Fine print limits highlighted
Canada-based insurance information website InsureEye has highlighted the fact that even though there are a greater number of credit cards on the market that come complete with travel insurance benefits, the ages covered and duration of coverage are different on every card, and consumers should be wary of reading the small print before they rely wholly on such insurance. The website recently analysed more than 180 Canadian credit cards, creating a ranking of the top cards for travellers. The analysis was based on eight travel insurance features, including travel medical protection, trip interruption coverage and travel cancellation protection.
Canada-based insurance information website InsureEye has highlighted the fact that even though there are a greater number of credit cards on the market that come complete with travel insurance benefits, the ages covered and duration of coverage are different on every card, and consumers should be wary of reading the small print before they rely wholly on such insurance. The website recently analysed more than 180 Canadian credit cards, creating a ranking of the top cards for travellers. The analysis was based on eight travel insurance features, including travel medical protection, trip interruption coverage and travel cancellation protection.
The company’s top five cards are: Desjardins Visa Odyssey Gold; National Platinum MasterCard and National World MasterCard; Desjardins Visa Platinum; Scotiabank Gold Amex; and the RBS Rewards Visa Preferred. Each card however, warned InsureEye, comes with different limitations for pre-existing medical conditions or injuries. Because there are no medical questions asked of the potential credit card holder at the point of sale, the underwriting effectively takes place when it comes time to claim, instead of the point of sale. Marty Firestone, president of Travel Secure Inc., said of the situation: “That means that when there is a claim, the insurance company has a whole department that will order records from Ontario Health Insurance Plans (OHIPS) [or other province], your doctor and your pharmacy. Any evidence of a pre-existing condition can effectively kill the claim.”
Ron Pradinuk, a travel agent with Journey’s Travel in Canada, has meanwhile urged consumers to take more responsibility for reading the small print contained within travel insurance policies after news emerged of a Canadian traveller in South Africa whose insurance was not as comprehensive as she thought. Emelia Grobler’s family is facing medical expenses of thousands of dollars after she was involved in a boating accident while on holiday, as although she thought she had medical insurance through her Bank of Montreal Mastercard, it was, in fact, insufficient for her needs.
Pradinuk said: “The concept of people and insurance these days is so misunderstood. So whether you have coverage at the office, whether you have coverage on your credit card, you need to double-check whether you’re going to be covered for everything and what its limitations are. It really is incumbent on us to double check to make sure that we are covered.”