Credit Card Travel Insurance

If you travel a lot, you may have a credit card that is made especially for travelers. These types of cards come with several perks that can help you with your travels. One of these perks is travel insurance that can help you if you have any trouble on your vacation or business trip.

Travel insurance is important for you if you want things covered that could otherwise ruin your travels. Some things that are covered are accidents, trip cancellation, lost luggage, and rental cars. Sometimes there are other things that are covered through this insurance, but you need to ask your issuer what they might be. 

There are many places that you can get the credit cards that have travel insurance. You can go to kredittkortinfo.no/reiseforsikring-kredittkort to see what they have to offer. They may have the perfect card for you and your needs. 

This article will tell you some things that you need to know about these cards and the travel insurance that goes along with them. It will answer some questions that you might need about them. You can also do more research and find the information that you are seeking.

Things to Know

Check to See if You Have It – The first thing you should do is to see if you have it on your card because not all do. You can find this information in the packet that was sent to you along with your card. It is sometimes talked about in the information that you received when you applied for it. You could also call the issuer to see if it is a part of your benefits. They will know if you have, even though they might not be able to give you many details about it. 

Many of the cards that are affiliated with airlines will have this benefit, but not all do. There are also those that have high points-per-dollar that also have free travel insurance. There are others that have it, you just have to look and talk to your issuer. If this is something that you are wanting, make sure that you search for cards with travel insurance. 

Will You Qualify? There are qualifications that you must meet before you can get this insurance. There are point levels that you must meet, along with charge limits you must reach. You also might need to meet prepaid charges of at least five hundred dollars. The information that you received with your card will tell you all the details. 

The card will let you know what you need to meet and how much those levels are. Again, you can look in the information packet that was sent to you along with the card to find the levels. You can also call the issuer and ask them for this information. They should be able to tell you everything that you need to know. 

Should You Activate It? Most cards will automatically activate the insurance once you have met the qualifications for it. Others will have you activate this online or by calling your issuer. This is something that you can find in the information packet that was sent to you, as well. 

You should be sure that it is activated before you leave for your trip so that it is in effect. You want to be sure that you have it in case you need it. You don’t want to have it available but not be able to use it because it wasn’t activated.

Who is Covered? Your entire immediate family is covered if they have all met the same qualifications that you had to meet. See here for more information. This includes meeting the spending limits and the points limits. It also means that you need to activate it for them if that is something you want to do.

The immediate family includes your spouse and dependent children that are under twenty-two years of age. This includes stepchildren and children who are adopted. They should be fully dependent on the cardholder for all care. Some cards require that children over eighteen live with the cardholder. 

Medical Conditions that are Pre-Existing – Almost all cards exclude claims that come from medical conditions that are pre-existing. There are a variety of conditions that won’t be paid for if it can be proven that they were pre-existing. A cursory search of your medical history can tell the issuer which conditions were pre-existing.

Some of these conditions are late-term pregnancy, high blood pressure, diabetes, psychological or psychiatric conditions, or asthma. There are other conditions, of course, but these are the most common. You can also ask your issuer if your condition is covered or not. 

There are Also Age Restrictions – You need to check your information to see if there is an age restriction for the travel insurance. Most companies will have an age limit of eighty years old, but some have limits of sixty-five. If you are in this age range, especially, you need to check things out before you go on your trip. 

Age limits are put there because there are many things that can happen to people within those ranges. People who are within these ranges have heart attacks, strokes, and other conditions that happen more often at these ages. Insurance companies are just trying to protect themselves from having to pay in these instances.

Who is the Insurer? This can be different with each card – each card issuer has a different insurance underwriter. The underwriter is who sets up all the terms and conditions. Your card issuer will not know all the ins and outs about insurance, you will be instructed to call the underwriter about issues. 

If you have any questions about your insurance, you need to call the underwriter because they are the ones with all the answers. If you have questions about your credit, that is when you will call the card issuer. They won’t know too much about your insurance, though.

When Does it End? The insurance will end on the date that you return home from your trip. You will not be covered for things that happen on your return home, just up until the day before you return. This is one disadvantage of this type of insurance, and you might want to go with retail coverage. 

If you need any medical treatment for infections or illnesses after you return home from your trip, you won’t be able to get it through this insurance. That is another reason that you might choose retail coverage instead of the free coverage you have with your card. It might cost a little more but will last a little longer.

Medical Coverage – The medical coverage is limited to a certain amount that can be different with each card. You will need to read the terms and conditions that come with it, so you know what this limit is. This limit can be as little as fifteen hundred dollars if you don’t get preapproval for more from your underwriter. 

You could have issues with insurance with a minimum balance if you have an emergency and need it to be paid for before you are treated. Some cards have higher limits for medical coverage, but most need preapproval. This might be another reason that you would take out retail insurance instead. 

Maximum Vacation Length – There usually is a maximum vacation length that this is good for. It is usually quite lenient, such as about six months. Most families don’t take vacations for this length of time, so this is probably good for most families. If you do take one for longer, you will need to add retail insurance so you are covered.

Most cards allow this length of time just to be sure that you are covered while you are away from home. You could get retail insurance, but it may cost you more than the annual fees on your card. That is one reason that it is added to your card benefits. Check your card and your annual fees to see which would be more cost-effective for you. 

Conclusion

Travel insurance is a great benefit that many travel cards have to keep their customers happy. This insurance will cover many things that can happen on your trip such as lost luggage, medical issues, and rental car accidents. It covers much more, but these are just a few things that are common.