Let's talk about credit card insurance

[bazzaw]

For the first time ever, I am planning on using my ANZ Platinum Credit card as a source of "free" travel insurance. I am a bit nervous about doing so - having always taken out a specific travel policy with an Insurer.

 

I have read the Policy conditions for the Insurance offered by the ANZ Bank and am happy with the level of insurance. I am sure though that there are "traps" for young players within this document - as there probably are also even with an individual policy provided by an Insurance Company.

 

What I am most nervous about is this - providing proof that we are insured in the event of an emergency - eg accident . With an individual policy, you have definite proof of insurance ( a printed Policy ) which you can show anybody who wishes to see it - eg when entering a US hospital after being run over by a bus, etc. However , with a CC card provided policy, all you seem to have is a long document with all the conditions/benefits - some telephone numbers for when you are in various countries (but what about when on a cruiseship?) and a rather vague recommendation that you should carry "proof of eligibility for the insurance" , in the form of a copy of a credit card statement detailing your travel purchases. I am not sure how an US hospital would view all this as they are deciding whether to let you into their hospital or not?? :)

 

So - am wondering what exact and specific experiences people have had with this form of insurance - probably interested more in the experiences people have had in making claims for this type of experience - from the moment they first realised that they will have to make a claim ( eg the moment the bus rolls off the injured body :) ) to the time that the written claim is submitted .

 

Any experiences would be gratefully considered :)

 

Thanks

 

Barry

[goodycruising]

It may depend a lot on where you want insurance for. Cruising in Aus waters seemed to be an issue with that type of insurance.

 

There was a bit of discussion here recently, and some people have used ANZ...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2148784

 

One thing you might want to consider is making sure you have the most recent PDS (product disclosure statement). When I started looking recently both NAB and Australia Post had new PDSs issued in 2014 that had very different conditions from previous. So someone that made a claim in 2013 would have been handled by a different underwriter. Now that is the crucial part. Your bank will not be the one you deal with to handle your claim, the "insurer" and their underwriter will be the sticking point.

Edited January 21, 2015 by goodycruising

[MicCanberra]

Hi Bazzaw,

I use the ANZ insurance, I travel with the little booklet that has all the conditions and phone numbers in it. I have not needed to have proof of insurance as yet, although with some forms and travels plans we have listed the insurer (QBE via ANZ) and the contact number/s. I have made several claims over the years and have had no issues.

One claim was for was medical visit on the ship, in which case you pay with your account and claim when home again.:D

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Hi Barry, we also use the ANZ Platinum card insurance.

 

Luckily we haven't had to claim on it (touch wood).

 

One word of caution though. The cruise, airfare etc have to be paid on the principal cardholders card, say if the card is in your name and your wife has a secondary card on your account and paid for the cruise, airfare etc on her card it would not meet their requirements and they could say No. No-one tells you this of course, it is in their very fine print.

[cruisine21]

One word of caution though. The cruise' date=' airfare etc have to be paid on the principal cardholders card, say if the card is in your name and your wife has a secondary card on your account and paid for the cruise, airfare etc on her card it would not meet their requirements and they could say No. No-one tells you this of course, it is in their very fine print.[/quote']

 

Both our cards have the same account number. Any purchases always show up on the one account.

I received this response from Zurich.

The requirements are before leaving Australia on an overseas journey, the cardholder’s spouse and/or dependant children have a return overseas travel ticket, and A$500 of each of their prepaid travel costs (ie costs of their return overseas travel ticket; and/or airport/departure taxes; and/or their prepaid overseas accommodation/travel; and/or their prepaid overseas itinerary items) has been charged to the cardholder’s eligible credit card.

Edited January 22, 2015 by cruisine21

[The_Big_M]

It's not that complicated/risky.

 

When you have a major incident that requires a visit to a hospital you need to notify the insurer _straight away._ They have 24 hour numbers for this purpose.

 

Once agreed that you need to visit a hospital for example as per your scenario, they will have the necessary processes to support hosital admission. Often they will also have recommended hospitals that will make thing smoother for both e.g. you trying to find somewhere unfamiliar with standards and locations and for them in terms of payment agreements.

 

You shouldn't just be rocking on up to an unfamiliar hospital waving a credit card statement :-)

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Both our cards have the same account number. Any purchases always show up on the one account.

I received this response from Zurich.

The requirements are before leaving Australia on an overseas journey, the cardholder’s spouse and/or dependant children have a return overseas travel ticket, and A$500 of each of their prepaid travel costs (ie costs of their return overseas travel ticket; and/or airport/departure taxes; and/or their prepaid overseas accommodation/travel; and/or their prepaid overseas itinerary items) has been charged to the cardholder’s eligible credit card.

Ours are both the same account number too.....but the numbers on the actual credit card are different. You have to use the principal card holders number

[cruisine21]

Ours are both the same account number too.....but the numbers on the actual credit card are different. You have to use the principal card holders number

 

 

Both numbers on our credit cards are the same. It must vary between banks.

 

 

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Edited January 22, 2015 by cruisine21

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Both numbers on our credit cards are the same. It must vary between banks.

 

 

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Oh ok.....we are with the ANZ

[stki]

Every bank is different so it is important to read the PDS and if in doubt ring the underwriter

 

 

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[paddingtonbear]

We have a NAB platinum credit card and use the insurance when going overseas. Last time the insurance company was Charteris it is now QBE.

 

If you make a claim you will be dealing with the insurance company that holds the insurance.

I went into hospital in Italy and found Charteris was easy to contact and provided great support. We were covered by Italy's reciprocal agreements with Australia so we didn't end up paying anything so we didn't have to make a claim but the process seemed good.

 

I rang the insurance company before we left to check that we had met the requirements and check some of the wording to make sure we were covered for what we wanted.

 

With NAB you just have to put 50% of your costs on your card it doesn't matter if it's the principle or not. You can't use a debit card though.

 

I'd check the policy really carefully and ring and check as well.

[kandagal1939]

I-use-Visa-card-insurance.-I-was-told-to-perhaps-carry-a-page-of-your-credit-card-bill-that-shows-some-payment-of-your-cruise/trip.-Excuse-dashes-computer-spacebar-won't-work

[MicCanberra]

ANZ only requires a minimum of $250 paid at the initial purchase/deposit, but it is great advice to check the PDS to see if you are covered for what you want and/or need.:D

[mr walker]

Good discussion here. I like others have been using our complimentary travel insurance from our cc (CBA MC). It is thru Zurich.

 

I noted that the policy document (33 pages) talks of international travel etc. I was interested in domestic cruise cover, as other providers have this as a specific option in the documentation. So I called them and was advised that the policy covers all travel which Medicare does not cover, independent of whether the ship does or does not enter international waters. It is my understanding that medical staff on all cruises operated by international cruise companies are not covered by Medicare as the staff are not registered medicare providers.

 

Oh, and A$1000 must be paid for the travel costs on the cc.

 

Confident now?? :)

[Docker123]

I read the PDS for one which specified that the primary cardholder had to be travelling as well.

 

Lots of little tricky bits.

[MicCanberra]

I read the PDS for one which specified that the primary cardholder had to be travelling as well.

 

Lots of little tricky bits.

 

Yes, the fine print /details can be very tricky.

[Guest zafra63]

Ours are both the same account number too.....but the numbers on the actual credit card are different. You have to use the principal card holders number

 

 

You are so correct with this. We have the same ANZ credit card and have used it lots of time. My card has a different number, that's why we need my husband's card to pay for it. I normally have a copy of the statement with me, in case they ask me when we used it for the trip, I can give them a date, also have the latest booklet from ANZ about travel Insurance with me.

 

 

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[bazzaw]

Thank you all for the input.

 

We have an ANZ credit card. They actually have 3 policies with the Insurer - an OVERSEAS TRAVEL and MEDICAL INSURANCE Policy , a TRANSPORT ACCIDENT Policy, and a RENTAL EXCESS Policy. These policies are all different, covering different incidents/damages/losses and with different elegibility criteria eg The first requires only $250 spent on the credit card while the second requires ALL travel costs to be spent on the card.

 

My main purpose in having any kind of Insurance is to avoid catastrophic financial disaster - secondary purpose is to recover smaller losses (even large secondary losses)

 

I have always been aware of the need to contact the Insurer - but there is a grey line regarding when exactly is this absolutely necessary. For example, if I did not contact the insurer for some minor medical attention onboard the ship and they refused to pay the Doctor's bill, this would be of not much matter - BUT if hospitalized on the ship, then there could be a much greater cost involved.

 

We will be having time ashore - so one thing I have learned from this is to carry the relevant emergency phone number with us at all times -- as when the proverbial bus runs one of us over, the ambulance will take us to the nearest hospital - there will be little opportunity to ring Insurance Company before admission!!!!

 

Barry

[cruisine21]

We will be having time ashore - so one thing I have learned from this is to carry the relevant emergency phone number with us at all times -- as when the proverbial bus runs one of us over, the ambulance will take us to the nearest hospital - there will be little opportunity to ring Insurance Company before admission!!!!

 

 

 

Barry

 

 

Good advice. I wonder what would happen if you were unconscious?

 

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

Good advice. I wonder what would happen if you were unconscious?

 

 

 

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Now there is a scary thought.:eek:

[goodycruising]

That is when you really need the paperwork with you!

 

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[The_Big_M]

Good advice. I wonder what would happen if you were unconscious?

 

 

 

Better hope you have someone you know conscious around you!

 

usually that's what it comes down to. In many countries, the ambulance service also requires payment/insurance. So unless you get a good samaritan, it comes down to government support if you're completely on your own.

[Dulcibella]

I have just booked a cruise to NZ for the end of the year. I paid for two cabins for dependant children with my Westpac Altitude Amex. Our cabin was reserved with a voucher we bought on a previous cruise. I can't see this should be a great problem. When we pay the final amount it will be with the card. It is from that point that we will be worried about cancellation costs ...

 

I have read the fine print and it all seems fine. Sometimes though the mug punter such as me does not understand the implications. What sorts of problems might we have or have others had with travel insurance through their credit card? I thought the point about the primary card holder paying was very useful.

 

Thanks

Anne

 

 

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[paddingtonbear]

The primary card holder paying restriction is only on certain cards. It does not apply to NAB cards.

 

 

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[Freedale]

Can I also throw in another scenario - that is - elderly parents. The ANZ policy does not cover non travelling family members who are 80 and over. I have a cancellation claim in place at the moment. We had to cancel because my father took ill, he was 79 when the policy was activated, but they are now looking at pre-existing conditions, I had to provide medical reports from 2012. We now cannot get any cancellation insurance to cover us if my parents become ill, as Dad now has a pre-existing condition. Diane