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Credit Cards don’t only provide you with a credit limit, but they come with various other exclusive benefits nowadays. What credit cardholders notice the most in a credit card is its reward programs, travel benefits, etc, and what they notice the least is the card’s insurance benefits. Whereas, this is something that you must be very well aware of. Many people just agree/disagree to get insurance benefits with their credit card without actually thinking about it, but it is essential to know that insurance covers provided with your cards can help you save a lot in accidental/emergency situations.
Accidents are never planned, they just happen and conditions may be worst sometimes. For example, if a family has just one person who earns and all others are dependent on that one individual. Now, unfortunately, if that person dies in an accident, the family will be left with nothing. In such situations, accidental death insurance can save the lives of others. Read on to know more about what types of credit card insurance benefits do credit cards offer and how they work:
Types of Insurance Covers Offered By Credit Cards
The types of insurance cover offered to credit cardholders depend on the card as well as on the bank. All the details about such offers will be provided to you in the Welcome Kit that comes along with the credit card. Some of the popular insurances that come along with credit cards are –
Personal Accident Coverage
Many card issuers offer personal accident/air accidental death coverage with their credit cards. If you are traveling on a flight, and unfortunately an accident takes place, resulting in your death, your family members/nominee will get the insurance amount. Some cards only offer air accidental death insurance while others offer insurance coverage against any type of accidental death. The price range of insurance against road or other types of accidents is generally lower than that of insurance against air accidents. Some card issuers offer an air accident insurance cover worth up to Rs. 5 crores.
Travel Insurance
You also get various travel insurance covers that can help you save a lot of money due to any loss/damage during your travel. The travel insurance covers offered by credit cards generally include:
- Insurance coverage against lost/delayed baggage.
- Insurance against loss of checked-in baggage.
- Insurance against loss of passport/travel documents.
- Insurance against a lost ticket.
- Insurance against a missed/delayed flight.
- Insurance against a missed connection.
Purchase Protection
A lot of credit cards come with exclusive purchase protection plans, which help you get an extended warranty on your purchases made using your credit card. With a credit card with purchase protection, you have the convenience to get your purchases returned/replaced even after the product’s warranty period is over if its warranty period according to your card is still going on.
Zero Liability Protection
Zero liability protection is provided on almost all credit cards. According to this, the cardholders are not liable for any fraudulent/unauthorized transactions made on their lost/stolen card, provided that they report the loss of the card to the bank in a timely manner. Many cards offer an insurance cover worth up to Rs. 50,000 for lost/stolen card.
Other Insurance Benefits
Some card issuers offer other insurance covers as well, which may be rental car insurance (insurance cover against any loss/damage on a car that you rented using your credit card), emergency hospitalization while traveling overseas (insurance against medical emergencies during your international travels), etc.
How To Claim a Credit Card Insurance?
In order to claim the insurances on your credit card, you might need to follow different procedures on different cards and for different types of insurances. Some card issuers ask you to file an FIR to claim your insurance against a lost card or travel insurances, while others will allow you to claim it without filing an FIR and just by contacting your Credit card customer care. However, you will have to present a few necessary documents to prove the loss/damage.
The accidental death of a credit cardholder generally needs to be reported within 30 days from the date of death in order to claim the insurance successfully. Moreover, you might need the following documents for the same:
- FIR
- Police Report
- Post-mortem report
For other types of insurance claims, you must check whether your card issuer provides the option to fill in an online application form for the same or not. If not, you can either contact customer care or visit the branch to claim your insurance. It is always good to claim it as soon as a loss/damage is done.
Bottom Line
Now, you might have understood that ignoring the insurance plans with a credit card might not be a good idea always. However, it is always true that you should have other insurance plans as well but if your card is providing these benefits, there is no harm in signing the agreement for it. It is always better to have a backup for accidents and emergency situations and they can occur anytime and you might not be prepared at all. So, you should be aware of these insurance covers on your card so that you can take their advantage at the right time. If you have any queries regarding credit card insurance benefits, you can freely ask us in the comment section below!
