I wonder if anyone can help. For some time I have held an Amex Centurion card. Their new offering costs a whopping £1800 per year for benefits that the majority of regular travellers have access to via airline ff schemes.
The one benefit though that i have been unable to source outside of Amex is a travel insurance cover that provides such an excellent range of comprehensive benefits. I am careful also to choose my words becasue if you read the terms of the cover, you are benefiting from a 'fee gift' not an insurance policy, which is general over most of the charge cards/credit cards offering a travel cover "termed as travel insurance".
I am amazed by the total lack of comprehensive personal travel insurance POLICIES, not the free gifts of coverage being offered. I would be very interested to hear from any reader who can recommend any broker /insurance company who is able to supply a travel insurance policy which offers a comprehensive range of benefits in line with the Amex offering.
VintageKrug - 11/03/2010 05:47 GMT
HSBC Premier Service is pretty good, but in my experience the Amex policy is tough to beat, which is why I stick with them.
but remember you are not the policy holder, it is a free gift. The bigger issue is that the policy is not a regulated policy, which means that benefits and claim procedures are not subject to a complaints procedure, This effectively gives the claims handlers AXA, the power to change rules and benefits at any time of the claims process, with no recourse or accontabilty to the Amex cardholder. I agree that the benefits are good, but i would prefer to have the assurance that i was the policy holder and not the beneficial owner of a free gift!
VintageKrug - 11/03/2010 07:07 GMT
Fair point, I had not realised I was not the personal policy holder.
However, I have found the service excellent, with minimal form filling and a propoensity to err on the side of paying out rather than sticking to the letter of the policy T&Cs. Have been very impressed the two times I have called upon them to pay out, and the caviar and free shopping trip was a welcome diversion!
Hi - i only found out about this by default, when in the midst of a claim, of in all places USA where the policy terms were quite clearly changed and there was no one who would accept the complaint. This is becasue if you read the t & c it states that the card holder has no rights to complain. The policy holder is amex and we as card holders have no rights in connection with the benefits. The problem may only occur during a claim at which time it will be too late. Bearing in mind how much insurance is regualted, its quite amazing that this kind of policy which has extremely important benefits, can be 'sold' as a giveaway in order that the insurer can avoid all areas of regulation.
CMoir12 - 11/03/2010 08:00 GMT
We downgraded from Centurian as the £1,800 cost did not give any benefits. With the Platinum card you get travel insurance included. They have recently paid out full on a delayed luggage claim.
Hi CMoir12
My concern is not over a missed flight or delayed baggage claim. My concern is more about if a serious medical claim occurs or if the claim involves a premium flight ticket.
To give you an example about something that people may not realise, if you are travelling on a premium ticket (i.e. First or business) and you have to delay your return due to a medical situation, the insuracne only covers you for the return of the value of that ticket and an economy flight back. So, if you are travelling on club world ticket, you fall ill, have a non changebale ticket, the insurance policy kicks in and will replace with an economy ticket, UNLESS you can persuade the ariline to change the ticket. Most people, myself included, presumed that if you have a medical issue and miss your flight you will be insured for a ticket for the class originally booked _ NOT the case. This is just one example. Its not explained and when you need the cover, you will finmd its not there.
Greenbee Travel Insurance is worth a look. UK based, provided by the John Lewis Partnership. Had policy for three years, claimed once for missed flights, paid without quibble even though the replcament ticket cost about five times the price of the original. Not too heavy a loading for pre-existing conditions either. Interestingly the last renewal quote was almost identical to the quote from Amex. I always check who the underwriter is as well and see if I get a warm feeling of reassurance when I see the name.
JeffRush - 11/03/2010 10:27 GMT
I have set out a summary of key areas that I believe any corporation should consider in arranging travel insurance for their business travel employees.
Rush Insurance specialises in delivering high quality, tailored business travel insurance products for our business partners. Historically, clients have come from a range of business and travel sector clients.
Our extensive insurance and travel knowledge has allowed us to use our experiences to research and identify what it is that ensures that the Business Traveller and their businesses are protected, should any unfortunate circumstances prevail.
Our products are designed to answer all the following questions very positively:
* The business urgently needs you back in the UK for ANY business reason?
* Who pays the additional travel / accommodation costs for someone to replace you urgently if you cannot fulfil your business trip itinerary due to ill health / injury?
* Who pays if you need to re-arrange a trip and no replacement employee was available?
* Is Terrorism covered?
* Pre-existing Medical Conditions - No screening - No additional premiums - just need your doctor to confirm 'Fit To Travel'!
* No Excess to pay on any claim
* A product that has minimal administration and a flexible approach to who is covered.
* Policies and premiums based on estimated annual corporate travel patterns (no specified names as we recognise that businesses change constantly)
* Continued outpatient treatment upon your return to the UK
* Policy limits that cover the cost of business equipment
* Who pays if my flight gets 'bumped'
In respect of the cancellation/curtailment cover, this extends to cater for returning to your office for 'ANY AUTHORISED BUSINESS REASON', this is a first in the market. This extends the usual cancellation/curtailment covers, which usually just caters for claims following death, illness or injury to the policyholder or anyone upon whom the trip may depend, to a much wider cover catering for 'any authorised business reason'. i.e. authorised by a senior officer of the business, not the Underwriter! This ensures that the business traveller AND the business can rest assured that they and the company are financially protected against the cost of returning to their office to attend to an urgent situation arising. It is these types of covers that business travellers have been seeking and never been able to find a product to match their expectations.
Administration is very straightforward, with the estimated travel pattern for the next 12 months being declared and premiums calculated based on this, with a one-off annual premium being required to provide ALL corporate travellers with complete peace of mind whilst away on business.
All initial policy documentation will be issued and managed by Rush Insurance, ensuring the business travel arranger has even more time to concentrate on the business travel needs of their travelling employee.
In the event that the business travellers' family travels with them on a business trip, this is covered free of charge, as are any leisure trips that may be tagged onto the back of a business trip! Our product can also provide each business traveller with cover for their specific Leisure/Holiday Trips (i.e. not linked to a business trip) and this, as you may expect would be subject to a small additional premium.
Our product is aimed in the main at corporate entities, however, this facility will shortly also be available online to individuals, via Rush Insurance’s sister company, Riscc Online, from its Business Travel Insurance specialist brand BT2GO which is currently being developed and will go live in April 2010.
If you need anything further, please let me know.
Happy to respond to any individual comments you may have.
PS: If it is ever deemed necessary ... then you can complain in a very compliant way and you will be listened to and your concerns acted upon.
are you offering a regualted product?
do you cover car hire in the USA?
do you accept 'sole prop' businesses?
what is the maximum trip length allowed?
what are the maximum number of days allowed out of the UK
do you cover flying in corporate aircraft and private flying both as a crew member and pax (non fare paying).
what is your web site?
Since my last post re travel insurance I have been trying to get hold of the poster "Jeff Rush" through his company but, no reply.
I am still trying very hard to find a decent travel policy which has been recently further highlighted by a friend, whose mother was rushed to hospital with a reoccurance of cancer (albeit in another area and after being in remission for 14 months). My friends were due to travel out to the states and so far their claim on their travel policy has come to nothing due to the small print. I suggested that my friend gets his doctor to sign him off as being the casue for holiday cancelation, i.e. my friend is not in a fit state to travel and leave out the fact that his mother has cancer, which in effect is exactly what happened.
So please, BT if you can help, is there anyone out there able to offer an extremely comprehensive travel insurance policy for both personal and corporate cover.
And Jeff Rush, if you do exist, please let me know how to contact you becasue emails to your company have gone unanswered.
MarcusUK - 28/03/2010 22:15 GMT
I always buy an annual Amex Travel insurance Select policy level. I tend not to travel West, so it does exclude USA, but at £62 that excellent value. I have made 3 claims in 4 yrs, always prompt, very helpful, apnts made by phone to record & assess a claim papers not required to be sent away, really quite excellent. (A recent claim for emergency dentistry in Australia for a chipped tooth).
I am always wary of "Free policies", prefer to shop around & have my own tailored cover. At such a modest cost it appears very worthwhile, & I do agree that Amex is one of the best policies available, with a real International network of back up when needed.
JeffRush - 28/03/2010 22:41 GMT
Hi MartynSinclair, apologies for the delayed response - I do indeed exist but have been away in the Lakes (holiday) with no signal, no email ... bliss ... but does not allow me to get things answered via various forums - again apologies for the delay. I am traveling to France tomorrow to oversee the travel insurance arrangements for a client of mine who is co-ordinating 3000 student customers within Alpe D'Huez. It will no doubt prove to be a very interesting visit!
In answer to your previous queries:
are you offering a regulated product? YES.
do you cover car hire in the USA? NO
do you accept 'sole prop' businesses? CAN YOU EXPAND.
what is the maximum trip length allowed? IT CAN BE CATERED FOR AT ANY DURATION.
what are the maximum number of days allowed out of the UK.
IT CAN BE CATERED FOR AT ANY DURATION.
do you cover flying in corporate aircraft and private flying both as a crew member and pax (non fare paying). AGAIN COVER CAN BE ARRANGED FOR VERY SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES, WHEREAS USUALLY FLYING WOULD BE EXCLUDED (EXCEPT AS PASSENGERS IN LICENSED PASSENGER CARRYING AIRCRAFT)
what is your web site? WWW.COVERED2GO.CO.UK BUT WE ARE JUST COMPLETING THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESSTRAVEL2GO (WWW.BT2GO.CO.UK) WHICH WILL GO LIVE IN LATE APRIL.
Please feel free to contact me on Email: mailto:jeff@rushinsurance.co.uk">jeff@rushinsurance.co.uk; Tel: 08444 82 7760 or Mobile: 07722 311052.
Another suggestion: On Friday I had an interesting conversation with Standard Life with whom I have PMI, on renewal they offered me an 'add-on' worldwide travel insurance policy at a very competitive price and with no exclusions or further loading for pre-existing conditions. So if you have PMI to start with it might be worth asking the question of your own provider first.
thanks Mark. I have looked at the Amex travel policy but it is not as comprehensive as the Centurion cover i am trying to replace. A lot of travellers, only see the benefits of travel insurance and do not see the areas that lack cover. Just a few examples of policy shortfall:
1. A return ticket is purchased in business or first. Traveller has to delay return due to illness. What class of ticket can be purchased for the eventual return.
Answers vary - from see if you can persuade the airline manager at the airport to change the ticket to we refund only the unused portion of the ticket. If a new ticket needs to be purchased then it will be in economy only.
2. A relative has died and you are in the middle of a business trip or your need to cancel a holiday - are you covered.
Answers vary - dependant on cause of death, was it an exisitng condition, was it declared prior to travel.
3. You fall ill and have to delay your return and you are using a ticket on airmiles. The airline will not change the ticket are you insured
Answer is very likely to be NO.
4. Does your travel policy cover you for travel on corporate jets
Answers will vary depending on how the owner of the corporate jet structures the flight.
5. If you fall ill overseas will the insurer settle all claims directly with the hospital.
Answer - well even though my so called policy confirms that all claims will be settled directly with the hospital the reality is that an insurer can very easily wriggle out of this. For an insurer to be in a position to agree a claim it can effectively take weeks for the claims administrators to liase with UK GP before a claim can be agreed. This therefore makes a statement "we will settle all claims directly with the hospital" virtually an impossible statement to make.
I know most readers will wonder if Martyn SInclair is a walking disaster, but the above examples are situations that either I or my collegues/friends have been in and where Insurance policies have let them down. Currently in the UK most travel policies are non FSA regualted, even though most will claim to "voluntaraly" be a part of the Ombudsman service.
Travel Insurance is one of those benefits bought by people who in the main believe it covers for most eventualities. It is only when you unfortunately have to make a claim that you realise the shortfall of most policies.
I would be delighted to discuss this wiith any insurer able to provide comprehensive benefits.
I realise that many people,myself included have suffered over the last few days with the Airport situation. I know that there will be interesting stories to tell, both positive and negative. Travel Insurance is aboslutely essential and again I raise the isssue that travellers need a far more robust and comprehensive travel insurance policy and regualtory system.
One of my personal issues over the last few days was a £4000 change fee on a ticket costing £1800 which BA insisted on charging for using a multi voucher ticket out of sequence "repricing".
The claims people I initially spoke to on Monday, initially laughed off the suggestion that they were laible, but on closer inspection of the policy and a few raised conversations, finally admitted, the wording would appear to cover the change fee.
I would suggest you all to check your travel policy, befre you next travel, so you know EXACTLY what you are and what you are not covered for.
I am still in search of for a travel insurnce policy that provides clear, concise and fair service levels and comprehensive cover,
Contrary to the advice of others, my email address is mailto:martynsinclair@hotmail.com">martynsinclair@hotmail.com
In my case my insuracne company have agreed to pick this up, but oibviousloy will be in discussion with BA. I was faced with "pay up or dont fly!"
BA confirmed that charging change fees is down to the discretion of the dury manager.
In my case, I could not buy a new ticket, as there were none to sell. A change was the only option.
Suprisingly, my travel insurance, not only accepted the claim but issued in a matter of minutes a fully completed claim form with a claim number.
During the height of the recent disruptions, BA advised via an email and with reference to my locator code that they would permit me to change my flight schedule on a couple of tickets I was holding. One ticket needs changing, but BA are now refusing to change the ticket. I copied that email so I have a record of it, a change in my view means exactly that, i can change dates of a flight - there is no mention of whether i can or can not change the sequence of the tickets, which i need to do.
This sounds similar to MS's problem above although I hasten to add not involving so much money. I know these were exceptional circumstances, but I think BA need to be far clearer and use some discretion in dealing with the fall out and finding resolutions to the chaos that still seems to exist.
Binman62 - 31/03/2011 13:20 GMT
Have recieved notice today tha BA Amex Card insurance changes on May 22nd and becomes an Insurance Policy covered by the FSA. It appears to me that the benefits have been substantially reduced though I may be very wrong as I do not have access to the current benefits, these seems to have been taken off the web site. In particular the cover for Travel inconvenience seems lower than before particualrly if travelling with family.
Amex Platinum also changed to a full blown insurance policy a short time ago but the benefits for travel inconveniece seem to have remained the same for them.
The inconvenience issue is important as in 6 flights last year ( all with BA) we had 5 insurance claims)
Would welcome the thoughts of others especially if they have a better policy for £300 than Amex Platinum.
JeffRush - 31/03/2011 14:50 GMT
As a supplier of business travel insurance I have come across many Business Travel Insurance products which tend to be nothing more than Holiday Insurance with a Laptop Cover thrown in!
Having researched this area over the last couple of years we concluded that many Business Travel arranagers, even some of the biggest, actually seem to shy away from providing a Business Travel Insurance as part of their service.
There are many card schemes and full blown business travel insurance products that continue to fall short in many key areas, such as:
* Pre-existing medical conditions;
* Replacement Employee, if you are taken ill and cannot present / carry out your intended tasks overseas;
* Provide costs for a rebooked trip in the absence of a replacement being made available to cover for you
.. and so on.
We have developed a product which we believe caters for most scenarios encountered by corporate travellers overseas, however, an insurance policy for an all singing, all dancing, everything covered, nothing excluded policy would cost the earth.
It seems that a number of players are charging the earth for something that falls well short of this expectation.
There are some good tips on www.bti2go.co.uk , which you maay find useful and by all means come back to me through BT to raise any questions you feel I may be able to assist you with.
Suprise suprise, this post may suprise a few people.
Lets start with Jeff Rush. About a year ago we were in contact (from this forum) as he felt he had a comparable or even better solution than the Centurion insurance package provided via Amex, for card holders. Bottom line was that the information he gave me was mostly hot air and his "policy" came no where near benefits being provided by Amex.
He seemed to just fade away, all hot air and no substance. Now he reappears.
Let me also bring you up to date with Amex.
One of my big grumbles about the Amex benefits was that it was a policy owned by Amex who invited certain card holders to enjoy the benefits, but with no regulatory accountabilty. Amex did VOLUNTARILY abide by the Financial Ombudsman service, but only when it suited them.
Imagine my suprise when a letter came through the door confirming that Amex policy was now fully Regulated under the FSA, which makes them legally accountable for the quoted policy terms and conditions this providing card holders much more robust policy and cover.
My understanding and I am sure that I will be corrected if I am wrong, but Amex Platinum and Centurion card holders are people who enjoy a fully regualted travel insurance policy.
So what does all this mean???
Bottom line is that most of the travelling public view travel insurance on cost and not benefits, hence you see adverts "cheapest travel cover etc etc". Amex are now required to clearly set out (and not in small print) the terms, conditions, benefits, what you can claim for and what you cant claim for. They must have procedures in place to ensure that their card holders are treated fairly and most important of all the regulatory aspect is now compulsory and not voluntary.
I still feel that the Amex centurion card is a total waste of money, but if you look at the Platinum card and travel policy (especially the fact that it covers up to 5 addtional members of your family, not just children, makes the whole proposition of the Plat card, far far more interesting.
One final point to Jeff Rush, again, if you can supply better benefits at a cheaper cost than Amex, you will have my business - you are welcome any time to call me.
