Nationwide Travel Insurance - waste of money?

SevenOfNine

Batesy49 said:

It annoys me that MSE says Nationwide Flex Plus is good for covid cover.  My family ski holiday was cancelled in March when the resorts closed, and I can't get a penny out of Nationwide.  They have used nothing but stalling tactics and refuse to pay up, despite the terms & conditions clearly stating there is £5k of cancellation cover.

£5k of cancellation cover, yes, & in Specific Exclusions: Recoverable Costs "any costs that YOU can recover from elsewhere".

So were you unable to provide evidence, as indicated in their T&Cs under the Claiming for Cancellation section, of the resort, airline &/or package provider refusing to refund? 

Sandtree

Roger1 said:

Batesy49 said:

It annoys me that MSE says Nationwide Flex Plus is good for covid cover.

Well, it is.  Which? Money Compare included this in their e-mail this week: 'Coronavirus travel insurance: who will cover me?'
https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/08/coronavirus-what-it-means-for-your-travel-insurance/ - Which?

Nationwide's insurance was the only one to cover all 5 of 5 separate scenarios.  Scan down to check the results.

But Which? (I admit I am not a fan of theirs) don't consider the scenario which the OP has mentioned of getting stuck in country... Barclay's Travel Pack covers £100/day/person up to £1,000/person for "Enforced Stay Abroad" caused by flight cancellation, airspace closure etc and to be honest the overall insurance is fairly good... certainly better than the AmEx travel insurance which also gives no cover for enforced stay abroad.

If you wanted to be cynical, its easy to design scenarios to make one company look better than others if they happen to have the biggest marketing budget... interestingly Barclay's weren't included in the comparison

kaMelo

All the information is and always has been available for all insurance companies and what they do or do not cover. No two insurance contracts are the same so it comes down to that simple task of taking the time to actually read the contract before you agree to it.
Seemingly nowadays expecting a customer to actually read a contract is far too onerous a task.
if a contract term is 'important' (I thought the whole thing was important but what do I know) it needs to be written in bright neon pink on page one, with bells and whistles jangling and an accompanying audio narration explaining in great detail what is written in bright neon pink with bells and whistles ringing, and what it all actually means. 

bigadaj

kaMelo said:

All the information is and always has been available for all insurance companies and what they do or do not cover. No two insurance contracts are the same so it comes down to that simple task of taking the time to actually read the contract before you agree to it.
Seemingly nowadays expecting a customer to actually read a contract is far too onerous a task.
if a contract term is 'important' (I thought the whole thing was important but what do I know) it needs to be written in bright neon pink on page one, with bells and whistles jangling and an accompanying audio narration explaining in great detail what is written in bright neon pink with bells and whistles ringing, and what it all actually means. 

People need to take responsibility for their actions and purchases and read what they are supplied, however there is also a huge range of customer service quality and response, unfortunately you don't know what that is until you claim though you can take notice of online reviews and others experiences.

kaMelo

bigadaj said:

kaMelo said:

All the information is and always has been available for all insurance companies and what they do or do not cover. No two insurance contracts are the same so it comes down to that simple task of taking the time to actually read the contract before you agree to it.
Seemingly nowadays expecting a customer to actually read a contract is far too onerous a task.
if a contract term is 'important' (I thought the whole thing was important but what do I know) it needs to be written in bright neon pink on page one, with bells and whistles jangling and an accompanying audio narration explaining in great detail what is written in bright neon pink with bells and whistles ringing, and what it all actually means. 

People need to take responsibility for their actions and purchases and read what they are supplied, however there is also a huge range of customer service quality and response, unfortunately you don't know what that is until you claim though you can take notice of online reviews and others experiences.

Whilst I agree customer service is not consistent, even within an organisation it can vary depending upon whom you speak to, what really matters is that the case you are trying to argue is valid. If it is then your success should be a matter of when rather than if.   As for reviews, people are far more energised to whine about things going wrong than they are when things go well. 
I wouldn't say I ignore them but I do treat them with a pinch of salt.

As a previous poster claimed "I have £5000 of cancellation cover, yet I'm not covered"  as though it's a catchall for any cancellation event when it's not and never was the case. It's clear in the terms that the cancellation cover is for when the policyholder has to cancel a trip due to an unforeseen event, even then the "unforeseen event" is not limitless. 

But rather than reading the policy cover, people assume. When it turns out their assumption was wrong they kick off, whining about how "No one told me that"

born_again

To be fair, If the OP is saying they could not get out mid March. Then they were hoping for a free extended holiday.
As the UK government pledged £85 million at the end of March to bring Brits home from Spain.
https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2020/03/30/breaking-uk-pledges-e85-million-to-repatriate-stranded-brits-with-over-150000-returning-from-spain-since-the-coronavirus-lockdown

UK Government advice from 14 March
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fco-statement-on-spain-travel-advice

• airports remain open, and flights continue to operate albeit at reduced levels. British nationals should contact their airlines for the most up-to-date information

• public services and transport are operating at reduced levels

So Op can not have tried that hard to get out. Which is very much the jist of the previous thread.

pollypenny

I find the fact that Nationwide insurance includes skiing to be annoying. Surely, skiing is a high-risk activity compared to most holidays: more risky than a 73 year old sight-seeing. 

colsten

pollypenny said:

I find the fact that Nationwide insurance includes skiing to be annoying. Surely, skiing is a high-risk activity compared to most holidays: more risky than a 73 year old sight-seeing. 

Choose a different travel insurance instead?

pollypenny

colsten said:

pollypenny said:

I find the fact that Nationwide insurance includes skiing to be annoying. Surely, skiing is a high-risk activity compared to most holidays: more risky than a 73 year old sight-seeing. 

Choose a different travel insurance instead?

The whole package works out cheaper than the separate items would. 

DCFC79

Selwynha said:

A big thank you for all your helpful comments. Regards

Other replies have been posted since, are they any good ?