Monday 4th June 2007
Travel insurance claims may be faster following the introduction of a prepaid card for holidaymakers, the provider advises.
A new prepaid Mastercard from travel insurance provider InsureandGo promises to accelerate claims made by victims of credit or debit card fraud while abroad.
Research conducted by the firm found that 1.3 million Britons have been the victim of fraud while overseas, with about one in four (23 per cent) losing more than £1,000 in the incident.
But InsureandGo suggests that the process of claiming against travel insurance may be made easier by linking fraud directly to the trip itself by using a specific card during the journey.
Furthermore, by limiting the amount of money accessible to identity thieves to only the holidaymakers spending budget, the firm asserts that the amount lost may be minimised.
Perry Wilson, director of InsureandGo, explains that fraudsters frequently wait up to six weeks before using details from a cloned credit card.
"Youve had your holiday, youve spent the €600 (£400) on the card, theres maybe one and a half euros left on it," he proposes.
"When they actually try to purchase something theres only one and a half euros left on the card."
He adds that by depositing funds on to the card before making the trip, the poor exchange rates and high commission charged by overseas ATMs may also be avoided.
"So youre saving money on that," the spokesperson claims.
Meanwhile, Mr Wilson argues that by placing a limit of the travellers own choice on the card, the customer may avoid the temptation to overspend which may be presented by a traditional credit card with a higher limit.
He suggests that it is increasingly difficult to obtain a credit card with a limit of less than £1,000, whereas the amount deposited to the travel card is entirely determined by the holidaymaker.
"I cant stop people getting into debt on their holiday ... [but] this could help," he states.
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