MSE News: Nationwide scraps travel insurance perk

Raging_Bull

Mine is automatically renewed too and I don't recall filling in any forms. I find it hard to believe the take up of the offer is so low!

TheShape

I upgraded my Flex Account to a FlexDirect a few months ago with the intention of opening another Flex account in the future for the Travel Insurance. My next holiday will be outside Europe so was going to get a FlexPlus for a time and then close it after the holiday. I suppose I'll get another Flex account opened ASAP.

Rich2808

Just open the flex plus. It only costs effectively £5 a month if you take advantage of the 3 per cent interest on £2.5k and also includes extended warranty, free overseas cash withdrawals, breakdown cover etc.

TheShape

Rich2808 wrote: »

Just open the flex plus. It only costs effectively £5 a month if you take advantage of the 3 per cent interest on £2.5k and also includes extended warranty, free overseas cash withdrawals, breakdown cover etc.

It's only effectively £5 a month if you can't earn interest anywhere else.

There is the opportunity cost of not earning that interest elsewhere.

I can earn 3% with BOS as I haven't yet filled 3 accounts. Effective cost for me is still £10 p/m.

Ectophile

So far as I could tell, from when I carefully read the documents last year, you don't have to tell them about any pre-existing medical conditions if you don't want to.

However, if you don't tell them, and one of those conditions gets worse during the holiday, then don't expect them to cover you.

Moon_Keh

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

I had to activate mine at the start by returning a form a few years ago. Then on each anniversary I just get a renewal letter that I don't need to react to, just file.

Every time I opened a FlexAccount I got another travel insurance invitation which I didn't take up already having it, but I haven't got several policies!

Medical conditions, if any, just need to be declared before any travel where the insurance will be used, then Nationwide can load the premium to cover those conditions or exclude pre-existing medical conditions.

And that last bit was a problem. Prior to the travel insurance, we always used to see a little bit of interest on the FlexAccount. Then, the travel insurance turned up and out went the interest. Except with one problem, the one where they load the premium such that you can't afford it, or won't offer you cover at all. We have to go to specialists to obtain cover for my wife, and as a result I've always resented that "free travel insurance", which I was constantly reminded was such a great benefit but was in fact of very little use to me.

And no, I don't want to "upgrade" my account to one that has additional drawbacks!

miller

Ectophile wrote: »

So far as I could tell, from when I carefully read the documents last year, you don't have to tell them about any pre-existing medical conditions if you don't want to.

However, if you don't tell them, and one of those conditions gets worse during the holiday, then don't expect them to cover you.

That's exactly how I read it.

Nationwide have quoted this 10% figure of activation, I am guessing this activation form has been introduced for customers since a certain (undisclosed) date. The "activation" rate for legacy customers is going to be at or near 100% IMO.

I think there are 2 different flavours of T&Cs and therefore requirements depending on when the account was taken out.

myth123

I'm another one that has never activated (or had to). I just get a certificate sent every year.

veryintrigued

KTF wrote: »

I have never 'activated' it either. Each year another certificate arrives on the mat to say its been extended again.

Ditto.

However I downgraded a Flexdirect to another (my second) Flexaccount very recently and the customer services person had to read through the Travel Insurance and sure enough did state that this had to be activated on this new Flexaccount.

System

Once this is gone, what is Flexi about the FlexAccount?

On a side note, when will this BS organisation float or get taken over by a real bank.
I want my demutualisation money to pay for my Romulan ale/vodka :beer: