We can sometimes be well insured but without knowing it. This may especially be the case abroad, thanks to your bank card. The latter most often insure the risks you incur on the move, particularly medical.
It is necessary to know in advance what your means of payment covers before your trip to avoid paying for additional insurance, sometimes less advantageous than that negotiated by your bank. Assure and explain everything you need to know to save money.
What is credit card insurance?
You don’t always know it, but you are also subscribing to insurance and assistance services by acquiring certain bank cards.
The latter allows you to obtain financial compensation or assistance following a claim covered by your contract as with any insurance.
Please note that this insurance is not to be confused with means of payment insurance, which covers you in the event of loss or theft of your credit card or checkbook.
The insurances contained in your credit card are assistance policies, most often helpful in the event of travel, in particular abroad, provided that you have paid for your ticket or your stay with the insured card.
It should, however, be noted that the insurance guarantees and assistance services attached to your credit card are not provided directly by Visa, insurance card, or American Express. Your bank negotiates them with insurance and assistance companies. It is, therefore, with your bank that you should find out about your level of coverage.
Who is covered by the credit card?
The built-in insurance or assistance guarantees do not only cover the cardholder. Also covered are the spouse (even cohabiting partner), and tax-dependent children under 25, even if they are not traveling with the holder.
Grandchildren under the age of 25 and dependent relatives in the ascending line may also benefit from coverage if they are part of the trip.
The maximum duration of a trip is generally set at 90 days. You must also check that your card does not expire before the end of your journey.
What are the insurance guarantees of a credit card?
Among the most common guarantees are indemnifications for:
- Changing or canceling a trip
- Flight delay or cancellation
- Loss, theft, or delay of baggage,
- Damage caused to a third party ( civil liability abroad)
- Loss or theft of passport
- A rental car accident
Credit card insurance: what assistance services?
In addition to the compensation presented above, you can also benefit from assistance services, mainly in the medical field. Canthus is covered:
- repatriation
- Medical and hospitalization costs
- Medical transport expenses
- Early return in the event of hospitalization or death of a loved one
Among the assistance services, there is also legal assistance abroad, with, depending on the range, coverage of lawyers’ fees or criminal costs.
To benefit from assistance abroad, you must be sure to know the international telephone number of the service.
Pay attention to the assistance ceilings, in particular for medical expenses. An essential Visa or Mastercard covers these costs up to a maximum of 11,000 euros. This may not be enough abroad: in the United States, for example, a day of hospitalization frequently reaches 3,000 euros.
How is repatriation going?
There are usually two types of repatriation:
- Death repatriation: this provides for the repatriation of the deceased’s body to the nearest international airport.
- Sanitary repatriation guarantees the patient’s return to his country of residence. Family transportation can also be taken care of
What are the differences in coverage between bank cards?
The amount of compensation and the assistance services offered depend on your type of card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, etc.) and its range (Classic, Premium, Premier, Gold, Black, etc.).
By way of comparison, a Mastercard Gold card, billed around 125 euros per year, can cover the cancellation of a trip up to 5,000 euros, while for the MasterCard Platinum (costing an average of 200 euros per year), this ceiling is fixed at 10,000 euros.
Same observation with the reimbursement of hospitalization costs: an entry-level card covers you up to 11,000 euros, against 150,000 euros with a high-end card.
What insurance with my Visa Electron, Visa Classic, or Mastercard card?
The details of the guarantees and the amount of compensation will depend on your bank, so it is imperative to contact them to obtain the details of your securities.
Generally, the Visa Electron and its equivalent at Mastercard, the “Maestro,” do not include insurance services. But the Maestro can offer you an assistance service depending on your bank, in particular for repatriation or hospitalization abroad.
The higher range of the two cards: the Visa Classic and the Mastercard, are more likely to give you insurance. For the Visa Classic, the minimum protection includes reimbursing medical expenses and repatriation for the holder and his family. The Mastercard seems to offer more assistance services, including legal assistance, cash advance, on-track rescue costs, etc.
What insurance with my Gold or Visa Premier card?
These two gold-colored means of payment are mid-range cards and include several essential assistance and insurance services, although it is necessary to ask your bank for details.
The Visa Premier card generally offers insurance:
- Civil liability abroad
- Cancellation or modification of a trip
- Damage to a rental vehicle
- Baggage delay
- Trip interruption
Your Gold Mastercard card can contain insurance: travel accidents, snow and mountain, trip cancellation and interruption, damage.
Both also include the medical assistance provided in the entry-level cards.
What insurance is with my Platinum card?
The VisaPlatinum card gives you all the benefits of the Visa Premier card plus expanded insurance and assistance services.
It includes traditional travel insurance guarantees (plane delay or cancellation insurance, repatriation, loss or theft of luggage, etc.). Still, at higher ceilings, the same applies to medical assistance guarantees (up to 155,000 euros in reimbursement of medical expenses) and legal costs (up to 16,000 euros in advance on legal fees).
The Visa Platinum offers, in addition to travel, to cover your purchases, with, for example, a refund provided for events paid for with your card (shows, concerts) if these are accidentally canceled, up to a limit of 1,000 euros per year.
What insurance with my Visa Infinite or MasterCard World Elite card?
These very top-of-the-range cards allow you to benefit from a range of assistance guarantees and the most diverse insurance and with the best compensation.
What are the differences between a Visa card and a Mastercard?
When opening an account, your bank generally offers you a Visa or Mastercard. The two American giants do not differ much. Note a few differences: Visa is the market leader in France, with 60% of the cards distributed. The two brands are not always accepted in the same way depending on the country; you must find out about their covered networks before subscribing.
The prices, services, and networks of these two brands are almost identical, even if the assistance services of Mastercard seem to be offered from entry-level cards, unlike Visa.
