Cards with built-in travel insurance?

gglaze

Hi guys,

I'm sure this is a long shot, but I thought I might check in case anyone has any experience with this.

Long story short, I was on a business trip for a couple days in Paris, in a good hotel (Renaissance Arc de Triomphe, BE WARNED!), and had 1000 euros plus about 80 pounds cash stolen from my room. Confirmed with hotel management that only the manager and one member of cleaning staff had access to the key for the room during the approx 12-hour period I was away from the room; and ultimately went to file a report with the local police. Have already had all the lectures about how it's my responsibility, should have used the safe, valuables left in room are no ones responsibility but my own, etc. But honestly, I've stayed in far lower class hotels and left valuables out plenty of times, and never ever had a problem like this.

Anyway - so the question is about travel insurance. I made the dubious decision to not only leave my cash sitting out, but also to travel with no special insurance. But my understanding is that many cards offer some kind of built in benefits like travel insurance - is that right? Is it only if the room/car etc. is paid with the card? Is it limited to only certain types of coverage? I assume different cards offer different benefits. In general, would any insurance at all cover this kind of incident? Does anyone have any experience using insurance to file a claim on this type of incident? Using the insurance provided by a card benefit?

For reference, I have the following cards:
* Barclays Onepulse
* Barclays Cashback
* Opus (formerly Citi)
* Tesco Mastercard
* Ryanair MBNA
* Virgin MBNA (recently closed)

I also have several bank accounts if that helps.

Like I said, probably a long shot, but any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

happycamel_2

you'd need to check the terms unless someone on here knows their travel insurance specifics (where they offer them) by heart. I think it's unlikely that you'd have much cover for cash anyway. Even the full on travel insurance I have states that cash (up to a pitifully low limit) would only be covered if on my person or left in a safe.

dzug1

Another possible long shot is that your employer should have provided you with insurance for the trip - if not you may have a claim against him

No help if you are self employed obviously.

InsideInsurance

With the exception of the heavy fee bearing cards (eg American Express Platinum Chargecard or Natwest Black creditcard) then the few credit cards that do give cover have terrible levels of protection and is hardly worth the paper its written on.

More commonly the proper "free" insurance is included with current accounts instead but again they are all the fee bearing accounts (or the fee bearing unless you earn large sums of money)

Do you have home insurance? Your Personal Possessions extension may cover it, if you have it, but a grand will probably exceed the limit unless you have a policy aimed at the mid net worth market
Even if you do have insurance you will have problems claiming for anything like cash left in the hotel room without it being locked in a safe under the due care clause

chattychappy

gglaze wrote: »

Anyway - so the question is about travel insurance. I made the dubious decision to.. travel with no special insurance.

Actually this is is a good decision IMHO. I travel alot and just insure myself for risks I cannot bare - essentially medical cover. There is so much fraud and carelessness when it comes to baggage claims that I think insurance here is a waste of money unless you really can't take the risk or are prepared to play games. On top of that, you have the hassle of making a claim and very often the exclusions catch you out - eg more than a certain amount of valuables kept together, more than a certain amount of cash, stuff that is not in your possession when it's lost, stuff that doesn't belong to you etc etc. The upshot is that you end up not being covered for the very risks that you were worried about.

So I prefer the peace of mind of not being insured for baggage. It means if I lose something, I don't have to worry about making a claim or hassling around dodgy police stations getting reports, potentially paying for translations etc.

gglaze wrote: »

But my understanding is that many cards offer some kind of built in benefits like travel insurance - is that right?

Very few have "real" insurance thrown in. Sainsbury Gold, Nationwide Select (Europe only), Amex Chargecard Platinum do. Really it's too expensive unless they charge a fee. AFAIK, none of the cards you mention include insurance.

The kind of insurance you get with cards tends to cover stuff like missed flights (when purchased on the card) or stuf bought on the card. I don't think any of the cards you mentioned would cover you at all.

gglaze wrote: »

In general, would any insurance at all cover this kind of incident? Does anyone have any experience using insurance to file a claim on this type of incident?

A friend of mine did make a claim on a separately purchased insurance for US$1000 that she dropped. Crazy... but she got the money back, but it was a real struggle. Someone found the wallet and found my friend (we were on a beach). Cards and stuff still there, cash gone.

I noticed on a recent policy (I didn't opt in to baggage anyway) - Amex I think, that cash wasn't covered unless in a hotel safe or on your person.

Others will know more and hopefully post.
[EDIT: they did, I got interrupted whilst typing..!]

gglaze

Thanks guys. Yes, self employed; no, no other insurance; no, no premium fee cards. And no, not in the safe.. as I suspected, sounds like a long shot. Oh well, I've learned my lesson.

But seriously, could anyone even imagine having their spending cash stolen by the staff in a 5 star hotel room? FYI, it was hidden inside my filing portfolio with other papers, not just blatantly sitting out. And my door was locked by electronic room key. Until now for me it was just impossible to imagine such a thing in this class of hotel. Maybe I've just been very naive and very lucky all these years.

I had always imagined the safe was there for old ladies bringing along expensive jewelry, my father's expensive watch, or maybe a drug smuggler needing to keep his goods safe. If I can't leave 1000 euros out, can I leave 100 euros? How about a pair of sunglasses? My ipod? My laptop? My favorite shoes? Where do I draw the line? Now that I'm paranoid about this, I'm realising the safe isn't big enough for all my "valuables". Oh well...

Oh, and again, for anyone who missed it - that was the Renaissance Arch De Triomphe.

callum9999

gglaze wrote: »

Thanks guys. Yes, self employed; no, no other insurance; no, no premium fee cards. And no, not in the safe.. as I suspected, sounds like a long shot. Oh well, I've learned my lesson.

But seriously, could anyone even imagine having their spending cash stolen by the staff in a 5 star hotel room? FYI, it was hidden inside my filing portfolio with other papers, not just blatantly sitting out. And my door was locked by electronic room key. Until now for me it was just impossible to imagine such a thing in this class of hotel. Maybe I've just been very naive and very lucky all these years.

I had always imagined the safe was there for old ladies bringing along expensive jewelry, my father's expensive watch, or maybe a drug smuggler needing to keep his goods safe. If I can't leave 1000 euros out, can I leave 100 euros? How about a pair of sunglasses? My ipod? My laptop? My favorite shoes? Where do I draw the line? Now that I'm paranoid about this, I'm realising the safe isn't big enough for all my "valuables". Oh well...

Oh, and again, for anyone who missed it - that was the Renaissance Arch De Triomphe.

People are people - whether they're working in a 5 star hotel or a travelodge. Not that you can prove it was the staff anyway.

Janie4Now

gglaze wrote: »

Thanks guys. Yes, self employed; no, no other insurance; no, no premium fee cards. And no, not in the safe.. as I suspected, sounds like a long shot. Oh well, I've learned my lesson.

But seriously, could anyone even imagine having their spending cash stolen by the staff in a 5 star hotel room? FYI, it was hidden inside my filing portfolio with other papers, not just blatantly sitting out. And my door was locked by electronic room key. Until now for me it was just impossible to imagine such a thing in this class of hotel. Maybe I've just been very naive and very lucky all these years.

I had always imagined the safe was there for old ladies bringing along expensive jewelry, my father's expensive watch, or maybe a drug smuggler needing to keep his goods safe. If I can't leave 1000 euros out, can I leave 100 euros? How about a pair of sunglasses? My ipod? My laptop? My favorite shoes? Where do I draw the line? Now that I'm paranoid about this, I'm realising the safe isn't big enough for all my "valuables". Oh well...

Oh, and again, for anyone who missed it - that was the Renaissance Arch De Triomphe.

I've had similar.....locked suitcase left "securely" at a Sheraton in London for the day post-checkout; lock broken, jewellery stolen, hotel denied all knowledge. Disgraceful! Basically, trust nobody. These days I always use the room safe and, if I have to leave my case somewhere, I keep my valuables with me or leave them securely (itemised and signed for!) with the hotel reception!

gglaze

Yes, but we sort of can prove it actually - I spent a lot of time with the general manager going through this - since it is an electronic key system, all room access is logged, and although he would not make a clear statement to me to confirm it, it was pretty clear he was able to internally confirm that only the one person from housekeeping had physically opened the door, with the card registered to that person. But it sounded like he didn't want to see that person get criminally prosecuted, so he still left some doubt in the way he communicated it to me. But surely the electronic system shows not only who accessed the room and when, but also for how long - i.e. when the door was opened and closed, and with which key. It would have taken more than a few seconds to search all my belongings to find all this cash - my traveling companion suspected cash was also taken from her bag, so I suspect it would have been at least 10 minutes or more, which would have clearly been excessive considering we had only just checked in and the room didn't actually need a full makeup. But again I guess we can't prove we didn't enter the room and make a huge mess before we left our things and went out for the day.

Also, I guess I technically can't prove I ever had the 1000 euros to begin with (well I can prove I withdrew 1000 euros before I came to Paris, but not that I left it in the room)... or that I didn't just spend the 1000 euros myself. So, yes, I guess if I was a lawyer, I could argue that it is not 100% possible to prove. But I did have a witness to back up my story, at least. Oh well..

For all I know it could have been the manager himself, which would help explain why he was so unhelpful in trying to do anything about it.

dzug1

Janie4Now wrote: »

These days I always use the room safe and,

I've always wondered how safe room sates are - the hotel must have a way, surely, of opening one that the previous occupant has left locked? Maybe only 'management' knows it in theory but it cannot take long for such knowledge to spread.

yangptangkipperbang

gglaze wrote: »

But seriously, could anyone even imagine having their spending cash stolen by the staff in a 5 star hotel room?

You are probably at far higher risk of having stuff nicked in a 5 star hotel than in a Travelodge.

Most 5 star hotels are in big urban conurbations where many of the employees are "here today, gone tomorrow" people. Also, they are happy hunting grounds for thieves who specialise in prowling (5 star) hotel corridors - and to be honest, most hotel doors and locks don't need a master locksmith to get them open !