written by g0akc on 02/08/2013
Like other reviewers, I have Barclays Travel Insurance as part of 'Additions Plus' on our current account. I've only had to try to claim once, when we had the volcanic ash cloud in 2010. They were useless and refused to pay out. Luckily I managed to get hotel managers and others to refund most of my losses, but we were still out of pocket by about £250. They recently revisited this as their policy is supposed to have changed, and they invited me to submit a fresh claim. Again no joy, with them finding loopholes to avoid paying out. Because our re-arranged flights appeared as a new booking with Virgin (same holiday/trip) they would not pay anything for the extra costs. They admitted they covered the loss of airport parking, but applied the excess twice as there were two people travelling - the cost of parking was the same for one person or several! It was again a waste of my time even trying to talk to them. I have no trust whatsoever in their insurance and take out a separate policy, particularly for proper cover of SCUBA diving, which they do not understand. I fear if I was ill in an hospital overseas these people would not want to know. Sometimes you only get to find out how good an insurer is when you come to make a claim, and I found they were terrible!
written by Cades on 17/06/2013
I took out the most expensive cover that was available incase any of my items were stolen, lost , misplaced ect after being assured that i would be covered to the maximum allowance. whilst on holiday my camera was stolen, after following all the procedures getting 3 reports from the hotel manager,holiday rep and police Barclays came up with every excuse under the sun not to pay out an reimburse me from my expensive dslr camera. DO NOT TAKE OUT THIS COVER its not worth the extra 50 pound when your not actually covered for anything, they are liars and i was absolutely fuming. Look around DO NOT USE BARCLAYS TRAVEL INSURANCE!
written by on 23/11/2012
I have barclays travel insurance with my additions account. I thought that this was classed as a "perk" but having just had to use it I would not recommend it to anyone. While on holiday in Madrid I had my purse and prescription glasses pickpocketed. I lost 130 euros, the purse was worth £50 and the glasses cost me £164 3 years ago. I provided proof of purchase for all items and was then told: On top of the £50 excess there was another £50 excess for personal items (glasses). I was then told I could not claim for the cost of new glasses, only the cost of the originals. I was then told that 10% would be taken off the cost for every year I'd had them for "wear and tear". This meant that on a claim that was originally costed at £344 I received £190 in compensation! No wonder people ramp up the claims, seems Barclays policy is to sting you for being honest!
written by on 18/11/2012
if you have your things stollen i hope your burgular is not proffesional...because if he/she is an doesnt leave any effidence then Barlays will not cover you...in my case Barclays are very proffesional at taking money from people...the insurance connected to the additions account which i have paid over 10years, is worth nothing and a complete waste of money....my first time to claim and obviously now ill cancel the charlatons insurance....
written by on 07/11/2012
After recently returning from Majorca I discovered i had left my wedding ring on the dressing table in my room. After contacting the hotel several times there was no sign of my ring!! I rang barclays and was told that because I had only paid £35 for my ring (It was 32 years ago) that it was lower than the excess on my policy and they couldnt pay me anything!! When I challenged them they said they do not replace new for old and although they agree with the valuation of my ring today. that's their policy and added its in the "small print" under exclusions. Will be cancelling my additions account ASAP. Also had hassle with them over their loan price guarantee I came out on top on that occassion but do feel that they try anything to catch you.
written by on 08/09/2012
had a bag stolen of the beach , reported it to the police , got back home sent off for a cliam form , filled it in sent all the right paper work , claim rejected , i was too far away from my bag 30feet is classed as too far away , they say you can not see you bag from this distance / what aload of rubbish , please think before taking this insurance out
written by on 22/08/2012
We've had Barclays Additions Active Insurance and it proved to be very IN-ACTIVE!!! My Daughter took ill at Disney Aneheim and spent all four days in hotel bed -poor thing! Turned out to have a throat Infection, had no choice but to call out a Doc and she was prescribed antibiotics. $500 later!! Called Barlays on our return, she isn't covered as she's now 18 and finished full time education 11 days before we went away. Had she been going to University (as opposed to taking her gap year ) she would have been covered....... what the ?????? I was gob-smacked to say the very least! This Insurance isn't that cheap when you look at what IS actually covered.
written by on 05/12/2011
dont buy go to proper insurancc company only words they know is SORRY CANT HELP YOU
written by RJG1 on 05/10/2011
Had to make a claim for lost/stolen and damaged items + 50 hour delay thanks to Mr Branson. Just been told that my claim will not be honored as I was on an internal US flight, I did not report the items within 24 hrs of discovering the loss. If Barclays staff have bothered to read my claim, listen to my 10+ calls and 3 letters it was a transatlantic flight from Dulles to Heathrow and a received a crime number from the Met Police within 3 hours of discovering the loss! I made the claim end June and it has taken until today (6 Oct 2011) to get to this stage.
written by michaelmay1 on 12/09/2011
Our plane was cancelled in Washington we were a day late getting back home. Our return train tickets which we purchased before we left for our holiday were out of date so we had to buy 2 more tickets for £75 from Kings Cross to Brough. When we put a claim into Addition plus travel they would not cover us for the £75 extra we had to pay. Naturally we assume that getting home from a holiday is part of the holiday otherwise what is the point of having insurance for covering a holiday. Don't understand the reasoning of this as it says in the Automatic Extension of Cover 1. up to 14 days if any vehicle you are travelling in breaks down, or any vehicle, vessel, train or aircraft in which you are travelling as a ticket holding passenger is cancelled. We would have liked to know before travelling that only the flight was covered and not the means of transport getting there.
written by on 18/07/2011
Paid annual premium over the internet. They send you two "confirmation" emails at the same time. The first email is a "quote." The second email is the credit card payment confirmation, but it has so many internet links, pics and html in it, that it automatically lands in your "Junk email" folder (Outlook). So you believe your transaction did not go through, bacause you only received a quote. So you click on the inviting link in the "quote" message to try your credit card payment again. (I did that not immediately, but after a few days and after checking there were no transactions related to insurance purchase on my bank account.) After realizing my mistake, very difficult to exercise my cancellation rights: Barclays outsourced insurance business to "First Assist" who do not bother replying to your enquiry on their "dedicated" customer "service" line. Avoid at all cost.
written by on 08/04/2011
Holiday cancelled as a result of Volcanic Ash last year. Barclays position like a number of insurers was that they wouldn't pay out at the time, because their policy doesn't cover 'acts of god' however there are a number of companies who have amended this position since. Rang Barclays today and found that they've amended their policy for future claims (so if we get another volcanic ash cloud) but are not paying out on claims at the time (which other companies are doing). I think this is a ridiculous position to take. If they accept their policy is wrong they should compensate existing customers as a courtesy..
I wouldn't recommend them!
written by on 22/02/2011
Absolutely terrible cutomer service from Barclays.
Please be aware - me and my partner have a joint account and pay the £15 a month for the Additions Plus and have done for 5 years.
We tried to claim on the travel insurance and every single obstacle was placed before us from Barclays. We were only claiming for £160 after the £50 pp excess.
3 months later, we were told that it has been approved to be called back to say that it hasnt gone through
BEWARE - The worst experience I have ever had
written by on 13/04/2010
Filed a claim with relative ease and got back what i was hoping for.
written by garkim on 08/02/2010
I have the barclays additions plus travel insurance, but a warning to others, I booked and paid for a holiday in October 2009, then had a heart attack in Dec 2009. Then Barclays travel which is underwritten by Aviva have clauses to say you will not be covered medically. Therefore you are gambling taking the insurance out because if you get a serious condition you won't be covered. I eventaully got covered for £25 with Columbus. Had to think what the clauses are with the rest of the addions benefits.
written by on 13/01/2010
Terrible cover with a number of clauses including a depreciation clause that led to 60% (yes 60%!) being deducted from claimed goods; in addition, there is a clause that says "maximum personal valuables cover upto £300" this includes music players, all electrical and photography equipment inc. laptops, jewellery etc. The max you will get is £300 which means nothing in this day and age. **This was a Barclays Plus Premium cover as well!!
Also, many other items are excluded from cover incl. sunglasses, prescription glasses and mobile phones ...just to name the obvious that you think you would be insured for.
Amount of evidence required to prove ownership is ridiculously detailed. Requests include letters from EACH bank/ credit card supplier evidencing that you reported cards stolen; including Barclays themselves... who incidentally were the most awkward regarding sending out a letter without requesting some sort of fee!!
Avoid at all costs!!!- I paid extra for what I thought would be a quality insurance cover with peace of mind.... received virtually nothing for my claim- despite presenting ALL evidence required. Worse purchase I have ever made!!!
written by on 28/07/2009
Beware !!!!!
The travel cover you get with the additions plus account is useless !!!
It has a number of nasty clauses that make a claim almost impossible
Fair enough a diagnosed condition is excluded , but Barclays also include undiagnosed conditions.
The policy is not explained when you take it out, each time before you travel you should give medical details of all travelling and then they exclude any cover to anyone who may get ill !
My wife was diagnosed with cancer after we booked our family holiday and Barclays would not pay out !!!!
If you have ever been to the doctors forget a claim with Barclays
I,m closing all my accounts and policies with Barclays + Aviva
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Guest's Comment
Written on: 04/06/2011
its not that the policy is wrong, most uk insurers saw how this was affecting customers so they decided to change their stance..very rare for this to happen but it did. you were one of thousands in the uk to hear "your not covered"