For example, you may be expected to pay, £35-45,000 for an air ambulance from USA's East coast, £12-16,000 for an air ambulance from the Canary Islands and £15-20,000 for a stretcher and Doctor escort from Australia on a scheduled flight (figure provided by FirstAssist Services Ltd). Due to this, it is vital that you take out travel insurance, to help pay for expenses in case of an emergency.
When looking for travel insurance, it is important to insure that your provider offers:
- Cover for medical expenses
- 24 hour emergency service and assistance
- Personal liability insurance, to cover the costs if you hurt somebody else or damage their property
- Repatriation cover, to ensure you safe return home, if you should fall ill
- Baggage cover (unless you have an 'all risks' cover policy on your home contents insurance), to replace lost, damaged or stolen belongings
- Cancellation and curtailment cover; thorough policies will cover you if pregnancy, jury service or witness summons, redundancy, strikes, or an emergency at home, affects your travel plans.
- Extra cover for activities, if not covered by another policy – like jet skiing, for example.
- The policy may also offer optional extras, such as personal accident cover, legal expenses, or financial protection if your airline goes bankrupt before or during your trip.
Most policies will not offer cover for drink or drug-related incidents.
It is advisable that you use a comprehensive travel insurance provider for your travel insurance, rather than relying on deals offered by credit card, or any other companies. Although these policies are often cheaper than proper policies, they usually do not offer a full cover. It is always safer to ensure that you are fully covered.