Travel Insurance - Black VS AMEX

Hi Guys,

With the weeks until our round the world trip flying by, one of the things we need to sort out is travel insurance.

We've bought the Black AMEX cards (I am the account holder, my gf a registered user) which i'm lead to believe includes world-wide travel insurance. However we're a bit worried about whether it is comprehensive enough to be relied upon for a month-long trip (HK, Singapore, Australia, NZ, Cook Islands, LA) and should we therefore buy single-trip cover on top...[:?]

Any advise on this would be really appreciated!

Thanks
James

Which amex black card is it Centurion,VS or BA?I have an amex plat charge card that offers top notch medical, travel delay, car hire cover even if trips are not booked on the card(Cent cover is similar).While the BA black card does offer good travel delay and lost baggage insurance there is no medical cover and the whole flight cost has to go on the card for you to be covered.Don't Know what the VS amex covers sorry.

Sorry it's the VS Black Amex through MBNA. I had a look through the literature and it confusingly says in the small print that the travel insurance is not a substitute for proper travel insurance!

[Neil]

I wouldn't use the cover provided with the VS Black AmEx as my only travel insurance .As Jaguarpig said, the insurance provided on something like the AmEx Platinum charge card is top notch and is easily good enough but the cover provided by the VS Black card (like a lot of CC's) is just not comprehensive enough to be your main travel insurance.

I would certainly suggest you buy a single (or annual, which quite often work out cheaper) policy, use something like Money Supermarket to get the best prices/compare the products.

Neil

[preiffer]

Full details available here

Travel Accident Insurance up to £250,000 so if you break a leg, it won't break the bank.
Lost Luggage Insurance up to £1,500.
Plane or ferry not turned up? No worries. With Travel Inconvenience Insurance, you could get £250 towards meals and accommodation if you get delayed for 8 hours, more if you're delayed for longer.

Policy summary is here, but basically, it's NOT a good policy (and doesn't cover very much anyway).

[preiffer]

AND it's misleading. [n]

Under the VS Amex page "features" = "Travel Accident Insurance up to £250,000 so if you break a leg, it won't break the bank."

Yet in the wording itself:

The Travel Accident Insurance provides a benefit of £100,000 (£250,000 for Platinum Plus or Gold Card customers) for death or loss of limb/sight or

[Neil]

Originally posted by preiffer
AND it's misleading. [n]

Under the VS Amex page "features" = "Travel Accident Insurance up to £250,000 so if you break a leg, it won't break the bank."

Yet in the wording itself:

The Travel Accident Insurance provides a benefit of £100,000 (£250,000 for Platinum Plus or Gold Card customers) for death or loss of limb/sight or

And you need to have booked/paid for your travel using the MBNA card!

Crikey what a minefield! I'm glad I sought out help from the ever-useful V-Flyer!

Any tips on what to look for in a good policy? We've only ever bought the cheapest single-trip one in the past (but for much shorter trips)!

[Neil]

Each person has their own needs out of a policy so its difficult to suggest one specific to your needs. Have a look on sites like this one that gives info on what to look out for etc. As you seem to be going on a long trip I would suggest it is worth buying a fairly decent policy to make sure you are fully covered, but each to their own.

Oh and make sure you check the maximum trip length that is covered as a lot of cheaper policies have a crap maximum length that each trip can last (21 days etc)

Neil

[mitchja]

I always use Insure & Go. I have their annual Worldwide (including US) Silver policy.

Look for policies that include 'Personal Effects And Baggage' cover as cheaper travel insurance often doesn't include this.

Regards

Thanks team! Will get some quotes going!

Another recommendation for Insure and Go - and you also get money back on Quidco too.

Jonathan