Credit Card insurance-read your policy

Thank you, good reminder.

Important reminder. Good reason not to choose the cheaper cash/bank account option when booking travel. Thanks for posting.

Everyone needs to read the Terms and Conditions online of their credit card. The CDW subject on rental cars is another one you need to be familiar with as so many people pay extra for CDW from the rental agencies when they may not need to. And coverage is often not on luxury vehicle brands or vans that seat more than 8 people. I carry a copy with me on trips.

To expand on David's comments, always read every policy thoroughly. The devil is always in the details and they are always changing.

It is certainly important to read the fine print and understand what coverage you have with credit cards, if nothing else, that if something occurs, you may have coverage you did not realize you had.

However, if I felt I might need trip insurance for medical or evacuation, relying on a credit card plan probably is not the best option, pony up and pay for a plan that meets your needs. Much the same for CDW, save for premium plans through your credit card that you pay additional for. The old adage, "you get what you pay for" too often has rung true.

Exactly, it’s easy to throw away those tiny print updates that show up in the mail. But, when they change things, it’s usually not in your favor.

Although my experience is way out of date, when I worked customer service on the 800 number for a car rental company ‘but my credit card....’ had so many customers ending up with unexpected bills.

And the common advise has always been ---- READ the fine print -- several times. And if the cost is minimal then coverage may be similar. Nothing is ever free.

The devil is always in the details and they are always changing.

I got lucky one trip, my preferred card used to be my American Express and on a trip I declined the rental car insurance because my AmEx would cover it. Luckily nothing happened on the trip, but when I got back home I discovered that not only did my AmEx not have rental car coverage anymore, it no longer had any kind of insurance coverage. I'm sure at some point I had gotten a notice in the mail but I likely just threw it out. That was the experience that made me diligent in checking insurance coverage before every trip.

Hi Allan:
Fellow Canadian here.
We have our travel insurance through RBC Avion. (Infinite.)
It is for Trip cancellation, interruption, and medical; as well as lost items, and covered us for 15 days at a time.
(Now it's only 3 days, as we are now over 65.)
Two years ago we had to cancel two fully paid in advance trips due to the sudden illness of my husband.
I called and submitted all the paperwork within two days of his illness; our GP wrote a wonderful letter for us, as did the surgeon at the hospital my husband was in.
Avion refunded every last penny, and Points as well, within 10 days of me submitting the claims.
They were so helpful, including on the phone.
I was so impressed and amazed, I can't tell you.
We even made a few dollars, as the exchange rate in Euros had changed in the meantime!
I highly recommend RBC Avion insurance.
And husband made a very good recovery.

SJ, is that RBC Avion Insurance through the credit card or did you purchase separately? I'm still working and so my company health plan covers me for any medical insurance and my WestJet Mastercard does a pretty good job of other travel insurance except trip cancellation and car rental-it will not cover me outside of Canada and the US for car rental neither will my personal auto insurance.

I looked at the fine print on Chase Sapphire Reserve coverage for cancellation -- if you get an illness that a doctor will certify prevents you from travel, that is covered BUT it specifically excludes "your disinclination to travel due to an epidemic or pandemic."

Looks like it covers quarantine as well. Trip length up to 60 days.

A great reminder, Allan, and also a sobering point about insurance limitations for older travelers.

I invited my mom (who lives in Canada) on a trip to Europe last fall and was surprised how hard it was to find travel insurance for her. I checked with several Canadian travel insurers. I don't even think of her as old; she's 75 and able to walk 10 km / 5 miles a day! I also figured that Canadian travel insurers would be accustomed to working with older people, given the "snowbird" phenomenon. One lesson for us both is to enjoy travel while we are able!