Amex Travel Insurance Activation

GCflyer

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Feb 26, 2013
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Just wondering if anyone could shed some light as to whether Amex Travel Insurance will be covering the following situation.... (The Amex/Chubb representative couldn't give me a definite answer)

Overseas Reward flights to SE Asia booked via Velocity Points in both directions - co payment of taxes etc was made using my Amex Platinum.

The Policy document states...
You are going on an International Return Trip and You pay the
full amount of Your outbound ticket for a Scheduled Flight or
Scheduled Cruise leaving Australia on Your:
i. American Express Card Account;
ii. corresponding American Express Membership Rewards
points or frequent flyer points (where applicable); and/or
iii. Travel Benefit.
 
good question, does 'corresponding' include Amex points converted or just direct earn like Qantas. Did you check the 'definitions' section for more clarity?

I never used my Amex complimentary insurance, the other credit cards i had were always better, including from memory some ambiguity.
You could try to initiate a claim, see what questions they ask about eligibiity. just make something up and once commenced just tell them not to worry about it.
 
Yes you should be covered from what I've been told in the past.

Additionally it reads clearly to me here corresponding American Express Membership Rewards points or frequent flyer points (where applicable); Point two has two different conditions separated by an "or". Only one of those conditions needs to be true for it to hold. You paid using frequent flyer points to that condition is met.

Keep in mind this is just my opinion.
 
Thanks for the replies so far - yes it is a difficult one and the policy activation wording is pretty confusing to me. Unless someone knows for sure I might have to call back to try and get a definite answer as I don't really want to waste 150 bucks on getting another policy.

My original thinking was that I am paying the 'full amount' of the outbound ticket on the card even if that 'full amount' just covers the fees and taxes.

Chubb rep also wasn't 100% sure if I needed to book using points transferred from Amex Rewards - not sure exactly how they would know anyway.
 
When you make a claim they'll ask to see the credit card statement that shows payment for the trip using the card. So you'd just show the taxes and say it was on points. Chubb won't know where the points came from and IMHO, that's not relevant.

To be honest, if you really want certainty I'd get it in writing, not a phone call. Not specifically with Chubb and insurance, but the number of times companies tell you one thing on the phone but in reality it's something else. When you complain about it they just say well that rep got it wrong, sorry for the inconvenience.
 
Thanks for the replies so far - yes it is a difficult one and the policy activation wording is pretty confusing to me. Unless someone knows for sure I might have to call back to try and get a definite answer as I don't really want to waste 150 bucks on getting another policy.
Sadly, there is no chance in a million years that they will reinterpret the conditions for you, particulary that it is Chubb that will pay the claim not Amex, nor will you get anything in writing, because the Terms and Conditions are already in writing. At best they will read the terms to you.
 
At best they will read the terms to you.

Surely they need to be able to understand and explain what the Terms actually mean to their customers to ensure people know if they are actually covered by the insurance or not.

The rep I talked to couldn't give me a definite answer....I'm talking Chubb here not Amex.
 
Surely they need to be able to understand and explain what the Terms actually mean to their customers to ensure people know if they are actually covered by the insurance or not.
Feel free to try it! I have tried many times, never works. They are trained not to re-interpret the terms, if the terms needed more explanation, then they would update the terms.
Particularly in case of insurance, they do not want to be in a position where a claim is denied, but the customer says "but you said..."
 
The Policy document states...
You are going on an International Return Trip and You pay the
full amount of Your outbound ticket for a Scheduled Flight or
Scheduled Cruise leaving Australia on Your:
i. American Express Card Account;
ii. corresponding American Express Membership Rewards
points or frequent flyer points (where applicable); and/or
iii. Travel Benefit.

A couple of thoughts occur to me (all of which may be wrong/irrelevant…):
1. Is there such a thing as an American Express frequent flyer point? If not, then any frequent flyer point should satisfy this.
2. There are no words that suggest any such frequent flyer points need to be created by Amex card activity.
3. The reference to ”frequent flyer points“ is not capitalised, which suggests that it’s not a defined term in the policy. So, that suggests that it should take it’s commonly understood meaning.

Disclaimer:
I am not a lawyer
This is not legal advice
Don’t run with scissors
etc., etc.
 
Thanks for the feedback - still all seems a little ambiguous as to what exactly will activate coverage. Surely a definite answer is needed.

The thing is it's different to a normal policy where you just pay for the policy and at least know you are covered by the wording of that policy.

They really need explicit clarity in this 'Am I covered or not?' section particularly in regard to Reward Flights.
 
A couple of thoughts occur to me (all of which may be wrong/irrelevant…):
1. Is there such a thing as an American Express frequent flyer point? If not, then any frequent flyer point should satisfy this.
2. There are no words that suggest any such frequent flyer points need to be created by Amex card activity.
3. The reference to ”frequent flyer points“ is not capitalised, which suggests that it’s not a defined term in the policy. So, that suggests that it should take it’s commonly understood meaning.

Disclaimer:
I am not a lawyer
This is not legal advice
Don’t run with scissors
etc., etc.
4. I read 'Corresponding' as applying to both Amex points OR FF points.
 
You can use MR points directly toward flight but at a poor rate but the mention of FF points means this shouldn't be a deal-breaker

A very harsh interpretation would be that you would have to have transferred an equivalent number of MR points to the FF programme used at some point

My understanding is that any points booking would be OK but...disclaimers etc etc
 
Thanks for the feedback - still all seems a little ambiguous as to what exactly will activate coverage. Surely a definite answer is needed.

The thing is it's different to a normal policy where you just pay for the policy and at least know you are covered by the wording of that policy.

They really need explicit clarity in this 'Am I covered or not?' section particularly in regard to Reward Flights.

I emailed them regarding clarification in relation to the policy. They basically just replied with the qualifying snippets and attached the PDS

I have a situation in which Qantas had not ticketed my rewards tickets and now the seats are gone (flight not commenced)

I contacted Chubb to workout if I could make a claim as the PDS is like a minefield

I’m not keen on dropping $6k on a paid seat for the missing leg only to find out Chubb won’t payout
 
I emailed them regarding clarification in relation to the policy. They basically just replied with the qualifying snippets and attached the PDS

I have a situation in which Qantas had not ticketed my rewards tickets and now the seats are gone (flight not commenced)

I contacted Chubb to workout if I could make a claim as the PDS is like a minefield

I’m not keen on dropping $6k on a paid seat for the missing leg only to find out Chubb won’t payout

You won't get a definitive answer as to whether they'll pay or not. They'll tell you to submit a claim and it will be assessed. Ridiculous I know, but that's how it is.
 
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