Travel Insurance through Barclays Premier Acc

Senora

A quick note to anyone using the Travel Insurance which is included
in the Barclays Premier Account package - we have received notification that cover will be excluded if the journey is on ' a oneway ticket or open ticket' not only that, if travelling on the above - all other sections of the
insurance are exclude.

dacouch

Most policies exclude one way trips unless you have specically agreed it with the Insurers

Senora

Thanks for the info dacouch - that means that for the last 8 years our travel insurance would probably have been void if we had made a claim as
we have always booked oneway flights to Spain or Germany as we never knew how long we were staying :eek:

Scary stuff! have to say that all previous policies were with AA Insurance and have only been with Barclays Premier Ins since May. The clarification on 'journeys' was only received this weekend - obviously their customers have experienced problems when claiming on oneway/open tickets. It is not so much the exclusion of 'travel tickets' rather it is the exclusion of health cover which is the concern.

dacouch

Not neccesarily, most travel policies cover a "Trip" they generally define a "Trip" as something along the lines of "Starting and finishing in the UK". Under this definition then you would be covered if you bought single flights provided your return to the UK within whatever maximum trip the Insurer specify and that they do not have any exclusion about open ended trips

dacouch

Could you copy and paste the notification from Barclays as I would be interested to see it.

Here is the definition of a "Trip" from the Barclays Premier Travel Insurance "Trip
A holiday or business trip outside the UK or
a holiday within the UK, which includes 2 or
more nights stay in a row in pre-booked
holiday accommodation

I have not (So far) found anything about excluding cover if you buy a one way ticket, hence my interest

Senora

I am sorry dacouch I do not have a scanner but will copy below exactly what is printed:

'The following information included in this policy has been modified or added to explain more clearly how your existing cover works (See section 2-Meaning of words)'

* The definition of journey has been amended to make it clear that the following are not covered under the policy:

- journeys using one way or open tickets

- UK trips where you stay with friends or relations.

As we were rather confused by the above we contacted the help number to find out if the medical section of the policy would still operate if we used oneway tickets and were informed that ALL sections would be excluded not just the 'journey' part.

dacouch

Ignore my previous post quoting Barclays definition of a "Trip" I've found the policy you have.

They are right it specifically excludes cover for any trips/ holidays / journeys where you have single or open tickets. I have not seen this exclusion before and I think its not very well thought out as many people buy open tickets so they can take their time travelling or single tickets as with many budget airlines they can work out cheaper.

As they exclude trips/journeys where there is a single or open ticket then they will exclude all cover on the policy

The obvious thing for you to do would be to take cover out with someone else which should not be that expensive. If you want to check whether it excludes trips / journeys using single or open tickets then look up the Insurers definition of a Trip / Journey in their definition of words in the policy (I doubt they will have this exclusion).

Senora

It does seem rather odd to exclude oneway/open tickets - shame really as
the policy was ideal for us - it gave extended cover (up to 90 days per trip) and also covered us up to age 80!!

As OH & I are both 64 and like to stay away for a few weeks the above was great: - Ah well, back to the drawing board ! . The loss of this cover negates the advantages of the Barclay Premier Account for us.

FH_Brit

As DA will tell you - I am not a fan of these "free" perks policies from the bank, not all of them are bad, but I have had so many people end up paying medical bills because these policies do not end up covering them.

As you stay away for a while, I am assuming that you trip costs you a pretty penny. Why do you say spend £5000.00+ on a trip and scrimp on the insurance to cover it. Get another decent policy (check the terms and conditions do suite your trip) and now you'll have two policies and an extra "cushion" should you need it.

heres some other reading for you;
Click Here for must-read information: Medical & Travel Insurance

Additional Info Here

Info re General Travel Insurance Issues

http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/rip-offs/10-things-your-airline-wont-tell-you-22910/


THE TIMES – HOW TO CHOOSE TRAVEL INSURANCE
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/insurance/article3834287.ece

Senora

:cool:

Thanks for the info FH Brit - have to say we have now cancelled our Premier Account with Barclays and therefore no longer have the 'free' perk of travel insurance. (incidentally, the 'free' perks actually cost £25.00 per month! but the travel ins and rac cover made it worth while at the time).

As long as our travel insurance covered flights and medical conditions etc., we were quite happy as our trips were never expensive (£5000?? per trip :rotfl:!!) as we stay with family in Germany and have a small apartment in Spain. We have always previously used AA insurance and will probably revert to using them - as long as they will insure the over 64's.

dacouch

Senora have a look on the main MSE site as Martin does not like them and correctly states that many of the "freebies" they include can be bought seperately for a lower price if you actually want them. As always Martin recommends you look at the actual cost of the account, interest and then weigh up the costs of the freebies.