Barclays Premier - Travel Insurance

garfybeds

I joined Barclays a couple of years ago, taking out a Premier account and subscribing to various Premier packages including the one that included Travel Insurance. Prior to taking out the package, I completed a medical screening and was pleased to be told that, despite having some medical conditions, they would be covered with no extra charge.

Roll on a couple of years and I had some worsening of my condition, so I contacted the Travel insurers to notify them, as clearly advised, to ensure that I continued to be covered. However, I was informed by their insurers (Aviva) that I could no longer be covered for my condition. I enquired about paying a premium for additional cover, which I had done previously with NatWest and Nationwide - but was told that the policy was not a premium based policy and that I could not extend the cover beyond that which was purchased by Barclays as part of the package.

This results in me being subscribed to a policy which is not fit for purpose for me - I need to ensure that I am insured for this condition, as it can affect my ability to travel, or can affect me while on holiday. I do not expect this to be covered for free and am willing to pay the additional premium for cover. I also checked with Aviva and they do offer cover for my condition if I subscribe directly with them for Travel Insurance.

I submitted a complaint to Barclays. They came back a month later and basically informed me that they were "Sorry" but that is the policy that they have purchased. They stated that I had undertaken medical screening prior to taking out the account. I have pointed out to Barclays that, while this may be true, it is not unusual for people's health states to change and their requirements to change. I also pointed out that it is common among packaged accounts to allow customers to extend the default policy at the customer's own expense. By not allowing this, Barclays are making the policy no longer fit for purpose.

I wonder how many Barclays customers have opened accounts and taken out these products without being aware that they could become useless if their health situations change. Bear in mind, this is on a Premium account, not a cheap, basic account ! Additionally, by making such a restriction, Barclays are also preventing anyone with any health conditions that are not included in the policy from using the Barclays packaged account - surely discriminatory against persons with disabilities !

I am awaiting a response from my escalation of the complaint but I am not expecting a positive response as my banking advisor has already pre-warned me not to expect a change. If that is the case, I will be closing my account and moving my funds to a different bank. I will, however, also be raising this with the Financial Ombudsman as this does not seem to be an acceptable and ethical practice.

I would like to hear from anyone else who has suffered anything similar from Barclays or any other banking organisations