POST OFFICE TRAVEL INSURANCE - WARNING

[bigfoot]

All

I know there has been a similar thread on this but wanted a headline to make sure everyone finds this.

Threads on this forum recently advised looking at the POST OFFICE for travel insurance via motorcycle.

So today I rang up to check the level of cover.

When I questioned the operative on the phone confirmed that in the event of an accident then no repatriation fees will be covered - and in the worst case of a fatal accident no payout at all will be made to cover expenses.

Medical expenses post accident will only cover basic emergency fees for items such as broken bones.

So if it appears cheap that may be why?

[uturntony]

In that case i will not be renewing in September. I already knew from Wapping's heads up that something had changed but had not as yet discovered what. Thank's.

[Simon_100]

Medical expenses post accident will only cover basic emergency fees for items such as broken bones

That is included in your E106/E111 cover anyway!

Deviating a bit - always check whether there are restrictions to off-tarmac biking. I've seen even specific 'Adventure Sports' cover deals that have a 125 cc limit to any cover for motorbike accidents!

Simon

[Moorso]

All

When you bank with Nationwide you get free travel insurance.
We have, alas, had reason to use it (which I won't go into here). But we were stuck abroad and had reason for comprehensive surgery. Now, this wasn't due to a bike, but a different medical emergency.

Nationwide were, frankly, nothing short of phenomenal...so much so I wrote to the Chief Exec as well as the insurance team to thank them when we got home.

They took care of everything....and I mean everything. Initially they were contacted at 3am UK time and you speak to a person.

They were brilliant.

[crofty]

That's great to know.

[Simon_100]

That's pretty good for £10 per month fee to have the relevant account (thumbs)

Regs

Simon

[Wapping]

Many / most Travel insurances provide very good support when you have a problem abroad. The same applies to overseas Breakdown and Recovery insurance. The reason being that Nationwide / the AA / the Post Office / Navigator / whomever, more often than not all contract the 'support' side to the same third-party 'service provider', who does all the organisational work behind the scenes. In a sense, the third-party 'service provider' has all the tools to help. They sell their skills to banks, the AA, insurance companies and the like, all of whom have a huge potential customer base to tap into to sell the product to. You can often see who the 'service provider' is by looking at the policy document, where it may well say something like: Nationwide Travel Insurance is underwritten by Allianz; Medical assistance will be provided by Mondial; or words to that effect.

Of course that does not mean that:

1. Nobody should not write to thank the entity who sold them the product for their good service, even if it was actually provided by a third-party 'service provider'.

2. Things cannot go wrong. However, most of the gripes I read about are when bods have tried to be 'clever'. In fact, they have tried to be 'cleverer' than the huge 'service provider' that have dealt with the same problem for maybe 100's of thousands of bods in the past. But hey, that's not unique.

[Treadtrader]

The test of any insurance is the day you have to make a claim.
So many of these threads start with the question, where can I get it cheap?
It's the small print that can catch you out.

Here's an old thread that shows a simple incident could cause major problems if the cover was insufficent.

http://www.adventurebikerider.com/forum ... -care.html

Be nice to know why the P O has changed their policy cover.

[special one]

I used these last year, very comprehensive cover, has catergorised sports so just choose the section you need.

http://www.holidaysafe.co.uk/?vlsrc=gaw ... oCny_w_wcB

[Wapping]

Be nice to know why the P O has changed their policy cover.

I can tell you with absolute certainty. They have changed the insurer who actually issues the insurance policy. In fact, they've set up their own insurance company to do a part of it, too.

In brief, the Post Office is simply a branding attached to a reasonably conventional insurance policy. If you like, it's a glossy cover to a load of words on dull white paper. The Post Office has millions of potential customers, a pretty good reputation / brand awareness, so it makes sense for an insurer to tie up with them to market a product.

A change of insurer will more often than not trigger a change in the scope and extent of cover.