Consumer Alert: Diners Club Emergency Evacuation Coverage
Diners Club members are now offered the opportunity to enroll
in the Emergency Evacuation Assistance program, which promises
to pay for transportation costs incurred when an enrolled member
requires transport to a medical facility and no adequate local
facility is available.
The "low annual fee" for this service (never referred to as insurance
in the brochure) is $129 for one person, or $259 for the family plan.
This provides $100,000 of coverage per person, provided you have paid the
entire common carrier fares with your Diners Club card.
Questionable value, unquestionably high price
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This appears to be a very expensive form of insurance.
By way of comparison, a $1 million umbrella liability
policy costs about the same as this coverage, yet the
chance of being sued for a large amount of money seems much
greater than the chance of receiving benefits under this program.
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The coverage applies only if you traveled someplace
by common carrier (e.g. plane, train, bus, taxi, etc.)
Trips that do not involve transportation by common carrier
are not covered.
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The coverage applies only if all common carrier travel during
the trip is paid for using the Diners Club card.
This includes buses and taxis which may not accept
Diners Club, making it necessary to change travel
plans to remain eligible for benefits under this program.
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No benefits are paid unless the emergency transportation is
authorized and arranged in advance by the service provider.
When an emergency situation occurs, it is unreasonable to
require people to expect that people will put the requirements
to receive benefits ahead of personal safety.
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The coverage is only good for the first 30 days.
If you're planning a longer trip and the emergency occurs
after the first 30 days, you're out of luck.
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Other exclusions may be imposed.
The brochure does not reveal any exclusions related to pre-existing
medical conditions, but it does caution members to review the
plan's terms and conditions.
It is common for this kind of insurance to exclude coverage if
there was a related medical condition during the two month period
preceding the trip.
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