The answer is very simple; no, and here’s why. While most banks offer complimentary travel insurance with their credit cards, their policies are usually very basic, and thus do not come with the cover benefits needed for a trip.
Unfortunately, a lot of travellers these days are content to rely on the complimentary travel insurance offered by their credit card provider without taking the time to read the fine print. Most of the time, credit card travel insurance doesn’t even cover pre-existing medical conditions, whereas there are plenty of travel insurers that do, which is why it’s always a good idea to take out separate travel insurance for your journey, just to be on the safe side.
There are many limitations attached to complimentary credit card travel insurance and you probably won’t be covered for basic things like emergency evacuation, a kidnap, unexpected trip cancellations or delays, and there’ll probably be very little death cover to speak of as well. In fact, most credit card insurance policies will cover you for a very limited time during your trip, leaving you on your own for the rest of it.
It’s also important to keep in mind that free credit card insurance is made exclusively available to gold or platinum card holders, which often come with exorbitant annual fees to recoup the costs of the so-called ‘complimentary’ extras.
Here are some considerations that we recommend you make before you decide:
Essentially, the complimentary travel insurance offered by your credit card provider is simply not enough to fully cover your needs as a traveller, and it doesn’t compare at all with most of the standard policies you’d get from professional travel insurance providers. It basically doesn’t have the amount of features required for solid cover, and benefit amounts it offers are also insufficient.
So, do yourself a favour and take out proper travel insurance that suits your needs.
You’ll find that there are many benefits that come with choosing a separate travel insurance cover, such as:
Perhaps the most important factor to consider here is that you’ll be purchasing your policy from a trusted and reliable travel insurance company, which has a proven track record. Most provide 24/7 international emergency cover as a standard feature, which you’re not likely to get with a travel insurance policy provided by a credit card company.
While you purchase a cover with the hope that you will never have to use it, sometimes things do go wrong while you’re travelling, and being protected by the right policy will give you a peace of mind.
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