Author: creditcardGenius Team
When looking for a credit card, most people value rewards and low annual fees. But there is a lot more that your credit card can offer, like included insurance coverage at no extra cost.
To settle a worrisome mind, added insurance coverage could be just what you’re looking for to have that extra bit of protection without having to go looking for it.
So what could you be missing out on?
Let’s take a look at all the different insurance coverage offered by Canadian credit cards.
Insurance for your purchases
For all your expensive purchases put through your credit card, there’s purchase insurance. The first two are very common and the second two are quite rare.
Extended warranty
Extended warranty insurance will extend the warranty offered by the manufacturer for an extra period of time, typically for 1 or 2 years.
Typically you just need to provide proof of the original purchase, the defect, and the receipt for the repair to your credit card insurer and they will reimburse you no problem.
Purchase protection
This type of insurance will protect almost any purchase you make from accidental damage or loss within a certain period of time after you make the purchase on your card.
The time frame is usually either 90, 120, or 180 days.
Price protection
If you purchase an item and shortly after (within a set period of time) it goes on sale, or you see it advertised for a lower price elsewhere, price protection will reimburse you for the difference.
Mobile device
Mobile device protection will cover your mobile device for up to 2 years (usually pro-rated) against theft, loss, accidental damage, and even mechanical breakdown.
In order to qualify for this kind of insurance however, you must charge the full amount of the device on your credit card. If paid through a plan, you must charge your monthly bills to your card.
Insurance for your travels
Travelling can be stressful – a lot can go wrong (knock on wood).
That’s why credit cards with travel insurance can bring some real value to the table. To activate your coverage, you have to charge the full cost of the trip to your credit card, with one exception as you’ll see below.
Travel accident
Should you get into an accident on a common carrier during your travels, travel accident will pay out a lump sum. The amount paid out typically depends on the severity of the accident and limbs lost, but we’ll skip all those gory details.
Emergency medical
If you require medical attention by a doctor or have to visit the hospital while travelling, emergency medical will cover you for a set amount of days up to a certain amount.
Emergency medical for people over 65 can be harder to find, but many premium credit cards do offer coverage.
Emergency medical for people over 75 is rarer still, but there are a few that will offer this as well.
You don’t typically even have to charge the cost of your trip to activate this coverage. This coverage is ready to be used once you leave your home province.
Trip cancellation and interruption
These 2 types of insurance will reimburse you for non-refundable travel expenses if you’re forced to cancel or return home unexpectedly due to an emergency situation.
Some cards may be more strict than others when it comes to paying out your extra costs.
Flight delay
If your flight has been delayed for X hours (usually around 4), this type of coverage will reimburse the cost for accommodations while you wait for your flight. This can cover anything from weather preventing your flights from departing or any airport delays.
Lost or stolen baggage and baggage delay
Similar to flight delay, lost or stolen baggage and baggage delay insurance will reimburse you for any purchases you were forced to make due to lost, stolen, or delayed baggage.
Personal effects
A more rare coverage, personal effects will insure you for loss or damage of personal items for the entire duration of your trip, no matter if they are in your luggage or not.
Hotel burglary
Similar to personal effects insurance, but a bit more common, hotel burglary will cover you in the instance that your personal effects are stolen or lost from your hotel room.
Insurance for your rental car
When renting a car, insurance is important. But there may be some coverage offered by the car rental company that you can turn down, if you have the right credit card.
Rental car theft and damage
This type of coverage will cover you for the damage or loss of your rental car.
Rental car accident
Rental car accident insurance will pay out a lump sum should you be injured in a rental car.
Rental car personal effects
Similar to hotel burglary, rental car personal effects will reimburse you for your personal items that are lost or stolen from your rental car.
Bubble wrap, compliments of your credit card
For all those “what ifs”, “just in cases” and “better safe than sorries”, getting a credit card with included insurance coverage can be a big relief.
creditcardGenius.ca is an online credit card comparison engine, comparing over 50 features of over 180 Canadian credit cards. Their Rate Your Wallet quiz tailor-fits your preferences with the perfect credit card just for you.
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