JS Insurance blog

JS Insurance offers mobile phone insurance, which covers accidental damage, theft, liquid damage and unauthorised calls. One of the most often asked questions is:

Do we cover loss of a mobile phone?

We are unable to offer loss under our new policy and looking into other insurance policies, the cover for loss is rather limited and the terms and conditions does provide many situations in which loss is not covered.

Here is an example of a policy exclusions relating to loss:

• Any loss from a commercial vehicle, or any motor vehicle where you or someone  acting on your behalf  is not in the vehicle, unless the mobile phone  is concealed in a locked boot, locked glove compartment or other locked internal compartment and all the vehicle’s windows and doors closed and locked and all security systems have been activated.

• From any building, land, premises or vehicle unless force, resulting in damage to the building or premises, was used to gain entry or exit.
• Where the mobile phone has been left unattended when it is away from your home.
• Where reasonable precautions have not been taken.
• Loss caused by neglecting the mobile phone.

This is basically covering your mobile phone for theft but not loss, using the words ‘neglect’ and ‘reasonable precautions’ means that almost any situation that involves loss of your mobile phone insurance would not be covered.

With the proposed strikes and industrial action by British Airways cabin crew and BAA Staff, if you have or are planning on purchasing travel insurance for your trip, this post is designed to give you some details of what you are covered for and what you cannot make a claim for.

CANCELLATION OR CURTAILMENT - NO COVER

Customers, who are planning to travel during the strike action may be considering submitting a claim under the cancellation section as a result of:

• Disinclination to travel due to potential disruption to their travel arrangements, caused by the strike.
• Receiving notification that their original flight has been cancelled and customers rejecting alternative options offered by the airline.
• Wanting to curtail holidays e.g. return to home early than anticipated, in order to avoid any travel disruption as a result of their return flights being affected by the strike.

On either of these and similar scenerios, we will not accept claims under the cancellation or curtailment section as Strike / Industrial Action is not a specified peril in any of our policy wordings.

You should contact the airline for further advice and assistance.

DELAYED DEPARTURE  - cover as normal for flights that aren’t cancelled in advance

The intention of this benefit is to compensate customers for the inconvenience of finding themselves stranded at the airport. In order to claim, customers’ flights must have been subject to a minimum of 12 hours delay from the scheduled time of departure.

We expect customers to either have checked in or provide a written note from the airline (at the airport) confirming that they were not allowed to check in and also providing details of how many hours delay the flight was affected by.

NOTE: The difficulty may be for customers to prove that they remained at the airport for 12 hours or more, especially if they were unaware of the above requirements. A need for pragmatism may be required here and payments may be awarded according to individual circumstances.

Travel Delay is a benefit, so customers are not required to submit receipts as evidence of expenses incurred.

ABANDONMENT OF TRIP  - cover as normal for flights that aren’t cancelled in advance

The intention of the policy is to cover customers who, having checked in, find their flights being subject to a delay, after 24 hours (from the scheduled time of departure) decide to abandon the trip.

As has previously been the case, the airline may instruct their customers not to travel to the airport on the confirmed strike dates.

We will therefore consider accepting claims under this section, for customers who have been told not to travel to the airport, under the following conditions:

1. Customers must provide proof of original flight.

2. Customers can only claim for abandonment after 24 hours have elapsed from the original time of departure.

Customers must provide evidence of flight being delayed and or receiving instructions from the airline not to travel to the airport / not to check in. If customers experience difficulties in providing proof that their flight has been delayed or that they have recieved instructions from the airline not to check in, claim handlers are required to seek confirmation from the airline.

CUSTOMERS CANNOT CLAIM FOR ABANDONMENT IF THE FLIGHT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY CANCELLED BY THE AIRLINE WHICH IS LIKELY IN THE CASE OF BA FLIGHTS.

Under the Abandonment section, we will only reimburse irrecoverable costs.

If customers accept alternative dates, offered by the airline, they may need to alter their insurance dates of cover.

Claims under any other sections of the policy will be subject to normal terms and conditions of the wording.

JS Insurance has launched a new mobile phone insurance policy that includes a monthly as well as an annual mobile phone insurance.

The new policy is underwritten by AmTrust International Ltd.

The cover reamins the same; accidental damage, theft, liquid damage and unauthorised calls to £1,000.

For  mobile phones (including Blackberrys), there is an option to purchase cover which can be paid by monthly direct debit, £5.99 or an annual policy which is £59.00.

The iPhone (including the iPhone 4) can only be purchased only on an annual basis. The iPhone 3G is insured for £69.00 and all other iPhones (including the iPhone 4) is £89.00 a year.  This new payment method has been introduced as a result of customer enquiries regarding paying the full premium up front rather than over a 12 month period.

Maximum value of replacement mobile phones is £400 (including VAT) and iPhone is £600 (including VAT).  This new mobile phone insurance policy will only cover phones that have been purchased within the last six months.

The mobile phone insurance excess has also changed and is as follows: Any claim incident that occurs within the first 3 months of the start of the policy is £100. Any claim within 4 to 6 months, the excess is £75.00 and after that the excess is £50.00.

Your policy is active as soon as you have purchased the policy and your certificate information is sent to you via email, text message to your mobile and followed up by a letter, with information regarding your payment, in the case of monthly direct debit, the date in which your direct debit will be taken.

If you need to contact us, there are various methods:

Email: jsinsurance@citymain.com

Fax: 0844 576 2333

Post: JS Insurance, PO Box 116, Ryde, PO33 2WX

Tel: 0844 576 2294  Monday to Friday 9:00am - 5:30pm

Goldtrail operated tours predominantly to Greece and Turkey and collapsed on 16th July 2010.

Under the trading names of: Goldtrail Holidays, Goldtrail Travel and Sunmar. They were ATOL bonded, and consequently the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are making arrangements for travellers already abroad to be repatriated. People who have booked holidays but not yet travelled can make a claim through the CAA for a refund of their cost.

How does this affect JS Insurance customers?

Most travel policies usually carry a “General Exclusion” similar to the following:

Any claims arising directly or indirectly from the tour operator, airline or any other company, firm or person either becoming insolvent or being unable to or unwilling to fulfil any part of their obligation.

On this basis there is no cover provided under any sections of the travel policy. Customers should be advised to contact the CAA on 0203 441 0846 or 0044 203 441 0846 from abroad.

Information for travellers stranded abroad

JS Insurance is willing to extend cover free of charge, subject to customers returning on the earliest possible flight (subject to availability). No claims will be accepted for additional accommodation or transport costs. Customers are advised to contact the CAA.

Customers arranging alternative holidays

JS Insurance will accept the transfer of travel insurance to the new dates of travel, providing that the alternative arrangement is made within three weeks from 16th July 2010, with travel dates being within the next six months and the new trip duration being the same as the original.

Customers will need to contact JS Insurance on 0844 848 1500 to make the amendments to cover.

JS Insurance does cover the new iPhone 4 which has recently been launched by Apple.

£4.99 a month by Direct Debit.

The cover includes:

• Accidental Damage
• Theft
• Liquid Damage
• Unauthorised Calls to £1000
• Worldwide cover up to 90 days per year

Please feel free to purchase the policy online at www.jsinsurance.co.uk or call us on 0844 848 1500.

JS Insurance is now offering iPad  Insurance.

The policy details and to get a quote or purchase a policy can be found at our computer insurance section on our main Insurance website,  www.jsinsurance.co.uk

The cover includes:

• Accidental Damage
• Theft
• Liquid Damage
• Unlimited Worldwide Cover

The excess is 15% of the value of the Tablet PC on this policy and we aim to settle claims within 72 hours.

Please feel free to get a quote online or call us for further information on 0844 848 1500.

JS Insurance in association with one of our providers has today launched a new website that makes screening for medical conditions and purchasing travel insurance simple and hassle free. This is a online system that allows JS Insurance to offer Single Trip and Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance and do the medical screening in one go and without having to call an external company for a medical reference number to issue a policy.

JS Insurance Medical Screening

If you wish to get a quote or purchase a travel insurance policy that offers cover for pre existing medical conditions, please call us on 01273 773 017  or email us on support@jsinsurance.co.uk.

Provided by Towergate AUL who are underwritten by Fortis Insurance Ltd

Following the on going travel disruption caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland,  JS Insurance have been provided with some clarification on cover by one of our providers Towergate AUL.

Information regarding travellers abroad

If a customer has a Towergate AUL  policy, it may be difficult for them to obtain insurance elsewhere at short notice and in their current location, so Towergate AUL  are willing to extend cover free of charge.

No claims will be accepted for additional  accommodation or transport costs as a result of the volcanic eruption.

Towergate AUL acknowledge that some customers  may not be aware that they must contact us to let us know that they are have been delayed and these customers will not be penalised, provided they have returned on the earliest possible flight.

Information regarding customers with rearranged travel plans

Most Carriers are offering alternative travel plans for their customers. Towergate AUL will accept the transfer of cover to the new dates of travel as long as they are within the next six months and the new trip duration being the same as the original.

Cancellation cover

Claims would only be considered under this section if all the avenues of reimbursement have been exhausted first. (i.e. Airlines, Tour Operators, Credit Card Company, Travel Agents etc.)

Travel Delay and Abandonment

This section of cover provides specific exclusions, one being any claims arising ftom the delay of travel arrangements by or on the order of any Government, public or local Authority but not limited to any civil or Federal Aviation Authority. For this reason, the policy cannot respond if the authorities have grounded/delayed flights.

Whilst the above overriding exclusion applies, it is also worth noting that a volcanic eruption is not a weather event and, whilst most policies provide cover for adverse weather, this does not apply in these circumstances.

Repatriation of patients mid-claim

Towergate AUL acknowledge that due to the disruption, the repatriation of customers who have suffered a medical emergency may be delayed and subject to increased medical related costs. These increased costs will be accepted under the policy cover, subject to repatriation at the earliest opportunity and the standard terms and conditions of the policy.

From 1st May travellers arriving in Cuba would be required to purchase Cuba Health Insurance, and those arriving without proper cover, would be required to buy an appropriate policy from a Cuban insurance company at the airport, port, or marina where they arrive.

A list of approved insurance companies had been released in April.

The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affiars has now published on its website taht rather than establishing an approved list of insurers, as originally proposed, it now simply requires people entering the country to have a policy that includes health cover for people visiting Cuba.

The requirement to purchase a Cuban insurance policy will only apply to those with Cuban exclusions in their policy.

We recommend that travellers will just need to ensure they have their policy documents to hand when arriving in Cuba as they may be checked by the authorities.

In March, the Cuban government decided that all travellers arriving in Cuba from 1st May 2010 and beyond would be required to purchase Cuba health insurance.

Tourists, Foreigners with temporary residence in Cuba and Cubans living abroad who return to visit will have to have a travel insurance policy that covers medical expenses or a policy for medical expenses with coverage in Cuba.

The insurance policy would be purchased in the traveller’s home country but for those tourists arriving without proper cover, they will be required to buy an appropriate policy from a Cuban insurance company at the airport, port or marina where they arrive.

In early April a list of approved insurance companies was released, which mostly consists of assistance companies rather than insurance companies.

AXA Insurance in conjunction with AXA Assistance have written confirmation from Cuban Assistance Company ‘ASISTUR’ certifying that travellers are fully covered by AXA policies and will not be required to buy additional insurance upon arrival.

ASISTUR is the AXA Assistance Group (AXA Assistance, AXA Travel Insurance and Inter Partner Assistance) representative in Cuba.

Travellers will just need to ensure they have their policy documents to hand when arriving in Cuba as they may be checked by ASISTUR.