Hi All,
Think many OZBers have taken the deal of Citibank Signature/Platinum card.
It provides complimentary travel insurance should the travel was paid for in full by its credit card. Think policy is covered by Zurich.
Anyone has experience with this. Is it comprehensive enough or is it better off to get my own - $100 roughly for 3 people travel overseas for 2 weeks.
Many thanks in advance.
yes. Citibank gave me a blanket policy number and phone number to call Zurich and ask for a copy of PDS. Have not read the fine print and hope someone did can tell me.
http://www.citibank.com.au/complimentaryinsurance
it's generally good enough for most but of course ymmv so read the pds carefully :)
re: Citibank's complimentary insurance, the excess is quite high from memory. If you think you'll need to claim, might be better off with a separate policy from Travel Insurance Direct or something. I opted for a TID policy for an upcoming holiday (cruise) as I'm likely to need a seasickness jab.
last cruise I had provided free sea sick tablet when sea got really rough.
Tablets are not good enough for some folks. I get catatonically seasick and pass out…tablets don't save me!!
Excess will likely be around the same amount as separate policy. So its not worth if policies are comparable IMO. Will be a different scenario with budget airlines if you can avoid the cc fee.
I opted to have zero excess on my travel insurance. It's all down to the policy.
Be careful with free credit card travel insurance, I got screwed over nicely by Amex few years back, you find out why it's free when you go to claim
Thanks. no free lunch.
How did you get screwed? The only objection I have had with comp insurance is the high excess.
If you compare the policy with an alternative paid-for policy you will note they are similar, but with a higher excess.
For me, this is perfect, as I buy insurance to cover catastrophes, not to cover the loss of a camera or a delayed plane.
If you are the kind of person who has top private health insurance (for example) you probably will find it worthwhile to pay for travel insurance.
Thanks. look into the Zurich PDS. Access is like $200 for Zunich in comparison to $100 access or $0 access with addition $25 premium eg Woolies, . 2:1 is good bet considering we have not make any claims despite regular travels. Touch wood.
OUt of interest, I smashed my 3 year old s3 screen on a recent trip and am debating whether to put in a claim on my citibank card. The excess is $200. Can anyone tell me if they will - 1 replace the screen or 2 pay out a proportion of the valu of the phone?
There is an option on the claim form if you have replaced the item. If i buy a new phone, will they put some money towards that? Not too sure how it works?
Thanks
Works on depreciation
2) Value to replace phone now
= $XXX.
If XXXX is more than repair cost they will repair
ALSO.. Most (if not all) travel insurance companies have a $ limit on mobile devices … its usually $250 but sometimes up to $500
I have used their complimentary travel insurance last year on my trip to Europe. The train strikes in Germany affected my travel plans, and they reimbursed accommodation and transport costs without any hassles. I only had to fill out the Zurich form and provide receipts.
My other family members who had to take out their own travel insurance had to provide all sorts of evidence (even newspaper clippings) to get their costs paid out. They were using HBF cover.
As someone who tied to claim for medical expenses from their travel insurance… short answer: NO
Get you own insurance, the included ones on almost all credit cards have so many exclusions its a joke.
I was lucky that my travel agent had included insurance on my booking (i didn't even realise until a month later) and as such i was able to get my expenses paid back
What was the basis of the exclusion? I've read the PDS for the Westpac and previously Amex supplied covers (supplied by Zurich and whoever QBE used to be, if I remember correctly), and they don't appear to have substantially different exclusions to the PDS for purchased cover.
It would help me understand the risks better if you could share what they didn't cover, but others did.
Claimed on the free Citibank insurance last week for stay while in hospital in China. aU$200 excess. All expenses paid for 7 day hospital stay. No complaints from me.
I did a medical claim with zurich assist on an overseas holiday and the service was fantastic. International SOS was the company I was dealing with and I didnt have to spend anything (2 weeks in hospital, delayed return to Australia etc).From memory there was no excess.
Does anyone know if Citibank insurance will cover my girlfriend if I paid for her flights with my card?
Know it covers family if all purchased together with your credit card. Not 100% sure about girlfriend. Check with Citi.
It's a no FYI
you'll have to read the small print