Finer points of fine print

Consumers in New Zealand have been urged to look more carefully at the terms and conditions associated with credit card insurance, in particular the free travel insurance offered with some gold and platinum cards. Kerry Graham, director of The Private Travel Company, is informing her clients who want to use their travel insurance as provided by their credit card to read the fine print of the policy. However, a consumer journalist has pointed out that wading through the sheer quantity of small print, typically written in language that is difficult for a layperson to understand, is not an easy task – even for a professional. Jane Jeffries commented: “The questions we want answered are hard to find in the myriad of text, so we call the credit card company for clarity. In my experience, the knowledge of the customer service representatives of such companies is often superficial. Ultimately, they will refer back to the terms and conditions, putting the responsibility back on the user.”

This raises an interesting point for insurers to consider when they partner with another firm to provide the insurance as part of a package, especially when the insurance can be complex to understand. By ensuring that the credit card/airline customer service representative has in-depth knowledge of the insurance product, customers will be better served when they call with an enquiry, and thus fewer people will fall foul of small print when it comes time to claim.

It doesn’t matter where in the world you are, it seems that everyone gets caught out by the fine print of their insurance policies – whether they are provided by a credit card or bought as stand-alone cover. It was reported recently that an Australian traveller who tried to claim for a cancelled holiday after his sister died was unsuccessful in his claim as a result of being caught out by small print. Alex Fraser was booked to sail on a cruise, but cancelled when his sister died. A clause in the travel insurance policy said claims would be covered as a result of an immediate family member dying – as long as that family member was under the age of 75. Fraser’s sister was 81 when she passed away, meaning that his claim was rejected by the insurer, Vero. Vero stated: “We acknowledge the late Jean Docherty is your sister and would be considered a relative under the normal dictionary meaning of the word, [but] ‘relative’ is specifically defined within the policy wording. Relative means immediate family member under the age of 75.” A spokesman for Vero then spoke to a UK journalist, adding: “We are about to launch a review and upgrade our range of travel insurance policies, and the policy restrictions involved (in Mr Fraser’s case) will definitely be a part of that review.”