bmi diamond club - Insurance recommendation

Apologies for an off topic post - I wasn't sure where was best to post but wanted to get the views of the folks on this board.

I'm looking for any recommendations on annual travel insurance for a UK based traveller that would not exclude mileage award flights and give some cover to cancellation/curtailment due to severe weather ( i.e. hurricanes on my upcoming trips to BGI )

Thanks in advance

Apologies for an off topic post - I wasn't sure where was best to post but wanted to get the views of the folks on this board.

I'm looking for any recommendations on annual travel insurance for a UK based traveller that would not exclude mileage award flights and give some cover to cancellation/curtailment due to severe weather ( i.e. hurricanes on my upcoming trips to BGI )

Thanks in advance


I have been looking at new Insurance in the past week, I think I will probably go with Sainsburys Bank travel insurance which seems to be aboout the best I've seen for cost/benefits.

Have a look @ http://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/insuring/ins_travelinsurance_trv_skip.shtml

depending on your circumstances the insurance that comes with the american express platinum charge card can work out (details can be found on the amex board here). the card costs £300+ p.a. but gives you pretty good insurance that includes north american car hire, a priority pass and covers your family (you can also nominate supplimentrary card holders who get the same benefits). The insurance covers any trip that involves a flight or a boat and the savings due to the car rental insurance cover alone has paid for the card for me over the last few years.

I have been looking at new Insurance in the past week, I think I will probably go with Sainsburys Bank travel insurance which seems to be aboout the best I've seen for cost/benefits.

Have a look @ http://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/insuring/ins_travelinsurance_trv_skip.shtml

I have my insurance with them - it was dirt cheap and covers everything I need covering to the extent I require. Never had to use it thankfully.

I have been looking at new Insurance in the past week, I think I will probably go with Sainsburys Bank travel insurance which seems to be aboout the best I've seen for cost/benefits.

Have a look @ http://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/insuring/ins_travelinsurance_trv_skip.shtml

And the website seems to be maintained by the bmi team as well:

Get 10% off when you buy online until 12th August 2007

I like the sound of the Amex that covers North American car insurance... Does anyone know of any other travel insurance that includes this? It always costs a fortune when you pay for the insurance at any of the companies i use.

Depends rather on what sort of cover you are after.
I expect your trip is only for a week or two, but I have found that if you plan on being abroad for up to 90 days at a time, Insure&Go offer a competitive annual policy (it's not as competitive for short trips).

I certainly didn't encounter any problems when making a claim with them and have on the whole been impressed with their service.

They also seem to be the only company I've found that will actually cover you in the event of terrorism.

I have the Amex annual policy (don't know if you have to be a cardholder) It's £99, and the cover is excellent, though doesn't include car rentals like the Platinum card does, I still have a Gold one, never bothered changing it.

Mr Midget and I have the Amex annual insurance. We have worldwide premier cover, which includes North American (inc Canada) cdw, liability top up and loss of use cover. The premium is 247GBP, and has saved us thousands over the 6 years we've had the policy.
I don't think you need to have an amex card, just ring 0800 700 707 for a quote.
Sometimes we get hassle at the rental desks, but I've found a copy of the relevant parts highlighted works wonders.
There are of course restrictions, such as 31 days max for any 1 trip, no high performance vehicles, but for the standard tourist it's perfect.
There are help lines, including 1 for the rental agents to call to confirm cover if necessary, but that's never been used when we've rented.

I like the sound of the Amex that covers North American car insurance... Does anyone know of any other travel insurance that includes this? It always costs a fortune when you pay for the insurance at any of the companies i use.

You can get the Amex insurance either thru the platinum card or seperately as a standalone insurance product. I have had (and claimed on) both and have been very satisfied so far. Both have North America car hire insurance. (optional with the standalone) May be worth searching the BA Forum for more information on these products. The Amex forum has some stuff too. If you want a decent annual insurance policy (with NA Car HIre coverage) that potentially covers a multitude of family members PLUS 2 full Priority Passes, a free BA Amex and a host of other benefits the Platinum card is superb value.

There are some standalone providers of cheap Car Hire insurance but when I last looked the cover was really poor. Something like £3,500 cover for an EU car hire - simply not enough so check the small print. (The Amex cover is absolutely fine but again check the policy meets your needs!)

Mr Midget and I have the Amex annual insurance. We have worldwide premier cover, which includes North American (inc Canada) cdw, liability top up and loss of use cover

Thanks for that, I didn't even know there was a premium version. I've just been lazy and had my £99 on auto renewal for years. I just rang and premium cover for me would be £149. I'd have saved the extra £50 in one rental on my upcoming trip if I'd known. Will definitely upgrade to Premium on renewal in October.

I like the sound of the Amex that covers North American car insurance... Does anyone know of any other travel insurance that includes this? It always costs a fortune when you pay for the insurance at any of the companies i use.The AMEX Plat rental car insurance is worldwide (don't know if there are some exceptions like Afghanistan...). I'm not sure if it is really great value for money, as lots of website offer all-included car hire much cheaper than the car rental agencies themselves without insurance. Agreed that the normal car rental companies charge an arm and a leg for insurance....

It all depends if you use the other perks of the Platinum card as well IMHO. I'm thinking of cancelling my card as for me it isn't worth the £300 per year.

lots of website offer all-included car hire much cheaper than the car rental agencies themselves without insurance.

Any examples? Ive been doing a bit of research since yesterday, and the only travel insurance i can find that includes car hire cover seems to be the AMEX platinum insurance at £200 a year.

Any examples? Ive been doing a bit of research since yesterday, and the only travel insurance i can find that includes car hire cover seems to be the AMEX platinum insurance at £200 a year.
www.insuranceforhirecars.co.uk or something like that - I can't remember exactly, but give it a google and it'll jump out I'm sure

Any examples? Ive been doing a bit of research since yesterday, and the only travel insurance i can find that includes car hire cover seems to be the AMEX platinum insurance at £200 a year.I think that what frankvb was hinting at is that you can find insurance-inclusive car-hire often at a cheaper rate than on car hire companies' own website. I assume that he is referring to the likes of carhire3000.com, auto-europe.co.uk, Atlas, Holiday autos, etc...
This means that the "benefit" that comes with the Amex premium of inclusive car hire is not quite as much value as might appear at first sight.

I think that what frankvb was hinting at is that you can find insurance-inclusive car-hire often at a cheaper rate than on car hire companies' own website. I assume that he is referring to the likes of carhire3000.com, auto-europe.co.uk, Atlas, Holiday autos, etc...Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Sites like http://www.holidayautos.co.uk/ and http://www.holidaycars.co.uk/ Even expedia offers this.

Of course there can be reasons not wanting to use those, e.g. they normally only offer pre-paid, you won't get miles/upgrades etc.

Of course there can be reasons not wanting to use those, e.g. they normally only offer pre-paid, you won't get miles/upgrades etc.True, but you often pay less for a car one or two categories above from the consolidator than you would do for the lower category on the can rental company's own website, nullifying the advantage of the upgrade (and the "upgrade" is then guaranteed, rather than subejct to availability). Besides, with voucher-based upgrades, I have never had any problem using them even on a consol rate (and if you do a bit of research, it is not that difficult to find out which company corresponds to a particular car on a consol website).
As to points, the maths usually show that you pay rather dearly for the extra points.
I must say that, whereas I used to book mostly direct from car rental companies in the past, about 80% of my rentals are now with consolidators (usually carhire3000 or auto-europe).
Another advantage of consolidators on rentals outside North America is that excess waiver is often at a fraction of the daylight robbery rates charged by most rental companies for excess waiver (the issue does not arise with North American rentals, which normally have no excess).

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. Sites like http://www.holidayautos.co.uk/ and http://www.holidaycars.co.uk/ Even expedia offers this.

Of course there can be reasons not wanting to use those, e.g. they normally only offer pre-paid, you won't get miles/upgrades etc.

The all-inclusive rates have come down quite a lot over the last few years - particular for premium cars like convertibles and 4WD and even though I have the Amex Platinum I tend not to use the car hire insurance these days. (airline network are particularly good value for short all inclusive premium rentals)

Where this is different is on the traditional fly-drive packages from the likes of Virgin Holidays and United Vacations. On these the car hire component can be incredibly cheap on the basis that they plan to profit from the high cost insurance packages typically sold.

If the number of days covered is a concern (many companies have been reducing the length of each trip allowed), then Trailfinders has the longest that I've been able to find (31 days for Silver and 70 for Gold options). I don't usually travel with them, but that doesn't seem to matter.

If you want one that covers unusual destinations like Antarctica (I know, *A don't fly there!!!!) there is an online company Called IHI (Danish) that covers the whole world and all activities. They do normal travel too, but I think I remember that they were good value only if you had a special cover requirement.

There are of course restrictions, such as 31 days max for any 1 trip, no high performance vehicles, but for the standard tourist it's perfect.

I think you may have got that wrong. My understanding is that it's a good deal better than that.

The car insurance benefits last for the duration of a "trip" and the definition of trip is given as 120 days with a maximum of 240 in any given year.

I think you may have got that wrong. My understanding is that it's a good deal better than that.

The car insurance benefits last for the duration of a "trip" and the definition of trip is given as 120 days with a maximum of 240 in any given year.

No, page 43 of the policy booklet, headed North American Car Hire Benefits, states that:
"Cover will apply for the duration of the short-period hire by you of a rental vehicle............not exceeding a total of 31 days in the course of a trip........
irrespective of the overall duration of the trip.

(Their underlining)

If the number of days covered is a concern (many companies have been reducing the length of each trip allowed), then Trailfinders has the longest that I've been able to find (31 days for Silver and 70 for Gold options).

Yep.. I went for InsureAndGo for this reason. 90 days per trip if you are under 66. Cost me £55.25 for Worldwide (inc USA/Canada). I excluded all baggage.

I used to be with Amex Plat and I took an option to raise the trip length and total number of days away per year. BUT, I got fed up with them - they'd keep changing the policy at short notice as they shopped around for better deals for their provider - I often went away only come back to find something had changed. One such change left someone in my family without cover. At least by buying the cover separately I only have to worry about it once a year and the terms don't vary during that year.

Never claimed with InsureAndGo. I've excluded baggage, because I'd rather have the "peace of mind" of simply buying suitable replacements rather than having to argue with insurance companies about what is and what is not covered.

(PS I don't know anything about car insurance. My driving is so awful, if anyone knew the truth they wouldn't insure me. If I didn't disclose it, then I'd be failing to disclose a material fact and still wouldn't be insured!)

No, page 43 of the policy booklet, headed North American Car Hire Benefits, states that:
"Cover will apply for the duration of the short-period hire by you of a rental vehicle............not exceeding a total of 31 days in the course of a trip........
irrespective of the overall duration of the trip.

(Their underlining)

Now, you see, I don't have a page 43! The booklet I have is only 33 pages long. When does yours date from?

I called them to get a definitive answer. You may be reading from an old booklet. I had the guy check. It seems it is 120 days, with a maximum of 240 in any year.

Now, you see, I don't have a page 43! The booklet I have is only 33 pages long. When does yours date from?

I called them to get a definitive answer. You may be reading from an old booklet. I had the guy check. It seems it is 120 days, with a maximum of 240 in any year.


My booklet is pink, 55 pages and came with the renewal notice 3 weeks ago.
It is the American Express Travel Insurance, dated January 05 on the back cover.
It covers all the usual, baggage, medical, delay, etc, as well as the car insurance.
It's a stand alone policy, not necessary to have an Amex card to buy it.
Sounds a different policy to yours.

I think the answer is its not simple so shop around and find whats best !
The Amex platinum card insurance cover does seem to be very comprehensive with reasonable money to spend even after very short delays etc etc. also as stated the hire car insurance is world wide and covers every optional insurance the companies fire at you. Consolodators are good, but sometimes better deals can be found (using coupons for the main renters for example) - and thats where the insurance cover can come into its own.

For UK customers you also get Priority Pass cards (the ones that give free entry to lounges) which the wife and I make good use of. You can also get free aditional cards (eg the BA AMEX that gives 2 for 1 offers - I'm not overly familiar with this but I believe there is an annual charge)

.... but of course different things may be important to you.