Travel insurance: to keep, or not to keep, that is the question ...

Savvy_Sue

I am trying to work out whether to keep travel insurance through a packaged bank account, or move on from that account. It also gives UK breakdown cover, and mobile phone cover. 

I could definitely get breakdown cover for much less than we pay for the bank account, and I don't care about the mobile phone cover. 

I can't see that we're going abroad any time soon, and I'm never ever booking a non-cancellable hotel ever ever again. 

Couple of niggling worries left: 

• We're with THIS bank, because every other packaged bank account wants to charge extra for DH's medical conditions (he has a few, but they're all minor). If we leave this bank, will they let us back again? And will that matter?
  
  
• We have an adult child working in Europe. I guess there could be an emergency situation where we'd be prepared to travel, and we'd have to arrange insurance cover in a hurry - but I can't see we'd be jetting off at less than 24 hours notice, so does that matter? I know when we've booked flights we've been asked if we've got insurance or if we want it, so it's not like we'd be likely to forget about it completely. 
  
  

Have I missed anything that would swing me back towards keeping the package? I was going to do a poll but can't see how ...

Neil49

So basically, is the cost of the account worth paying for to keep the medical cover and the car breakdown cover? That appears to be the key issue with the other items being useful but not essential.

Is the monthly cost by the bank generally at a fixed rate for a number of years or will it increase annually?

If you took out medical cover separately it will almost certainly increase annually and increase dramatically when you reach certain age levels or make any sort of a claim. Does the same apply to the packaged bank account cover?

What will be the comparative costs in say 10 years time? 

Hope this helps. 

peachyprice

Another question: does the travel insurance cover UK travel too? We have travel insurance packaged with our home insurance, it includes all UK trips over 2 days.  Might be something worth considering. 

TELLIT01

If you leave that bank and rejoin at a later date it is extremely unlikely at best that you would be able to pick up the insurance on existing t&c.  The t&c applicable at rejoin date would apply.

NoodleDoodleMan

TELLIT01 said:

If you leave that bank and rejoin at a later date it is extremely unlikely at best that you would be able to pick up the insurance on existing t&c.  The t&c applicable at rejoin date would apply.

Key point indeed.

We have a packaged account with Co-op Bank with travel insurance until age 80 - no major medical conditions, and it rolls on with existing cover, including Covid-19, at renewal date.

If we were to cancel I doubt we'd get similar deal starting a new policy elsewhere.

The vehicle breakdown cover is useful as well.

The OP really needs to trawl around various travel insurers to see who ticks all the relevant boxes - but I wouldn't abandon the existing policy until satisfied with the alternatives on offer.

Savvy_Sue

Neil49 said:

So basically, is the cost of the account worth paying for to keep the medical cover and the car breakdown cover? That appears to be the key issue with the other items being useful but not essential.

Is the monthly cost by the bank generally at a fixed rate for a number of years or will it increase annually?

If you took out medical cover separately it will almost certainly increase annually and increase dramatically when you reach certain age levels or make any sort of a claim. Does the same apply to the packaged bank account cover?

What will be the comparative costs in say 10 years time? 

Hope this helps. 

Yes, that helps. The cost of the account has risen by a small amount over the last N years, but not significantly. We remain eligible for several more years, but will eventually 'age out'. We've had to claim twice, with no increase - and I thought I was going to have to claim again this year, and found them very helpful in getting what would have been my claim sorted by the provider. 

Comparative costs in 10 years? Hard to say. 

Savvy_Sue

peachyprice said:

Another question: does the travel insurance cover UK travel too? We have travel insurance packaged with our home insurance, it includes all UK trips over 2 days.  Might be something worth considering. 

Yes, it does, BUT my reasoning goes that I am unlikely to book anything in the UK that I can't easily cancel. When the boys were younger we did a couple of activity holidays, but now what we do is book a hotel and do our own thing. I'm just thinking back over our UK activities: we have done a Jazz Festival several years (but they refunded without question when they cancelled it), and we did a week's organised activities at a campsite (we weren't camping ourselves  )

I guess I should read the cover and see if it would help if, eg, one of us was taken ill while away in the UK: would we be covered for ongoing accommodation costs if one of us was too ill to travel? 

Savvy_Sue

TELLIT01 said:

If you leave that bank and rejoin at a later date it is extremely unlikely at best that you would be able to pick up the insurance on existing t&c.  The t&c applicable at rejoin date would apply.

Fair point. I'm working on the principle that OH's niggling health conditions would improve or stay about the same - one of them has even improved to the point where it no longer needs to be declared! - and that neither of us develops anything major. 

Savvy_Sue

NoodleDoodleMan said:

We have a packaged account with Co-op Bank with travel insurance until age 80 - no major medical conditions, and it rolls on with existing cover, including Covid-19, at renewal date.

If we were to cancel I doubt we'd get similar deal starting a new policy elsewhere.

The vehicle breakdown cover is useful as well.

The OP really needs to trawl around various travel insurers to see who ticks all the relevant boxes - but I wouldn't abandon the existing policy until satisfied with the alternatives on offer.

Actually, if I keep the insurance, what I'm planning to do is leave Smile and take out the 'Extra' bit with our Co-op account: it's a teensy bit cheaper than Smile, and I've been assured that it's the same health screening, which doesn't impose an extra charge, and obviously I won't be leaving Smile unless I've got through the screening with the Co-op. But I would need to check the Covid-19 cover - although does that cover all future trips, or just those you'd booked before it was declared a pandemic? 

I can get standalone vehicle breakdown for about two months' worth of bank charges. 

The BIG problem with trawling around various travel insurers is that I can't get a fair idea of prices from a comparison site: I'd actually have to phone and do the health screening. It's possibly the major reason for sticking with the packaged bank account: when we were taking out an annual policy, I'd spend a significant amount of time pre-renewal phoning up to declare DH's conditions, because the price quoted on the comparison sites was NOT the price offered once I'd done screening.

Now, I know I have to make an annual phone call to update both his and my conditions, but at least I only have to do it once - at least until they say "that will be an extra £200 pa please". Yes, I have phoned all the banks offering travel insurance at various times ... 

I think when that happens I ditch the packaged account and take out that annual policy. Or we'll be beyond travelling far ... 

NoodleDoodleMan

Savvy_Sue said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

We have a packaged account with Co-op Bank with travel insurance until age 80 - no major medical conditions, and it rolls on with existing cover, including Covid-19, at renewal date.

If we were to cancel I doubt we'd get similar deal starting a new policy elsewhere.

The vehicle breakdown cover is useful as well.

The OP really needs to trawl around various travel insurers to see who ticks all the relevant boxes - but I wouldn't abandon the existing policy until satisfied with the alternatives on offer.

Actually, if I keep the insurance, what I'm planning to do is leave Smile and take out the 'Extra' bit with our Co-op account: it's a teensy bit cheaper than Smile, and I've been assured that it's the same health screening, which doesn't impose an extra charge, and obviously I won't be leaving Smile unless I've got through the screening with the Co-op. But I would need to check the Covid-19 cover - although does that cover all future trips, or just those you'd booked before it was declared a pandemic?

The Co-op Everyday Extra Current Account is an additional £15 over and above their standard version.

However, if you pay out a minimum of 4 Direct Debits each month there is a monthly reward of £4 - which in effect reduces the fee to £11 (obviously) - sadly that is soon to reduce to £2 per month, but every little helps.

You need to deposit a minimum £800 monthly to keep the account benefits - ideal for state pension pay in !!!

I think that will bring it into line with the Nationwide FlexPlus at £13 a month ? Of course that ends at age 70, thereafter there is a universal £65 added fee (per person) annually, plus any extra for any applicable medical conditions which involve a supplement.

In theory the Co-op seek to have you join up and then contact the insurer to get the medical insurance sorted, based on any pre-existing conditions.

I 'phoned AXA, the provider, beforehand and explained the "Catch 22" anomoly in that scenario and went through the screening checks first - they were happy to provide cover based on a few minor ailments, with no add on charges - so I took out the Everyday Extra deal.

I have the number if you want to go down that route. That would answer the Covid 19 question.

The policy document for info -

https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/assets/pdf/bank/currentaccounts/everyday-extra/travel-insurance-policy-summary-and-policy-document.pdf

Savvy_Sue

Thanks, I did look into the Co-op deal quite carefully before opening the account just pre-lockdown and talked to AXA then. I probably would have swapped to it completely soon after that, but ... then realised that I might need to claim on the Smile travel insurance for a trip we had to cancel right at the start of lockdown. And it has taken until now to get a refund from the hotel. 

I have phoned Nationwide a couple of times over the years, but they always want to charge an extra £200 or so for DH. Plus with it running out at 70, the Co-op is definitely a better option. 

So really the decision is: do we need travel insurance if we're only expecting to make UK trips of the kind we do? I was setting out my scenario to DH: what if one of us was ill while we were away, would we want insurance to cover the extra costs of the other maybe having to stay away longer, either because too ill to travel or in hospital? He thought it unlikely. 

And if we think we don't, do we risk letting the bank account one lapse, with the risk that option might not be available should we ever want to reinstate? Smile no longer has that option, which is partly why I've dithered for so long ...