Packaged Bank Account Benefit Changes - Frequently Asked Questions

Epidemic/Pandemic Cover: There is no cover if you’re abroad and you are instructed to return home, or choose to leave early to avoid having to quarantine when you get home, due to an epidemic or pandemic declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) or an official government authority like the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

• The instruction to return home could come from UK Government or from the government of the country you’re visiting.
• There is still cover for emergency medical expenses. There's also still cover for you or someone covered under the policy if a booked trip needs to be cancelled because either you or they, or a companion you are travelling with is asked to quarantine on an individual basis.
• There is now additional cancellation cover for you or anyone you are travelling with who is covered under the policy, if you’ve booked to travel and either the carrier or a Government authority will not let you travel, because at the point of boarding, you are showing symptoms of a contagious disease.

Please read your terms and conditions for full details and exclusions. We’ve also provided some examples of pandemic cover under the new policy in the Guide to Changes (PDF, 2.6 MB)

Trip Duration: The maximum single trip duration is now 31 days. If you have booked a trip lasting more than 31 consecutive days that begins on or after 21 November 2021 and haven't already purchased a trip extension upgrade, you will need to contact Allianz Assistance to extend your cover.

Excess: Under the new policy, where an excess applies, this has increased from £75 per claim per incident to £75 per adult per incident. The excess no longer applies to children.

Medical Conditions: There has been changes to the medical screening process. If your health (or the health of anyone covered by the policy) changes before you book a trip, you need to let Allianz Assistance know. They may ask you to pay a premium or could refuse cover for those medical conditions. This also applies to any new upgrade for medical conditions that you purchase from the new insurer. Further information can be found below. Upgrades and medical screenings are sold, underwritten and administered directly with the insurers.

Overseas Medical Assistance: As well as the 24-hr emergency medical team, you also have access to a remote UK GP telephone and video consultation service if you need medical advice overseas.

Golf Equipment: The cover limit for hired golf equipment is reducing to £35 a day (up to a maximum of £175).

Card Cancellation is no longer a service provided with the account. Now that the Card Cancellation benefit has ended, the data will be destroyed within a reasonable period of time and in line with our policy requirements.

There has been some changes to the AA Breakdown cover and the Home Emergency cover. There has also been a change to the Mobile Phone Insurance. For full details of the changes, please refer to the Guide to Changes document.

The new travel insurance will be provided by AWP Assistance UK Ltd (Allianz Assistance) and is underwritten by AWP P&C SA.

Allianz Assistance is part of the Allianz Group, one of the world’s largest insurers and leading financial services companies. They specialise in assistance, international health & life, automotive and travel insurance. Their global family is present in 76 countries handling over 44 million cases a year, protecting and caring for their customers and employees on all continents, 24/7.

For incidents that happened before 21 November 2021, you can still contact AXA to log or manage any relevant claims through the Membership Services phone number which you can find in your account Getting Started Guide.

No, there has been no change to your monthly maintaining the account fee as part of these changes.

If you feel these changes may mean your account no longer meets your needs you can change your account to one without a monthly maintaining the account fee. You can find a full range of current accounts that we offer here. Alternatively, you can review and change your account through your Online Banking or Mobile Banking app.

For any questions relating to your new Allianz Assistance cover please read through the FAQ's carefully or if you still need assistance, please contact Membership Services. You can also visit the Allianz Assistance Hub which can be accessed through Online Banking.

The travel insurer changed for all Customers on 21 November 2021. The Annual Eligibility Statement you received only provides an overview of the benefits provided by your packaged bank account at the time it was sent. Your next Annual Eligibility Statement will be updated to reflect the change of insurer. In addition, we have sent you a separate letter outlining the changes being made to your account.

Remember that you are not be able to claim against your travel policy if you’re able to claim elsewhere. You must first confirm that costs are not recoverable elsewhere (such as your credit card, travel compensation scheme (ATOL / ABTA) or the airline) prior to contacting the travel insurer. The insurer is not able to accept your claim until you have confirmed costs are not recoverable elsewhere. 

You might find the guidance here useful

You can contact AXA to log or manage any relevant claims through the Membership Services phone number which you can find in your account Getting Started Guide. 

From 21 November 2021, you will be able to call the Membership Services phone number to log a claim which you can find in your account Getting Started Guide.

There will also be a new portal called the ‘Allianz Assistance Hub’ which you will be able to access through your Online Banking or the Mobile Banking app from 23 November.  This will allow you to log a claim for incidents occurring from 21 November, check your cover or purchase certain upgrades (such as trip extension cover) and even schedule a video appointment with a UK GP whilst you are overseas. The Hub also allows you to receive automated payments following a qualifying flight delay.

For a full list of changes, please visit the Guide to Changes (PDF, 2.6 MB).

Any claims for incidents occurring before 21 November 2021 will continue to be managed by AXA Insurance UK plc until their conclusion. 

The following cover will be removed from 21 November 2021:

There is now cover if you’re abroad and you are instructed to return home or choose to leave early to avoid having to quarantine when you get home due to an epidemic or pandemic declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) or an official government authority. The instruction to return home could be from the UK Government or from the government of the country you’re visiting.

The following cover has been added from 21 November 2021:

There is additional cancellation cover for anyone covered under the policy if you or someone you are travelling with have booked to travel and either the carrier or a Government authority will not let you travel, because at the point of boarding, you or they are showing symptoms of a contagious disease.

Cancellation cover is now be provided for those covered under the policy, if anyone travelling with the policy holder has been told to quarantine due to a suspected exposure to COVID-19. Note that this does not include local lockdowns or a wider quarantine order.

The following are some examples of cover that are unchanged:

You are still covered for emergency medical assistance overseas if you fall ill. Cancellation and medical cover will also still be in place for anyone booked to travel and covered under the policy if they are asked to quarantine on an individual basis.

Further examples where cover is and isn’t available from 21 November 2021:

Cover available:

On 1 December 2021 a friend you are travelling with is contacted by NHS Test and Trace / NHS Test and Protect (Scotland) and needs to self-isolate and is therefore unable to come with you. In this scenario you will be covered for trip cancellation.

No cover available:

You are due to travel on 1 December 2021. At the time you booked there were no restrictions on travelling to your destination. Two days before your trip starts the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice to that destination changes, and now advises against all but essential travel. As a result you have to cancel your trip. In this instance, you would not be covered for any cancellation costs, but should instead seek reimbursement from the travel provider or any other alternative source, such as your credit card issuer.

It is important you read the travel insurance terms and conditions to ensure the policy meets your needs.

If you’ve been affected by COVID-19 (either before or after 21 November 2021), we have a dedicated page of frequently asked questions. This provides information if your trip is disrupted, which may be able to help resolve any questions you may have.        

If you or anybody to covered under the policy have a pre-existing medical condition, this will need to be declared to the new insurer prior to booking a trip.

Following any medical screening with the new insurer, cover for medical conditions may be subject to you paying an additional premium or you may be refused cover for the medical condition(s). This will be confirmed when you contact the new insurer. Any additional cover purchased is known as a medical endorsement. Upgrades and medical screenings are sold, underwritten and administered directly with the insurers.

All pre-existing medical conditions, regardless of their nature or whether a diagnosis has been confirmed, must now be declared to the new insurer before you travel. Failure to do so may result in you not being covered.

As an example, if you see a Doctor about an illness prior to your trip but do not receive a diagnosis, and then you fall ill abroad and require hospital treatment, you would not be covered for this expense unless you had made the insurer aware of this "undiagnosed condition" prior to the trip and they have agreed to cover it. See the "Health declaration and health exclusions" section of the policy for more information. Upgrades and medical screenings are sold, underwritten and administered directly with the insurers.

Yes.  Any upgrades purchased directly from AXA will automatically continue until the expiry date.  From 21 November 2021, any claims occurring on or after this date will be managed by Allianz Assistance. You will receive confirmation letters from both AXA and Allianz Assistance, which will include guidance on who to contact.

At your next renewal you will be subject to the terms and conditions of the new insurer and you may have to pay an additional premium or cover may be refused.  This will be confirmed when you contact the new insurer.

If you have a single trip medical upgrade purchased through AXA you will still have this cover until the expiry date.  Any claims for incidents occurring on or after 21 November 2021 will be managed by Allianz Assistance. Note that you will not be able to take out further single trip medical cover with Allianz Assistance as they do not offer this service.

You need to tell the insurer about any pre-existing medical conditions when renewing any medical conditions upgrades or if there are any changes in your health or to the health of anyone to be covered by the policy before booking a trip. Cover for medical conditions may be subject to an additional premium or you may be refused cover for the condition. This will be confirmed when you contact the insurer. Upgrades and medical screenings are sold, underwritten and administered directly with the insurers.

No, the cover provided by these services is exactly the same. Please note that not all accounts come with all of these services. Please check the terms and conditions for your account.

From 21 November 2021, the AA have a new email address for their customer relations team as called out in your Guide to Changes. This is customer.solutions@theAA.com.

All card and document data held will be securely deleted within a reasonable time period now that the service has ended.

No, this service ended on 21 November. Please contact your card providers to cancel cards and request replacements.

You should contact your Card Provider directly for an update on the whereabouts of the replacement card. 

Please contact your card or document providers to advise them of your loss and request replacement cards. 

The insurer has made it clearer that replacement mobile phones are not on a new for old basis. You will receive a refurbished device which has been through a comprehensive checking process to ensure it’s in full working order. All mobile phones will come with a 1-year warranty from the insurer.