Amex card travel insurance

[ozflier]

Hi,

I have bought an annual travel insurance policy for myself and wife each year for round $600 annually.

I do have a Qantas Amex Premium card which offers travel insurance as long as you pay for the fares with your card.

Can any readers comment on their use of this insurance - any problems or differences with the usual , eg Covermore", policies.

For starters , looking at the T and Cs , there seems to be no reference to insurance waiver for excess for damaging a rental car.

I would like to stop paying Covermore but want to be sure I am not taking a risk.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Mal]

I have a plat reserve credit card, which has insurance through ACE insurance.

All of the policies attached to the various cards are different, so make sure you read the correct one for your card and examine it carefully.

In my case, have only had to claim once (recent travel delay/disruption). Claim was handled quickly, and settled in less than a week. Very happy.

 

[AdMEL]

I've read the t & c's and make the following observations/comments (in no particular order):

- Definition of Pre Existing Medical Condition appears more favourable than most (it does not specify that the existing condition should have been diagnosed like others do, i.e. if you didn't know about it, many policies may still exclude it, whereas this doesn't appear to)

- Appears to provide cover where tickets obtained using QFF points (but not clear on whether you have to have earnt all points on the card)

- activities/sports excluded is smaller than most

- max. trip length is only 62 days (most gold cards are 3 months, most platinum 6 months and CBA Plat 12 months)

- Will not pay for medical expenses over AUD 1,500 without prior authorisation - this is particularly nasty, given the last thing you may be able to do in an emergency is contact the insurer! E.g. when unconscious. You would hope they would be lenient on this stipulation.

- Excess for medical cover is AUD 500 or AUD 250 if you contact the insurer, which is higher than the usual AUD 200.

- Provides cover for accidental loss and damage of some personal items

- Mobile phone cover of AUD 250 is extremely low

- Provides some domestic cover, for things like delayed flights

- No income protection

- No rental car excess cover (no consequence in the US, where it is useless)

- Max. medical cover is AUD 2.5M (probably more than adequate, but many cards have unlimited medical cover)

- No legal liability cover - it is standard for most card and normal policies to include several million dollars of legal liability cover (although most, if not all, exclude liability arising from use of motorised vehicles, which would include hire cars) and I don't think I'd be comfortable travelling to somewhere like the US without it.

- Cover is generally quite restrictive (I don't think I would rely on this cover).

It should be noted that I have never relied on any Amex insurance (I do have an Amex Platinum), but have relied on Westpac Platinum insurance a number of times, but have never had to claim.

 

[ozflier]

Thank you for the responses - I am getting onto the insurer this am and will report back.

AdMel , you said that rental car excess cover was of no consequence in the US, where it is useless.

This is probably going to be my biggest gripe though i do worry how i am going to notify Amex if an injury renders me unconscious and I cannot ring their call centre and report an accident.

Can you explain the problem with the car cover in the USA which is where I mainly rent cars? I have always tried to take CDW coverage to minimise my excess but paying Avis etc for that is quite expensive.

 

[equus]

Can you explain the problem with the car cover in the USA which is where I mainly rent cars?

The problem is that "excess cover" is only any good if there is insurance with an excess. This is the case in (for example) Australia, where the standard car rental includes insurance - but with an excess of say $5,500. You can pay the car rental company to reduce this (at the $20-$30 per day type of figure), or use an "excess reduction" travel insurance (purchased or credit card), which will pay the excess, with the rental insurance picking up the rest.

In the US, there is NO included insurance, so insurance excess coverage is of no use. You either pay the car rental company for insurance, or have appropriate coverage.

You have mentioned using a Covermore policy - which you may need to check the terms of, as I believe it only covers excess, so if you are relying on this in the US without paying the car rental company for insurance, you are likely to be quite exposed.

A further example of all coverage not being equal, is that the Amex Platinum Charge Card (and Centurion I believe), actually includes "Loss Damage Waiver" cover - which is carefully worded to cover both a "deductible" (aka excess), or any amount you are liable for (up to AUD$70K). Subject to a raft of conditions, such as charging the hire to the car, being part of trip which starts in Australia, hire being no than 31 days, car being less than 20 years old, car worth less than AUD$70K and a raft more. Nevertheless, if all the conditions are met (and they are not that difficult), this coverage is usefull for US hirings.

 

[equus]

Hi,

I have bought an annual travel insurance policy for myself and wife each year for round $600 annually.

I do have a Qantas Amex Premium card which offers travel insurance as long as you pay for the fares with your card.

Can any readers comment on their use of this insurance - any problems or differences with the usual , eg Covermore", policies.

For starters , looking at the T and Cs , there seems to be no reference to insurance waiver for excess for damaging a rental car.

I would like to stop paying Covermore but want to be sure I am not taking a risk.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Like a few others here, I am very happy with the Amex Platinum Charge card insurance. At $900 pa for the card (unless you can get a discount), it is not cheap, but as you are presumably paying $249 for the Qantas Amex Premium, and $600 for the Travel Insurance you may want to consider the charge card if you qualify. Adding your wife as a supplementary would see you both covered by the Travel Insurance, for about the same net spend.

Benefits are a little different, so it will depend on your travel patterns - you wouldn't get 2 lounge invites, but instead get a Priority Pass membership. Take out the included Credit Card, and get a free DJ flight (or one night hotel stay). Lose out on bonus points on Qantas spend, but get higher rate (1.5 points per dollar) for all spend. No direct sweep to Qantas on the Charge Card, but gains the flexibilty to transfer to QF if you want, as well as other such as SQ, MH etc.

 

[Homer]

A further example of all coverage not being equal, is that the Amex Platinum Charge Card (and Centurion I believe), actually includes "Loss Damage Waiver" cover - which is carefully worded to cover both a "deductible" (aka excess), or any amount you are liable for (up to AUD$70K). Subject to a raft of conditions, such as charging the hire to the car, being part of trip which starts in Australia, hire being no than 31 days, car being less than 20 years old, car worth less than AUD$70K and a raft more. Nevertheless, if all the conditions are met (and they are not that difficult), this coverage is usefull for US hirings.

The Centurion insurance for LDW cover appears to be the same as that described here. I think the “raft” of conditions, such as the vehicle must be driven by persons with a valid driving licence and not under the influence of alcohol, etc, would be pretty standard in all of these types of policies. My biggest gripe with the Centurion (and therefore Platinum) LDW cover is the vehicle value limit of AUD$70,000. While that’s fine in the US where cars cost half to one-third of those here, when I hire a car in Australia I am often over the $70K limit, depending on how the rental company has depreciated their vehicle, and thus not covered.

 

[equus]

when I hire a car in Australia I am often over the $70K limit, depending on how the rental company has depreciated their vehicle, and thus not covered.

This is often the gotcha clause. I must admit to carefully checking Retail prices of vehicles when making rental decisions, but I have not found it too onerous to stick within the limit as I am normally only making short rentals for a couple of days, not requiring much driving, so am happy to slum it with a Corolla or if a Statesment or the like if I need something a bit bigger.

The really nasty part is that there is no coverage for even an excess (even a reduced amount if you take the CDW option), when waht is genreally more restrive insurance options would cover the excess on the more expensive car in those circumstances.

 

[ozflier]

Hi ,I have not got onto the Amex insurers yet but found an interesting discussion the Dec 10 Australian Businesss Traveller .

Best and worst credit cards for travel insurance - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business Traveller December 2010

In line with the comments posted so far the author noted that, in relation to travel insurance

"Out of all the cards we reviewed, American Express Platinum Edge stood out as by far the worst."

I stand to be corrected but I am assuming that Amex travel insurance policies differ little from each other.

 

[MrSpokeyTokey]

The Centurion insurance for LDW cover appears to be the same as that described here. I think the “raft” of conditions, such as the vehicle must be driven by persons with a valid driving licence and not under the influence of alcohol, etc, would be pretty standard in all of these types of policies. My biggest gripe with the Centurion (and therefore Platinum) LDW cover is the vehicle value limit of AUD$70,000. While that’s fine in the US where cars cost half to one-third of those here, when I hire a car in Australia I am often over the $70K limit, depending on how the rental company has depreciated their vehicle, and thus not covered.

Excuse my ignorance, but am I understanding correctly?
Are you saying that if you hire a car worth more than $70K, then the Centurion insurance won't cover you?
Most cars I've hired in Australia include insurance, and the only thing you add to that, is if you want to reduce the excess.
I've never taken up that offer as I've always assumed that Amex Centurion will pay the excess, be that $5500 or what ever.
Wouldn't they?

Confused MrSpokeyTokey

 

[equus]

I stand to be corrected but I am assuming that Amex travel insurance policies differ little from each other.

There is an old saying about what happens when you assume .

The Amex policies attached to cards differ vastly from each other. Whilst the lower end are nothing much, the policies attached to the Platinum Charge and Centurion cards are very comprehensive, and quite possibly offer better coverage than the majority of purchased policies.

 

[equus]

Excuse my ignorance, but am I understanding correctly?
Are you saying that if you hire a car worth more than $70K, then the Centurion insurance won't cover you?

I can't specifically comment on the Centurion insurance, as I have the Platinum Charge, but this section appears to be identical.

For the Platinum Charge, the Loss Damage Waiver (Section O) has a

Exclusions under Loss Damage Waiver Cover

stating "We will not cover loss caused or contributed by:"

under which numbered point 6 is

6. Rental Vehicles with a retail purchase price in excess of AUD70,000 or vehicles over twenty (20) years old.
​

I take this to mean there is no cover provided.

For Homer, note it is retail purchase price, not depreciated value or price that the rental company gets the vehicle for. This no doubt opens another can of worms as to what constitutes "retail purchase price". Does it include GST (possibly, this is part of the purchase price), but what about LCT - that is a different tax. Stamp duty, dealer delivery? Could get very tricky indeed....

You will need to check the Centurion PDS to see if it has the same wording.

 

[Homer]

You will need to check the Centurion PDS to see if it has the same wording.

It does. I had a conversation with somebody from Ace Insurance (the provider of the policy) about six months ago and they advised it was the depreciated value but, on reflection, I agree with your interpretation of the wording. I’ve just spoken to them again and they are going to get advice from their Underwriting department and get back to me.

 

[straitman]

It does. I had a conversation with somebody from Ace Insurance (the provider of the policy) about six months ago and they advised it was the depreciated value but, on reflection, I agree with your interpretation of the wording. I’ve just spoken to them again and they are going to get advice from their Underwriting department and get back to me.

Please report back when you get the answer as this affects a lot of people here.




Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[AdMEL]

Thank you for the responses - I am getting onto the insurer this am and will report back.

AdMel , you said that rental car excess cover was of no consequence in the US, where it is useless.

This is probably going to be my biggest gripe though i do worry how i am going to notify Amex if an injury renders me unconscious and I cannot ring their call centre and report an accident.

Can you explain the problem with the car cover in the USA which is where I mainly rent cars? I have always tried to take CDW coverage to minimise my excess but paying Avis etc for that is quite expensive.

As equus states below, with a couple of points of further clarification.

The problem is that "excess cover" is only any good if there is insurance with an excess. This is the case in (for example) Australia, where the standard car rental includes insurance - but with an excess of say $5,500. You can pay the car rental company to reduce this (at the $20-$30 per day type of figure), or use an "excess reduction" travel insurance (purchased or credit card), which will pay the excess, with the rental insurance picking up the rest.

In the US, there is NO included insurance, so insurance excess coverage is of no use. You either pay the car rental company for insurance, or have appropriate coverage.

You have mentioned using a Covermore policy - which you may need to check the terms of, as I believe it only covers excess, so if you are relying on this in the US without paying the car rental company for insurance, you are likely to be quite exposed.

A further example of all coverage not being equal, is that the Amex Platinum Charge Card (and Centurion I believe), actually includes "Loss Damage Waiver" cover - which is carefully worded to cover both a "deductible" (aka excess), or any amount you are liable for (up to AUD$70K). Subject to a raft of conditions, such as charging the hire to the car, being part of trip which starts in Australia, hire being no than 31 days, car being less than 20 years old, car worth less than AUD$70K and a raft more. Nevertheless, if all the conditions are met (and they are not that difficult), this coverage is usefull for US hirings.

To further clarify, when insurance is purchased from car hire companies in the US, there is no excess.

With regard to Amex Platinum Charge Card, although it covers LDW/Deductible, it does not provide third party property damage, third party injury cover or legal liability cover. This means that you will still need to purchase this in the US - known as various names by different car hire companies, including Additional Liability Insurnace (ALI), Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) and others. Amex Plat Charge Card's included legal liability cover also specifically excludes cover when using a motorised vehicle, which would include a hire car, as do most, if not all, other credit card policies and bought travel insurance policies.

As discussed in numerous other threads on this forum, the best options for non-US residents, including Australians, when renting a car in the US are:

1. Hiring from the likes of Hertz, who often provide packaged rates including all insurances, often for less or only slightly more than the price for US residents excluding any insurance;

2. Booking through the UK based websites of the major car hire companies (e,.g. Avis, Dollar, Thrifty) which provide packaged rates including all insurances;

3. Booking through third party consolidators/aggregators/brokers, which also provide packaged rates including all insurances. Members on this forum recommend the likes of argus, driveaway holidays, netflights and others.

4. purchase a separate policy which specifically covers LDW and third party legal liability. There are a number of them available, usually from the UK, with cost starting at approx. AUD 100. Again, search this forum for further details.

 

[Homer]

It does. I had a conversation with somebody from Ace Insurance (the provider of the policy) about six months ago and they advised it was the depreciated value but, on reflection, I agree with your interpretation of the wording. I’ve just spoken to them again and they are going to get advice from their Underwriting department and get back to me.

First time I’ve quoted myself. Cool.

I just heard back from Ace Insurance. The AUD$70,000 retail price stated in the PDS is the “cost to purchase and register the vehicle when new in order to drive it”. So that includes dealer delivery charges, luxury car tax where applicable, etc. It means that when hiring a car from the Hertz Prestige Collection, as I usually do in Australia, I am not covered by the Centurion CDW insurance.

 

[AdMEL]

First time I’ve quoted myself. Cool.

I just heard back from Ace Insurance. The AUD$70,000 retail price stated in the PDS is the “cost to purchase and register the vehicle when new in order to drive it”. So that includes dealer delivery charges, luxury car tax where applicable, etc. It means that when hiring a car from the Hertz Prestige Collection, as I usually do in Australia, I am not covered by the Centurion CDW insurance.

Homer, it seems you've recently learnt that you are not covered in a number of circumstances you previously thought you were!

 

[Homer]

Homer, it seems you've recently learnt that you are not covered in a number of circumstances you previously thought you were!

Yes though I must admit I did suspect that I had been given dodgy advice when I had previously asked this question and I just hadn’t quite turned to the issue of managing the newly discovered risk.

 

[equus]

It means that when hiring a car from the Hertz Prestige Collection, as I usually do in Australia, I am not covered by the Centurion CDW insurance.

I checked this out (for the same collection). The cheapest Merc in the line up sneaks in under the $70K, so not completely ruled out.

 

[Homer]

I checked this out (for the same collection). The cheapest Merc in the line up sneaks in under the $70K, so not completely ruled out.

The fact that it’s a girl’s car does completely rule it out for me.