Whether you are going abroad for two weeks or four months, repatriation insurance is an important option for a carefree holiday. We can never say it enough, prevention is cure. If your bank card insures you and your family, it does not include the same services and the same assistance benefits depending on banks and contracts.
Repatriation insurance is part of the insurance that may already be offered in the guarantees of your bank card, which can avoid you having to subscribe to this guarantee in a contract with a tour operator or an insurer. Overview and advice.
What is repatriation insurance?
Repatriation insurance, as its name suggests, is a guarantee that allows, when you are abroad, tobe repatriated to France urgently at the expense of the insurer.
The vast majority of comprehensive travel insurance contracts automatically include this insurance, as does travel insurance. It’s about a additional guarantee to cover your medical expenses / hospitalization costs when traveling abroad.
The conventions of most bank cards include this repatriation guarantee, to different degrees depending on your card and the bank you took it from.
What are the insurance policies for my bank card?
The travel insurance included in a bank card is similar in the vast majority of banks.
Nevertheless, the degree of repayment, the completeness of the services and services as well as covered situations may vary.
Depending on your card insurance services, your bank branch and the type of package subscribed, you are not not covered in the same way. It’s up to you to check your bank card commitments and what can be put in place to suit your situation.
However, certain major points are common to many bank cards when it comes to your trips abroad:
- Travel guarantee. It allows you to be reimbursed in the event of cancellation, loss or theft of your luggage on the airline.
- Compensation for medical costs and potential hospitalizations.
- Compensation in the death or disability in a public space.
- The passenger liability (the insured, his spouse and children) in the event of damage caused to a third party.
- L’assurance location for a car in the event of theft or accident.
- Snow and mountain insurance for winter sports, which covers accidents and theft of dedicated equipment.
- Depending on your contract, a juridic protection is also included. This protection ensures you get a defense, as well as legal help in the event of a problem. It also ensures the payment of professional fees as well as the advance of deposits if necessary.
In any case, the first thing to do is to check your credit card contract to know for sure which insurances are included, and which are not!
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How can I benefit from repatriation insurance for my bank card?
In addition to the financial compensation mentioned above, your bank card allows access to assistance services for your trips abroad, including repatriation insurance of the insured and his family.
After checking that repatriation insurance is included in your credit card contract, you must nevertheless respect certain instructions so that this insurance can be used.
Thus, here are the important points that you must consider to be able to benefit from the repatriation insurance of your card:
- Your card’s insurance covers you and your family, from its date of issue to its expiry date. Be careful not to leave with a card that will expire during the stay!
- The insurance of your card can only take effect if you pay the costs of your trip with the card in question : think about the card you want to use for the payment of your transport and hotel tickets, this will impact your support.
- You will not be covered only over a limited number of days: Most banks cover their customers on 90 days stay abroad. Be careful, however, some banks only cover their beneficiaries for stays of 90 days, while other banks cover the first 90 days of stays. It is important to understand the difference.
- Your repatriation insurance only covers you you, as well as your spouse (cohabiting or civil partnership) and your dependent children under 25 years old. If you are traveling with friends, they will not be covered by your insurance, even if you pay for the entire trip with your card.
The same card can offer different services depending on the issuing bank. Only rely on your credit card contract or the information of your advisor!
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What does the repatriation insurance for my bank card cover?
Repatriation death
In the event of premature death during your trip, of your person or of a member of your family covered by your insurance, the repatriation of the body is organized and covered by your insurance. This repatriation is however not compulsory.
Medical repatriations
In the event of accidents, medical repatriation covers the return of the patient to his country of residence for medical follow-up.
This repatriation also takes care of the transport of an accompanying person the injured person, as well as children under 15 if that is necessary. In more detail, the health repatriation insurance of your credit card covers:
- The non-medical repatriation, when the transfer does not require the presence of medical assistance, after an accident resulting for example a fracture
- The medical repatriation, when the transfer requires the presence of a nurse or a doctor, if the condition of the transferred person requires it
- L’evacuation by medical aircraft, reserved for serious accidents requiring emergency evacuation
Hospitalization and emergency costs
Among the additional costs included in the repatriation insurance of your bank card (always according to your contract), the assistance insurance also covers the advance of your hospitalization and emergency costs.
The compensation limits vary according to the bank cards and your bank branch, so remember to check your ceilings before your departure – or from with the brochure of your card.
With Mastercard and Visa, the limit is generally € 11,000 per person, per event and per year. It is nevertheless than an advance : on your return, you will have to pay your bank for the advanced costs, according to the deadlines specified in your contract.
Before leaving, remember to write down the assistance telephone number attached to the bank card, in order to be able to contact your insurance or to transmit this number easily.
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When is the insurance of my card not sufficient?
The guarantees included in the credit card sometimes may not be enough to make sure you get back safely without your holiday glitch turning into a financial pit.
In addition, they vary enormously depending on the card ranges : a MasterCard credit card will not have the same benefits as a Visa card and a classic Visa card will not have the same as a Visa premium card.
While the majority of bank cards contain comprehensive travel insurance with repatriation and cancellation insurance, some contracts have limitations.
Here are the important points to consider if you are thinking about subscribing to a travel insurance in addition to your credit card travel guarantee :
- The low coverage of conventional bank cards : a classic Visa or Mastercard will only cover you very little for your trip. Apart from the low reimbursement ceiling, around € 12,000, they do not offer no civil liability, which cover material and / or physical damage inflicted on a third party during your stay abroad.
Likewise, conventional cards do not offer cancellation insurance or luggage insurance. - Bank insurance operates on a limited number of days. Usually it revolves around the ninety days. If the planned trip is several months, it is better to take out an option to your bank insurance or take out a contract with a private insurance or your travel agency.
- Some insurances only advance the costs that you have to pay on the spot. You then have about sixty days to repay. Reread the terms carefully to know the exact closure of your assistance and compensation, so as not to be taken by surprise at the time of reimbursement.
- Insurance companies may have a franchise. That is to say that if the insurance is triggered, a portion will be billed to you directly. Prices generally range from € 30 to € 100, depending on your contract.
- Lcompensation ceilings varies from bank to bank and may not be sufficient depending on your destination country. If an unforeseen event requires your hospitalization or that of a member of your family, count € 7,500 in North America … enough to quickly reach the compensation limit of your card and have to pay the rest of the costs out of your pocket without reimbursement from your bank on your return.
In any case, the first order of business to properly prepare your departure abroad and guard against the risk of problems on the spot is to check the insurance already included with your bank card and to question the need to take out additional comprehensive travel insurance.
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