MNB: travel insurance conditions have changed

According to the announcement, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank analyzed the general terms and conditions (GTC) of travel insurance of some domestic insurers, including certain provisions regarding services in the event of delays in air transport and reimbursement of emergency medical care costs.

It was detailed that the GTC provisions related to flight delays of some market participants were, among other things, unclear if the insured client uses the services entitled to from the airline under the European Union Regulation on Air Passenger Rights, then do the insurers deduct these from the insurance amount due for the delay according to their GTC?

With regard to the insurance clauses related to medical assistance, it was not clear whether the market participants reimburse the costs of emergency care directly to the healthcare provider providing the care or whether the customers have to pay it in advance. In addition, the scope of documents required for the provision of the service, the deadline for the provision of the service, and the rules excluding risk coverage were not fully transparent for some insurers, the statement said.

At the initiative of the MNB, the insurers concerned modified and clarified their contract terms and conditions on several points, and recorded their previous good practices in the provisions of the GTC. Among other things, the insurers clarified the documents required for the payment of claims.

In relation to flight delays, the insurers have clarified what emergency purchases they will reimburse. They have also stated that in the case of compensation for damages to the insured party, proven by an invoice, the claims settlement procedure does not examine whether the passengers received compensation from the airline, and if so, what kind of compensation, in kind or in money, or whether the damages could possibly be reimbursed in this way – the Hungarian National Bank informed.